Mini Habits for Weight Loss: Stop Dieting. Form New Habits. Change Your Lifestyle Without Suffering.

by Stephen Guise

  Red wine does contain the antioxidant resveratrol, which has been shown to be excellent for both health and weight management. But you can get this antioxidant in much higher quantities from eating fruits like blueberries, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, and apples.108 For alcohol, the best choice is red wine (drink it by the glass, not the bottle).

  Exercise Matters, But Not for the Reason You Think

  We’ve talked a lot about food, but what about exercise? Does it really help us lose weight?

  The books that tell you exercise isn’t necessary for weight loss make four mistakes.

  They fail to consider the long-term positive metabolic effect of consistent exercise (by only looking at short-term studies on exercise and weight loss).

  They assume that diet and exercise together are “too much” for the person to handle, and thus, bank heavily on the more important half (diet); it’s only too much if your strategy is dieting.

  They don’t mention the difference between exercising and being active.

  They fail to consider the value of exercise as stress relief to reduce emotional eating, lower cortisol levels, and improve sleep.

  The weight loss effect of exercising has ironically become a debated point. Short-term studies show that most diets work and exercise doesn’t help with weight loss, but long-term studies show that most diets don’t work and that exercise is one of the key factors in successful and lasting weight loss. So we have a choice—do we emphasize short-term studies or long-term studies? Long-term studies show real, lasting change. Short-term studies might show that the “The Gummy Bear Cleanse” is the most effective weight loss method. One reviewer claimed to lose four pounds in only one day. Now that’s a result!

  If you base your conclusions on short-term studies of a year or less, you’re going to favor short-term strategies that almost always fail in the long term. Why is anyone surprised when a 10-day weight loss plan doesn’t bring lasting results? It’s 10 days! Like a submarine’s inability to fly, it’s not designed for that.

  Exercise Is Not About “Burning Calories”

  Short-term studies show that exercise is an ineffective method of weight loss.109 This is partly true, in that the amount of calories you burn exercising will have, at best, a slight impact on your weight in the near future. Also, when you exercise, your appetite typically increases, which leads to eating more food, making the total caloric deficit less significant than one might think. But again, this is narrow-mindedly looking at calories only. There’s more at play here, and the science shows that.

  A meta-analysis found that “Weight loss is similar in the short term for diet-only and combined BWMPs (behavioral weight management programs) but in the longer term weight loss is increased when diet and physical activity are combined.”110 The National Weight Control Registry studies people who have achieved lasting weight loss. They say of members who lose weight and keep it off for years, “90% exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day.”111

  Let’s look really long-term on this one. A 20-year study found that exercise was associated with decreased weight gain and a smaller waist in men and (especially) women.112 How exercise specifically improves long-term weight loss isn’t 100% understood, but it’s been shown to help. A good guess? Obesity is basically a body out of balance, and exercise improves nearly every bodily function, so it may help to rebalance how the body intakes and uses energy (metabolism).

  There’s some evidence that exercise aids weight loss by optimizing your body’s hormones. Studies have found that regular exercise is associated with lower insulin resistance and higher insulin sensitivity in people (both of which are positive metabolic attributes for health and weight).113

  Fat Loss Beats Weight Loss

  Even if you aren’t losing weight while exercising, you still could be losing fat. “The findings from four nonrandomized or controlled studies report that exercise with or without weight loss is associated with reductions in both visceral and subcutaneous fat.”114 This is critical, because reduction in fat is the true goal, and if you stay at the same weight but have traded fat for increased muscle, you’re going to look and feel better.

  Exercise is not about “burning calories.” It’s about the metabolic, anti-inflammatory, and circulatory benefits. When you view it as such, quotes like this one from a study will no longer scare you: “To our surprise, we have found that exercise has little, if any, effect on 24-hour fat oxidation.”115 Exercise is a healthy lifestyle choice, not a short-term weight loss miracle. By exercising, you will see weight loss results in the long term in addition to numerous health benefits.

  If you don’t currently exercise, that probably means you don’t enjoy doing it. I’m aware of that and that’s okay, because mini habits can change that preference. One push-up a day changed my lazy self from resisting exercise to enjoying it and doing it several times per week. Anyone can do it.

  Exercise is not a sacrifice you make to lose weight; it’s one of the most enjoyable parts of life that many people haven’t been able to enjoy. When you’re out of shape, it’s not much fun and feels uncomfortable to exercise, but once you start experiencing the benefits and getting stronger, you’ll get hooked. With this book, you have the best strategy to get to that point.

  Hidden Weight Loss Factors

  Food and movement are the primary two factors associated with weight loss discussion, but a few other factors deserve consideration, too. These factors can directly or indirectly affect weight by changing the way we move and eat.

  Sleep

  A study of ten people found that a lack of sleep sabotaged weight loss. It slowed fat loss by 55%, increased non-fat loss by 60%, and shifted hormones to favor increased hunger and decreased fat oxidation. This was the result of 5.5 hours of sleep compared to 8.5 hours of sleep.116 This study was interesting, because they tested each person twice for two weeks at 5.5 hours of sleep and then for two weeks at 8.5 hours of sleep. These differences were observed in the same people, and because they controlled participants’ calorie intake, the differences were minimized. When the people slept less, they were hungrier, which would make them susceptible to overeating. With even energy intake, their fat loss was hindered on less sleep.117

  A larger study of 1,024 people found that shorter sleep resulted in lower leptin, higher ghrelin (the hunger hormone), and increased body mass index. Below the eight-hour mark, “increased BMI was proportional to decreased sleep.”118

  To support the findings of these studies, what’s your experience been? Have you noticed that you tend to eat more when sleep deprived? I do. I remember some days of sleep deprivation in which my stomach seemed to be a bottomless pit of hunger.

  Being that the key to lasting change is to make success easier than failure, not getting enough sleep is a serious hindrance to weight loss. It puts you at a severe biological disadvantage compared to getting enough sleep (of which the consensus is 7-9 hours).

  Stress Levels

  Cortisol is the hormone released when we’re stressed, and too much of it causes the body to store fat in the abdominal area. That’s not what we want, so the answer is to destress. That’s easier said than done, but it’s also easier to do than one might think. If you actively try to reduce stress in your life, you can succeed, but very few people plan ways to destress. Some of my favorite ways to relax are meditation, massages, playing basketball, and using sensory deprivation tanks.

  Fun

  “Across three studies, in both lab and field settings, we found that framing a physical activity as fun (vs. exercise) influenced participants’ subsequent behavior. Specifically, we found that labeling a physical activity as fun reduced the amount of calories consumed in side dishes during a meal (study 1), the amount of hedonic food served (study 2), and perception of fun during a race positively influenced the choice of a healthy snack (study 3).”119 If you perceive your weight loss journey as “work,” you’re missing out on the advantages of a fun perspective.

  Simultaneous Ch
ange

  You’re better off changing your diet and exercise at the same time, as diet and exercise can form a virtuous cycle together. A study of 200 people found that simultaneous change of diet and exercise improved adherence compared to starting one and adding the other later.120

  Gut Health

  Gut health is a growing field of science, including how it relates to weight loss. Scientists have found differences in the gut bacteria of overweight people (and rats) compared to their healthy weight counterparts. Fermented foods (e.g., yogurt, sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi, komboucha) are so healthy because they repopulate the stomach with beneficial bacteria.

  While these fringe factors might not seem important, they can make a big difference, so keep them in mind.

  Side Benefits of Mini Habits

  Mini habits directly improve three of these hidden factors. First, they’re fun. They’re more fun than any other weight loss plan you’ve tried before. This strategy doesn’t ban you from eating any foods; it’s rooted in positivity and daily success, and it delivers outsized results compared to how easy the behaviors are. Compared to dieting, mini habits are like a theme park.

  Mini habits also allow you to change your exercise and eating habits simultaneously without burning out. With traditional change methods, even two synergistic changes like this are extremely difficult to sustain. Since you can maintain several mini habits at a time, you’ll be able to make progress in both of these areas simultaneously and benefit from their synergy.

  Finally, mini habits can decrease your stress levels. When you are less demanding of yourself and still get results, life feels easier and more relaxed. This can then improve your sleep.

  If You Think I'm Wrong...

  I’ve presented my case for how weight gain and weight loss work.

  After looking at hundreds of studies and analyzing their data, the only consistent finding was that processed foods cause weight gain, not carbs or fat or calories. We’ve had all of those other things for as long as we’ve existed, and the underlying, core theory behind each of these weight loss theories is that now we eat too much of them. They say we eat too many carbs, too much fat, or too many calories.

  The modern Western diet is now measurably higher in ultra-processed foods than it is in real food,121 and that is why 70% of Americans are overweight. Other countries who have followed suit have become more obese.

  If you happen to disagree with me, that’s fine, because this is only the second biggest problem of the weight loss industry. The biggest problem is not with nutrition-based diets, which generally promote healthier eating: it’s with the way people are taught to implement them. Mini Habits for Weight Loss isn’t a new diet, it’s a new approach to weight loss. If you have a particular diet or way of eating that you believe is best for your long-term interests, you can adapt these principles to implement it more effectively.

  Part Two

  Introduction: Strategy Rules

  Welcome to part two, my favorite part of the book. Part one discussed the keys to successful weight loss; part two converts what we’ve learned from part one into an actionable strategy that works. The next three chapters are general strategy, food strategy, and fitness strategy.

  In the upcoming chapter, we’ll talk about our general weight loss strategy. That is, how are we going to think about our big picture attempt to lose weight? Is it ideal to think of yourself as “trying to lose weight” or is it better to aim to maintain your weight instead?

  The food strategy chapter is next, and it addresses how to think about food. It will answer questions like, “Should I ban junk food?” and “When will I know to stop eating?” and “What if I don’t like vegetables?”

  After that, we’ll discuss fitness strategy and answer questions such as, “What’s the best form of exercise for weight loss?” and “How much should I exercise?” and “Does chasing my kids around the house count as exercise?”

  “Where Are the Mini Habits?”

  Since weight loss encompasses your entire lifestyle, there are factors to consider beyond what daily mini habits you choose to do. Strategy has two components—how we think about something, and what we physically do. There are a number of important psychological dispositions that can make or break your attempts. We’ll cover those and discuss the advantages of mini habits before closing out the food and fitness chapters with specific mini habit ideas. Practicing your mini habits will gradually change the way you think, but you’ll be even more likely to succeed if you have the right perspective to go along with your mini habits.

  5

  General Strategy

  Look, If it Were Intuitive, We’d All Be Slender Billionaires122

  “For changes to be of any true value, they've got to be lasting and consistent.”

  ~ Tony Robbins

  The Benefits of the Hard Path

  Exercise and healthy eating are the hard path. Exercise makes almost all internal bodily processes and functions more efficient: it improves insulin function to better energize cells, increases blood flow to more easily disperse nutrients, and optimizes hormone levels. Good, real food provides micronutrients and unique compounds to improve organ function and reduce inflammation.

  Aside from those “concrete benefits” of healthy living, you will also become stronger by taking the hard path. If you climb a mountain every day, a walk up the staircase is easy. But if you drive your car between sitting sessions all day, a walk up the staircase can be grueling. It’s beneficial for us to take the harder route because it makes everything else easier. Humans are smart, and we recognize this, but many people fail to consider their willpower limitations and overwhelming preference to take the easy path. We often succumb to the easy path, even when trying to take the harder, more beneficial path. The hard path is only beneficial if you actually take it! But how can we take it consistently?

  Every other book will tell you to grit your teeth and just do it, or, even worse, they’ll tell you that you need to “want it more.” Basically, they’ll tell you to throw everything you have at your goal. Do whatever it takes to take the hard path, eat your vegetables, and get to the gym. If you fail, it’s your fault. How stupid. The smartest strategy harmonizes our natural preference (the easy path) with our unique power of choice.

  If you need to take the hard path, but you like the easy path, you must make the harder path easier, and the easier path harder. Do you see now why mini habits are a powerful strategy? Mini habits make it easy to take life’s most difficult (and beneficial) paths.

  The Importance of Perceived Difficulty

  Doing 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise on an exercise bike requires a certain amount of effort, and you can’t change that. You can, however, change your likelihood of getting on the bike through strategy, which can change your perspective, and your perspective changes the perceived difficulty of a task.

  Imagine that Jim and Sam are people of equal ability who attempt the same challenge. Their ability and task difficulty are objectively identical, but Sam thinks the challenge is fun and Jim thinks the challenge is boring. Who do you think will find the challenge easier? Sam will, because he thinks it’s fun. Your perspective is powerful enough to make a difficult task easy or an easy task difficult.

  A mini habit in practice changes your relationship with a behavior over time by creating a new expectation. Practicing piano is naturally harder to do than watching television, so a mini habit makes it comparably easy by asking you to play one song a day, or even to sit down at the piano and open your songbook. Exercising is harder than reading the newspaper, so a mini habit makes it comparably easy by asking you to do just one push-up (and more only if you so choose). Eating broccoli is harder than eating cake, so a mini habit makes it comparably easy by asking you to eat one piece of broccoli.

  By making the hard path easier to take, you destroy the very foundation of what sustains unhealthy behavior and keeps healthy behavior a “someday” dream. Unhealthy behavior is so common not just beca
use it’s easy, but because societies make it seem easy. Healthy behavior is actually not much more challenging than unhealthy behavior, but it becomes so when framed that way.

  Why is it that a person will sit down to watch a one-minute YouTube video without thinking about it, but not run in place for one minute because “it’s not a full workout?” It’s okay to sit for a minute, but not good enough to exercise for the same amount of time? That’s why people sit for eight hours a day and don’t exercise very much. Why is it that eating salad is a special dietary decision, while eating a burger is normal? This needs to be reversed! The rare, special behaviors we put on a pedestal are the least likely ones to impact our lives. Your mini habits will transform these “special healthy behaviors” into normal ones that have a chance to become habits and change your life.