Change is Possible

Today I read an article in The Economist describing a 10% gap in income for women who are obese vs. those who are not. Of course, discrimination on the basis of body size is terrible, and of course it is ubiquitous. But what really scared me about this article was this musing: “It also raises the question of why a great slice of humanity collectively lost control of their eating habits in the 1980s, when obesity rates began to soar in developed countries. Scientists are unsure of the answer (some point to the rise of processed foods) but they do agree that it is almost impossible to lose weight and stay smaller—and people who achieve this are far rarer than those who spend their lives trying, failing and blaming themselves.”

Oh dear.

Is anyone really unsure of why obesity took off in the 1980’s and continues to get worse? This is a question easily answered by a short stay in a metabolic ward. People started to eat a lot more, and move a lot less. Did hyper processed, super palatable foods play a role? It seems fairly obvious that they did. Did aliens kidnap the developed world and force us to eat junk food? It seems fairly obvious that they didn’t, though I suppose we shouldn’t rule anything out. It is no secret that kids who used to play outside and do things that are now considered dangerous (like climb trees and skateboard) are more likely to be found inside playing computer games or texting, while their parents are glued to the screen all day at work and glued to different screens all night at home (or the same screens all day if they work from home.) Meanwhile, the technologies of the food industry, from the science of making things taste good to advertising, combined with our evolutionary preferences for concentrated calories, have made it extremely easy and very attractive to consume a large number of calories, all day long.

Yet it is absurd, and destructive, to state that scientists agree that it is almost impossible to lose weight and stay smaller. It is quite possible to lose weight, stay at a healthy weight, or better yet, not become obese in the first place. There is a big gap between what is possible and what people actually do. Into that gap falls… perhaps you guessed it… personal choices.

I do not mean to downplay the power of environmental factors. If I were to take any stands in food policy, I would advocate for making healthier food more available, even though quite a bit of evidence has poured in in the last decade that that doesn’t work that well. Environmental factors are complicated, from a lack of decent grocery stores to the difficulty of living with people who insist on stocking the house with junk food. There is no question that the more you can control your own environment, the easier it is to make choices that correspond with your goals (whatever they are.) It can be very, very difficult to make change, any kind of change. Genetics have a huge impact on almost anything we do (our choice of cat?). But still, we make choices. Every day. Choices are the direct expression of our personal power. When we claim that we don’t have choices, we give up our personal power. And please don’t get me started on the concept of powerlessness.

If we tell people, especially women who may already be inclined to accept a lack of power, that achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is impossible, we are effectively condemning them to a lifetime of ill health. You can’t self-accept away the negative consequences of obesity any more than you can self-accept away the negative consequences of excessive use of alcohol or other drugs. Even if our minds are somehow convinced that everything is fine, the internal organs will eventually beg to differ.

I have often said that some problems are easier to solve than to talk yourself out of. If you hate your job, it may be more productive to change jobs than to convince yourself this one is okay. If your relationship isn’t working out, it might be better to break it off. If being in credit card debt does not make you happy, it might be wise to check out a book from the library about changing your spending habits and get your debt paid off.

In what area of life do we just blindly accept the impossibility of change? Our economic circumstances are very difficult to change, especially if we were not born into the white upper middle class, especially if we have demographic disadvantages, such as not being white, being female, and look, even being obese! Yet I do not see stacks of articles on poor-acceptance. We do not attempt to convince ourselves that it is just fine to have a lack of resources that is not just unpleasant, poverty is in the causal pathway of negative health outcomes. Yet with the simplest of changes, the one over which I would assert we have the most control, some are willing to accept powerlessness.

Here are two topics that I will explore in this blog, and in the upcoming podcast:

— The difference between what is possible and what is easy.

— The difference between results and process, and the importance of focusing on process.

— The importance of agency, and being self-directed.

— The danger of believing anyone without thorough investigation.

James Clear writes in great, eloquent detail about the importance of focusing on systems, not on results, when it comes to habit change. We don’t see the results we want overnight. In fact, there is usually a big lag time between a change in behavior and the achievement of the desired results. Most people give up in that gap. If you grow attached to your systems, instead of to a result, you are more likely to both achieve the result and enjoy the journey.

A lot of what I think about is systems, especially systems for doing things that appear to be difficult. Can these things be broken into simple, small steps? We often sit still, waiting for an aha moment, inspiration, or even a catastrophe to motivate us. Waiting for inspiration is one of the greatest time wasters in human history. While waiting, we may as well do something.

But what? What should we do?

I decided to start by not giving up. On much of anything.