Paleo + Habits = Success²
What gives?
Psychologists have found that when personal resources are low,
“people are unable to deliberatively choose or inhibit responses, and they become locked into repeating their habits. Thus, depletion increases habit performance.”
Dr. BJ Fogg, Director of the Persuasive Tech Lab at Stanford University runs Tiny Habits. He writes:
I’ve studied human behavior for 18 years, mostly at Stanford University. Here’s what I’ve learned: Only three things will change behavior in the long term.
Option A. Have an epiphany
Option B. Change your environment (what surrounds you)
Option C. Take baby steps
There are three things you need to instill a habit:
This is the hard part.
Until…
Learn from experience
Ask yourself:
- What tees them up? A particular time, a sound on your phone, or day of the week? Or a preceding activity such as getting out of bed, spying your gym bag on the floor or because you are at a stop sign? (I drink from my water bottle at every stop sign or light.)
- What is the reward? The simple sense of satisfaction gained from accomplishment, the endorphin high of a workout, or do you give yourself a treat of some kind?
Then identify:
- The new behavior you want to instill
- The trigger for the new behavior
- The reward you will get, or give yourself, after performing the new behavior
Top Tip:
BJ Fogg advocates using an existing established habit as the trigger for the new one. As in, when you’ve finished cleaning your teeth at night-time (regular habit), do a set of T-Tapp Hoe Downs (new habit).
My experience
One of the most important habits I’ve had to cultivate in my own paleo journey is to cook homemade food 100% of the time. I learned that I could do this as long as I did the following:
Sunday:
- Trigger: 7:30am
- Behavior: Plan weekly meals, write shopping list, shop Whole Foods outer section
- Reward: Cup of tea, put my feet up for a few minutes, sense of relief(!)
Daily:
- Trigger: Return to the house from school drop-off
- Behavior: Prepare family dinner, check meal plan for following day, pull out food from freezer to thaw
- Reward: The reduction in mind clutter and ability to concentrate on longer term projects
Rinse, repeat
I remember the first time I shopped the outer section of the grocery store it took me three and a half hours. It took commitment and motivation.
Now it takes me 30 minutes max.
The conscious, decision-making process was HARD, but now it is routine, and I no longer have to think about it. Motivation isn’t necessary, and if I take a wrong turn and find myself down the cereal aisle, it just feels plain weird.
As Sarah Ballantyne, The Paleo Mom says:
It’s only effort until it’s routine.
So.
Work out those habits you have successfully established and identify a new one. Go through the process outlined above to work it into your life.
How long can you go?
One day’s miss doesn’t appear to derail a habit. But more? Hmm. At your own risk.
28 days?
Maybe. It depends. It is an urban myth that it takes 21/28/30 days to establish a habit. It can take more or less depending on your unique situation. Research shows that it takes on average 66 days to form a habit so don’t set your expectations too low.
Additional Resources:
- The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, Charles Duhrigg
- Making Habits, Breaking Habits, Jeremy Dean
- BJ Fogg: Tiny Habits, Behavior Grid
- The Habit Change Cheatsheet: 29 Ways to Successfully Ingrain a Behavior, Leo Babauta
- Chains.cc: website and app to record and track habit formation
What habits have you successfully instilled to succeed with paleo? How long did it take you? What do you think is most important when making a long-term behavior change? Tell us in the comments!
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Are you struggling to sustain a paleo lifestyle change? Or not sure how to start? Or perhaps those around you are resistant and you’re feeling undermined and unsure. The Modern, No-Nonsense Guide to Paleo provides practical tools to ease the transition to a full-on paleo life. Each chapter includes strategies, tips and checklists to identify the actions to power you on your paleo journey and create sustainable change. Buy it at Amazon.com.

Are you struggling to sustain a paleo lifestyle change? Or not sure how to start? Or perhaps those around you are resistant and you’re feeling undermined and unsure. The Modern, No-Nonsense Guide to Paleo provides practical tools to ease the transition to a full-on paleo life. Each chapter includes strategies, tips and checklists to identify the actions to power you on your paleo journey and create sustainable change. Buy it at Amazon.com.