Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives (27 page)

“Either
once only, or every day
”
Andy Warhol,
The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again) (
New York: Harvest, 1977), 166.

“Anything one does every day”
Gertrude Stein,
Paris France
(New York: Liveright, 2013), 19.

which helps explain why sexual indiscretions
Roy Baumeister, “Yielding to Temptation: Self-Control Failure, Impulsive Purchasing, and Consumer Behavior,”
Journal of Consumer Research
28 (March 2002): 670–76.

“artist's date”
Julia Cameron,
The Artist's Way
(New York: Penguin Putnam, 1992), 18.

“A small daily task”
Anthony Trollope,
Autobiography
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), 120.

Johnny Cash's to-do list
Phil Patton, “Johnny Cash—Our Longing For Lists,”
New York Times
, September 1, 2012, SR4.

subjects made a shopping list
Daniel Reed and Barbara van Leeuwen, “Predicting Hunger: The Effects of Appetite and Delay on Choice,”
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision
Processes
76, no. 2 (November 1998): 189–205.

“Give me chastity and continency”
Augustine,
The Confessions of Saint Augustine
(New York: E. P. Dutton & Co, 1900), 184.

people were asked voluntarily to pay
Adam Alter,
Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave
(New York: Penguin, 2013), 77–79.

life-sized cutout of a policeman
Andrew Rafferty, “Cardboard Cop Fighting Bike Theft in Boston,” NBC News, August 6, 2010,

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/06/19897675-cardboard-cop-fighting-bike-theft-in-boston
.

The mere presence of a mirror
Roy Baumeister and John Tierney,
Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength
(New York: Penguin, 2011), 112–13.

“When you are a free and independent writer”
Irving Wallace,
The Writing of One Novel
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1968), 37.

Dog owners get more exercise
Bob Martin,
Humane Research Council,
“Average Dog Owner Gets More Exercise Than Gym-Goers,” February 15, 2011,
http://bit.ly/1sfRSK3
.

older people walk more regularly
Tara Parker-Pope, “The Best Walking Partner: Man vs. Dog,”
New York Times
, December 14, 2009.

popular snack item's loyal buyers
Brian Wansink,
Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think
(New York: Bantam, 2006), 199.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld advised
Brad Isaac
,
“Jerry Seinfeld's Productivity Secret,” Lifehacker, July 24, 2007,
http://bit.ly/1rT93AB
.

36 percent of successful changes
Todd Heatherton and Patricia Nichols, “Personal Accounts of Successful Versus Failed Attempts at Life Change,”
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
20, no. 6 (December 1994): 664–75; see also Chip Heath and Dan Heath,
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
(New York: Crown Business, 2010), 208.

Marriage and divorce can affect people's weight
Jeff Grabmeier, “Large Weight Gains Most Likely for Men After Divorce, Women After Marriage,”
Research News
, Ohio State University, August 17, 2011,
http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/weightshock.htm
.

sometimes we're hit by a lightning bolt
For an interesting examination of an aspect of the Strategy of the Lightning Bolt
, see William Miller and Janet C'de Baca,
Quantum Change: When Epiphanies and Sudden Insights Transform Ordinary Lives
(New York: Guilford Press, 2001).

Gary Taubes's book
Gary Taubes,
Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It
(New York: Anchor Books, 2010). For an expanded discussion of Taubes's arguments, see
Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health
(New York: Anchor Books, 2008). It includes a helpful summary of Taubes's conclusions (p. 454):

1. Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not a cause of obesity, heart disease, or any other chronic disease of civilization.

2. The problem is the carbohydrates in the diet, their effect on insulin secretion, and thus the hormonal regulation of homeostasis—the entire harmonic ensemble of the human body. The more easily digestible and refined the carbohydrates, the greater the effect on our health, weight, and well-being.

3. Sugars—sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup, specifically—are particularly harmful, probably because the combination of fructose and glucose simultaneously elevates insulin levels while overloading the liver with carbohydrates.

4. Through their direct effect on insulin and blood sugar, refined carbohydrates, starches, and sugars are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease and diabetes. They are the most likely dietary causes of cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and the other chronic diseases of civilization.

5. Obesity is a disorder of excess fat accumulation, not overeating, and not sedentary behavior.

6. Consuming excess calories does not
cause
us to grow fatter, any more than it causes a child to grow taller. Expending more energy than we consume does not lead to long-term weight loss; it leads to hunger.

7. Fattening and obesity are caused by an imbalance—a disequilibrium—in the hormonal regulation of adipose tissue and fat metabolism. Fat synthesis and storage exceed the mobilization of fat from the adipose tissue and its subsequent oxidation. We become leaner when the hormonal regulation of the fat tissue reverses this balance.

8. Insulin is the primary regulator of fat storage. When insulin levels are elevated—either chronically or after a meal—we accumulate fat in our fat tissue. When insulin levels fall, we release fat from our fat tissue and use it for fuel.

9. By stimulating insulin secretion, carbohydrates make us fat and ultimately cause obesity. The fewer carbohydrates we consume, the leaner we will be.

10. By driving fat accumulation, carbohydrates also increase hunger and decrease the amount of energy we expend in metabolism and physical activity.

For a fascinating discussion of the role of fat in a healthy diet, see also Nina Teicholz,
The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014).

in order to lower insulin
Taubes,
Why We Get Fat
, 112–62.

quantity and quality of carbohydrates
Ibid., 128–39, 195–98.

Meat is fine
Ibid., 163–200.

“to take a
little
wine”
Piozzi et al.,
Johnsoniana; or, Supplement to Boswell: Being, Anecdotes and Sayings of Dr. Johnson
(London: John Murray, 1836), 96.

“The only way to get rid”
Oscar Wilde,
The Picture of Dorian Gray
(Thorndike, ME: G. K. Hall, 1995), 29.

“It is much easier to extinguish”
François de la Rochefoucauld,
Collected Maxims and Other Reflections
, E. H. Backmore and A. M. Blackmore, trans. (New York: Oxford World Classics, 2008), 187.

“The sacrifice of pleasures”
Muriel Spark,
Loitering with Intent
(New York: New Directions, 1981), 95.

the less we indulge in something
Omar Manejwala,
Craving: Why We Can't Seem to Get Enough
(Center City, MN: Hazelden, 2013), 141.

“It is surprising how soon”
William James,
Writings 1878–1899:
Psychology: Briefer Course
(New York: Library of America, 1992), 148.

One study of flight attendants
Reuven Dar et al., “The Craving to Smoke in Flight Attendants: Relations with Smoking Deprivation, Anticipation of Smoking, and Actual Smoking,”
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
119, no. 1 (2010): 248–53.

ice-cream cooler's lid was left open
Brian Wansink,
Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think
(New York: Bantam, 2006), 87–88.

According to
Consumer Reports
, more than 30 percent
Consumer Reports
, August 2011,
http://bit.ly/1oiPAUB
.

70 percent of people who belong to a gym
Piers Steel,
The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done
(New York: Harper, 2010), 23.

office workers spend a staggering 28 percent
Michael Chui et al., “The Social Economy: Unlocking Value and Productivity Through Social Technologies,” McKinsey Global Institute, July 2012,
http://bit.ly/1d4fPbE
.

a subway station in Sweden
Claire Bates, “Scaling New Heights: Piano Stairway Encourages Commuters to Ditch the Escalators,”
Daily Mail
, October 11, 2009.

the image of a house fly
Michael Pollak, “A Dutch Innovation,”
New York Times
, June 17, 2012, MB2.

“Eat all the junk food you want”
Michael Pollan,
Food Rules: An Eater's Manual
(New York: Penguin, 2009), rule no. 39.

A key for understanding many bad habits
Piers Steel,
The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done
(New York: Harper, 2010), 13–14; see also Terrie Moffitt et al., “A Gradient of Childhood Self-Control Predicts Health, Wealth, and Public Safety,”
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science
108, no. 7 (2011): 2693–98.

people at high risk for smoking
Sheena Iyengar,
The Art of Choosing
(New York: Twelve, 2010), 249.

make shopping as inconvenient as possible
For this, and a useful look at how convenience influences shopping, see Paco Underhill,
Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999).

employers can use Inconvenience
For a thorough discussion, see Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein,
Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
(New York: Penguin, 2008).

going trayless cut food waste
Lisa Foderaro, “Without Cafeteria Trays, Colleges Cut Water Use, and Calories,”
New York Times
, April 28, 2009, A1.

three armed men burst into the home
Michael Shnayerson, “Something Happened at Anne's!”
Vanity Fair
, August 2007.

the wily Greek hero Odysseus
Homer,
The Odyssey
, Robert Fagles, trans. (New York: Penguin, 1996), Book 12.

people spend about one-fourth of their waking time
Wilhelm Hoffman et al., “Everyday Temptations: An Experience Sampling Study of Desire, Conflict, and Self-Control,”
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
102, no. 6 (June 2012): 1318–35.

people given sandwiches in nontransparent wrap
Brian Wansink, “Environmental Factors that Increase the Food Intake and Consumption Volume of Unknowing Consumers,”
Annual Review of Nutrition
24 (2004): 455–70.

Hospitality expert Jacob Tomsky
Jacob Tomsky,
Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality
(New York: Doubleday, 2012), 58.

“The infancies of all things are feeble”
Michel de Montaigne,
The Complete Essays
(New York: Penguin Classics, 1993), 1154.

“implementation intentions”
Peter Gollwitzer, “Implementation Intentions: Strong Effects of Simple Plans,”
American Psychologist
54 (1999): 493–503; see also Chip Heath and Dan Heath,
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard
(New York: Crown Business, 2010), 290.

People who use if-then planning
See Heath and Heath,
Switch
, 290; Heidi Grant Halvorson,
Succeed: How We can Reach Our Goals
(New York: Hudson Street Press, 2012), 173–81; Peter Gollwitzer and Paschal Sheeran, “Implementation Intentions,”
http://bit.ly/1lKxCtU
.

“Plans are worthless, but planning is everything”
Dwight Eisenhower, remarks at the National Defense Executive Reserve Conference, November 14, 1957.

People who feel less guilt
For a helpful review of relevant studies, see Kelly McGonigal,
The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It
(New York: Avery, 2012), 147–48.

“retail therapy” to feel better
Karen J. Pine, “Report on a Survey into Female Economic Behaviour and the Emotion Regulatory Role of Spending,” University of Hertfordshire, Sheconomics Survey Report, 2009.

when people were trying to form habits
Phillippa Lally et al., “How Are Habits Formed: Modeling Habit Formation in the Real World,”
European Journal of Social Psychology
40 (2010): 998–1009.