‘Patterns create brain grooves’: Making habits that stick

In the latest episode of Fit Nutrition with Tania Gustafson, the nutritionist and host Jim Csek shared ways to make “good habits” stick.

“The statistics say that less than 1% of people can maintain a diet,” said Gustafson.

“Number one, they’re unreasonable. Number two, it’s trying to introduce something different into your life that wasn’t there, it’s not a habit.”

Gustafson went on to speak about the importance of gradually introducing changes to your lifestyle by creating habits and patterns.

“Patterns create brain grooves…If you think about (it), you’re pulling a wagon through the mud kind of thing, there’s soft ground and it makes a little groove and you go back and forth because you’re doing yard work and you’re doing the same thing back and forth,” explained Gustafson.

“You picture this thing. It’s kind of like a habit. You’re going back and forth doing the same thing. You create a little groove, a path and if you keep going along that path, it’s pretty easy now. The sun comes out, it dries it, and it becomes hard. You’ve got a little channel (a) little track.”

The duo then shared different small habits that can be changed that could progressively lead to more changes and be stacked with other good habits.

Gustafson challenged viewers to add intentional movements to their day by parking at the back of the parking lot, reading emails on a treadmill, etc.

Click the above video for the in-depth interview and more insights from Gustafson, including a challenge for viewers to send in messages of their successes.