A neuroscientist’s guide to stop sabotaging your healthy habits

It’s not you, it’s your brain

Photo by Milad Fakurian on Unsplash

Have you ever booked an exercise class or planned a run, only to find that you were too busy to go?
Or started the day with total commitment to making a healthy dinner later, only to be so knackered by evening that you reach for an ultra-processed convenience food?
Or gone out for ‘just one drink’ after work, only to wake up with raging hangxiety the next day?
Or (and all of us have done this one) fully intended to have an early night, only to get caught up in work emails or social media until waaaaay later than you realised?

Good intentions are so often sabotaged by our own impulses. And it leads to a cycle of shame and regret, making it more likely to happen again.

‘Our brains are wired to seek instant rewards, and the allure of that can override our rational decision-making processes,’ says neuroscientist Nicole Vignola, author of Rewire: Break the Cycle, Alter Your Thoughts and Create Lasting Change. ‘We often prioritise instant pleasure, despite negative consequences in the long run.’

Change is also hard because familiar habits feel safe, and our brain is always looking to chose the safest option.  

‘It’s a fear-based protection mechanism,’ says Nicole. ‘The brain doesn’t know the difference between right and wrong, it just knows what's been ingrained into the neuronal network and it associates familiarity with safety - even if familiarity isn’t serving us. Habits, whether healthy or unhealthy, provide comfort, and breaking away from them can trigger discomfort or anxiety.’

We can even fear succeeding at our goals, which sounds counterintuitive, right? Like, who would fear success? ‘It’s driven by a subconscious belief that we are not worthy of being successful, or that we won’t be able to maintain it,’ she explains. ‘This can be linked to low self-esteem or past experiences of failure.’ So we end up putting things off (‘I’ll be healthy tomorrow’) or procrastinating.  

Sure, there exist those people who appear to find healthy habits easy. But, although I don’t have stats on this, I would guess that most of us, to a greater or lesser extent, are afflicted by self-sabotage.

Accountability can be a great way to keep us on track. It’s one of the most effective ways to help my coaching clients, and it comes in many guises.
My kids are the best accountability when it comes to healthy eating: I want them to enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods, so I have to set that example - which means no more Super Noodles (bye bye butylated hydroxyanisole, it was nice while it lasted).
More obvious forms of accountability work for me too: if I’ve booked and paid for a pilates class, I’ll be there. But, if I don’t have that accountability, I often fall at the first hurdle. Which brings me to my Frugal Girl Summer. 

Like many people at the moment, I’m saving money where I can, so no longer paying for my beloved pilates and barre classes. I’m determined to get fit for free. I can make myself run three times a week, but there always seems to be something more important to do than the strength workouts that I keep saying I’ll do at home. 

Maybe I’d feel more inclined to exercise if I could drag myself away from my phone long enough for a decent night’s sleep??

I asked Nicole for ways to hack our neurobiology in four of the key areas with which people often struggle: sleep, exercise, food and drinking. Here’s her advice.

Staying up doom-scrolling despite being extremely tired?

‘Set an alarm on your phone and, when it goes off, stop scrolling. This works because our attentional resources get temporarily redirected, which can help you snap out of that loop when you’re deep in a digital hole.
Set app limits, and put your phone in a different room. It will feel uncomfortable at first, but sleep is your most important tool for health. When we sabotage our sleep, we drive our brains towards neurodegenerative disease. Choosing sleep is the ultimate way to choose long-term benefits over instant gratification.’

Always too busy for exercise?

‘Parkinson's law is the idea that work will expand to fill the time allotted for it. The issue is usually about priority rather than timing. I sometimes say: “I can't seem to prioritise exercise over work”, rather than: “I don’t have time.” Because realistically, I could get up a little earlier or get organised in my lunch break to do it.
When we change our narrative, we take back control, instead of getting caught up in our own excuses. We own it, which means that we are less likely to repeatedly offend. There will be times when work gets in the way but, generally speaking, you do have time. Make the commitment, and fit work around your exercise schedule.’ 

Reaching for ultra-processed convenience foods?

‘Our cognitive energy is a finite resource so, by the end of the day, we often want simplicity and convenience. When we’re tired, will power is depleted, and we’re more likely to go for the easy route. Reaching for ultra processed food is down to convenience, not because we enjoy it more. Planning ahead can help so, if you have a homemade stew in the freezer, it’s easier to choose that over something ultra-processed. Getting organised and having food readily available for when you get home can help you break this habit. Also, taking a 10 or 20-minute mental break can help replenish cognitive resources and re-energise you, so that you feel up to making a healthy meal at home.’

Repeatedly sliding back into over-drinking?

‘Humans don't tend to learn from negative information. When we continuously think about how imperfect we are, we’re focusing on the negative aspects of our journey. Instead, congratulate yourself on a daily basis for small wins. This releases dopamine, the molecule responsible for reward-based learning. It tells your brain what you did to feel this good so that you can do it again in future. Your brain will start to learn that not drinking makes you feel good, and congratulating yourself will reinforce that idea. Over time, you'll be able to cut back more and, when you do decide to drink (provided you’re not teetotal due to being an alcoholic), you won’t feel as guilty. Guilt keeps us in a loop of shame, creating self-sabotaging behaviours and keeping us stuck, slipping back into old patterns. This isn’t easy. We all have a tendency to hyper-focus on the negative, so sometimes we don't see how well we are doing because we’re not doing it perfectly. So take time to notice. Stop to smell the roses. Habits are not built overnight. Cutting back slowly, and reinforcing positive behaviours around that, is the key.’

One of the big challenges around behaviour change, says Nicole, is that we live in an always-on world, in which proper breaks for our brain are rare. We might think that scrolling on Instagram during our lunch hour is a ‘break’, but it isn’t. Nicole talks about ‘mental currency’, meaning the brain’s limited energy capacity and how ‘cognitive overload’ can lead to lack of focus and indecisiveness. 

So, if you’re reading this as soon as it lands in your inbox at lunchtime, could you pop out for a 10-minute, device-free walk? If you can, it will clear your head and leave you in a better place to make good decisions this afternoon.

And, if you are also trying to get fit for free this summer, do let me know how you’re getting on, and any tips you’ve found that make it easier.

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This week I’m…

Obviously reading Rewire: Break the Cycle, Alter Your Thoughts and Create Lasting Change by Nicole Vignola, which is out 9 May and available to preorder now

Quite obsessed with the drama around longevity guru David Sinclair’s fall from grace. Is this the beginning of the end of the biohacking bros?

Watching Dr Chris Van Tulleken in conversation with Joe Wicks on Instagram, to celebrate the paperback publication of his runaway best-seller Ultra Processed People

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