Build healthy eating habits with this quick and fun brain hack

Can you trick your brain to build healthy eating habits? This brain hack will help you eat better. And feel better about yourself.

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Can celebrating your wins help you eat more broccoli and fewer cookies?

Will yesterday’s “You go, Jill,” get me to jog a little farther today even though sweat is dripping from my hair into my eyes?

And will scolding yourself for eating a double scoop of mint chocolate chip stop you from ordering it next time your family heads to the ice cream shop?

I say yes to the first two and no to the scolding. Here’s why.

Positive emotions help build healthy eating habits

– but also bad habits

I understood this concept intuitively long before I became a student of positive behavior change. That’s why I never introduced my children to free cookies in the grocery store (their happiness would make them beg for a cookie next time) and why I never allowed myself to dip my hand into the office candy jar. Too dangerous. If I have a couple chocolate kisses on Monday, won’t I want them on Tuesday? And Wednesday?

As I reread BJ Fogg’s excellent book Tiny Habits recently, I understood at a deeper level how emotions make us do something over and over – even if it’s not good for us. It’s how I got hooked on checking my work email waaaaay too often (ugh). And it’s why I eat tons of vegetables (yay).

In chapter 5, Dr. Fogg tells of someone restless in bed, worrying about a big work project. She tortures herself with thoughts of all the problems that could slow the project down and what disaster emails she might wake up to. Unable to sleep and unable to calm her panicky mind, she grabs her phone and taps the mail icon.

Whew! With enormous relief, she sees no disturbing emails. The phone goes back on the nightstand and she finally falls asleep.

So what do you think will happen next time she worries in the middle of the night about bad news emails? She’ll likely grab her phone to see what’s waiting for her. A bad habit is set.

It happened to me

But not in the middle of the night. Fortunately, I’m a good sleeper. But I’ve had the absurd habit of checking my work email a gazillion times a day. In fact, I’ve probably checked my email at least twice since starting this blog post.

It started years ago when I worried I wouldn’t respond quickly enough to my editors’ emails. I’d tap the mail icon and feel relief because there’s nothing urgent. Or I’d tap the mail icon and feel relief because I was able to respond to my editor so quickly. Relief.

Relief – a positive emotion – is what formed my bad habit.

Pride is why I fill myself with so many vegetables. This good habit started in my third year of college – long before email was even a thing.

I discovered the superpowers of non-starchy vegetables like cauliflower, carrots, and green beans. I ate tons of them, didn’t feel hungry, and managed my weight. And I felt proud of myself when I ate a second plate of salad or another serving of zucchini instead of reaching for bread or pasta. Soon, eating lots of veggies was my habit. It still is.

Emotions reinforce behavior

Relief led me to check my email too often, and pride led me to eat lots of veggies.

Here’s how Dr. Fogg explains it.

“By feeling good at the right moment, you cause your brain to recognize and encode the sequence of behaviors you just performed. In other words, you can hack your brain to create a habit by celebrating and self-reinforcing.

The time has come to say ‘hello’ to feeling good.”

Feel all the good feels

Just like pride helped me form a good eating habit, I can design any number of good habits with a positive feeling.

Some people resist a little celebration dance because it feels silly, but not me. I embrace my silly side. The hard part is remembering to summon up positive feelings.

2 steps to build healthy eating and living habits like a superstar

1. Do the activity you want to become habitual. Eat fruit for dessert. Walk after breakfast. Take your blood pressure medication before bed.
2. Celebrate immediately! No matter how silly it feels, call out those good feelings with your version of a happy dance.
   • smile big
   • give yourself a thumbs up
   • say “you go girl!” (a personal favorite)
   • stand in a victory pose
   • say “nailed it.”
   • hop up and down
   • throw imaginary confetti

That’s it! The keys are to celebrate right away because your brain won’t remember the behavior if you wait too long and to really feel the feels. It’s good to say “go me,” but if you don’t feel it, it won’t work.

And this is the reason, I said to myself, “you go girl” and “look at you Jill” over and over while willing myself to keep jogging no matter how hot and humid Virginia feels. Instead of heading home, I turned left to do one more loop through my neighborhood. And as I did, I patted myself on my back. And every time I remembered that I was huffing and puffing the longer route, I praised myself with a “you go girl” or “you’re doing it, Jill!” That’s pride at work.

Why scolding yourself doesn’t work

You can’t form a habit with negative emotions. Shame, guilt, and remorse simply make you feel lousy about yourself. Instead of self-loathing, use negative emotions to decide what you do want. Learn how negative self-talk ruins your success and what you can do instead.

If you need a habit refresher, here are 5 steps to build habits even if you lack discipline.

Ready to take action?

• Jot down a few small habits you’re struggling with
• Brainstorm ways to celebrate and feel the feels when you do the action
• Pick one action and do it
• Celebrate!
• Repeat

Here’s my action plan

When I catch myself obsessively checking my work email, I’ll gently call myself back to what I was doing prior. And I’ll celebrate with a little fist pump or a “you’re rocking it!”

BJ Fogg’s Tiny Habits method is so much more than my short description. Learn more on his site.

Don’t forget to high-five yourself next time you eat a double portion of broccoli or walk past the cookie jar without dipping your hand in! You’re rocking it!!

If you struggle to maintain good eating habits, you might be making 1 of these super common mistakes. Download the free guide.

Stop making these 5 common mistakes and start rocking your health goals.

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