The Runway to a 30-Day Challenge

I often do diet experiments in the form of 30-day trials (or longer). I define a crisp plan to follow, and then I strictly adhere to those boundaries for the time of the experiment. Usually before I begin a clearly defined challenge, I first go through a period of whittling away temptations. This phase typically begins a few weeks before the start of the challenge. During this time, I’ll identify the most tempting foods and gradually eat them till they’re gone. I try not to overdo it by binging on them. I just naturally let them run out at whatever rate I was eating them before. I stop replenishing those foods, so I won’t have them in the house to tempt me while I’m doing a stricter trial. This isn’t always possible or practical, but it definitely helps in some cases. It’s easier to do a caffeine-free challenge if there’s no hipster coffee left, and the only remaining source of caffeine in the house consists of some crusty bags of green tea leftover from hotels. When I decided to do a grain-free, bean-free, and sugar-free month (which was August 2020), I gave myself time to finish up the tofu and didn’t buy more of it. I often air-bake tofu and add it to salads, so this gave me a little extra time to adjust back to tofu-free salads. When doing an interesting diet experiment, there are a cascade of smaller changes stacked on top of each other. I often find it easier to begin the process of change a few weeks before...
Source: Steve Pavlina's Personal Development Blog - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Health Productivity Source Type: blogs