Thinking Small and StickKing to it!

Yesterday, I mentioned my new obsession, StickK.com.  I thought I'd give a little background on how I got there.

A few weeks ago, I was listening to Freakonomics Radio.  This terrific podcast by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner picks up where the two authors' bestselling book left off, interviewing scholars and writers in the fields of psychology, behavioral economics and the like to get to the weird stuff about why we do what we do.  They get lots of interesting guests, and it always makes entertaining drivetime listening (make that a "three-fah!).

Anyway, on this particular episode, they were interviewing two other behaviorists, Owain Service and Rory Gallagher of Great Britain's Behavoiural Insights Team (aka, "The Nudge Unit") about their new book Think Small.

The idea of the Nudge Unit is to apply the latest research about behavioral (or should I say, 'behavioural') psychology to government policy.  They study problems like how to get people to pay their taxes on time, suggest specific policies to help encourage folks (beyond the old carrot-and-stick) and then measure the results.  It's a fascinating interview, and when I thought about how much of my day I spend trying to cajole my (tenured, job-secure, overworked) faculty to do difficult things like, oh, getting their grades in on time, I couldn't wait to check it out.

I'm a complete sucker for books like this.  But what really sealed it was that during the interview, Service mentioned how he used the process outlined in the book to give up what the British call "middle-class drinking." That is, having a beer or a glass of wine after work, or during dinner, simply out of habit.

When I heard this, I had one of those "aha" moments.  I knew all about insulin resistance and its link to weight gain, and I know about how carbs, stress, and lack of sleep can all raise insulin, but somehow I'd always had a blind spot for how my relaxing evening tipple (which is full of sugar, messes with my sleep, and therefore leads to more stress in my life), might be the missing piece in my weight loss puzzle.  It all came together -- I ran out, grabbed the book, and found that one chapter referenced stickK.com as incorporating a number of the elements that lead to goal attainment.  Boom.  Dropped the book, clicked on the site, and here I am.

So, my low-carb journey has also become a low-al journey.  Stealing the wording from Service, I wrote my commitment in such a way that if my brother or a friend calls on a Thursday and says, "Hey, let's grab a beer," I don't have to be like "But if I do that all the baby seals will die..." which would lead to some uncomfortable conversations. Still, following this one rule will cut down probably 80% of my boozing opportunities (kind of an 80/20, I guess), so I'm hoping it will have a big effect in the long run.

Follow me on stickK.com, if you want to keep tabs on me and support my journey.  Hope to see you there!