Dr. Oz: Quit Bad Habits
Dr. Oz talked about how to quit bad habits with the help of Dr. Kelly McGonigal. She said that people often focus on what they’re giving up. They don’t focus on what they’re saying yes to.
Dr. Oz: Quit Biting Nails
Dr. Oz talked to Dr. Kelly McGonigal about how we can quit bad habits by delaying temptation, loading up on energy, and embracing stress. (tippingthescales / flickr)
Dr. McGonigal said anyone can benefit from her plan, no matter what their bad health habit is. Caitlyn came by Dr. Oz she kept her hands nicely manicured for four years because she used to have a lifelong problem with biting her nails.
She’s had a lot of success finding her “want power”, which is Dr. McGonigal’s phrase for discovering why you want to give something up and living that truth.
Dr. Oz: Load Up On Energy
First, you have to “fill up the tank” of your willpower. It takes a lot of energy to quit something. When your blood sugar is low or erratic, it’s harder to resist temptation. That’s why when you’re sleep deprived or drink alcohol, your self-control is lowered.
So it’s important to give yourself energy all the time to encourage your willpower. Good choices include half a banana, grapes, raisins, and applesauce. Eat these when you feel the urge for the thing you’re giving up.
Dr. Oz: Delay Temptation
When you’re feeling temptation, pause and delay for a few minutes. Even if you tell yourself that you’ll give in, just wait a little bit. The pause can sometimes be enough to calm down the craving in the brain.
For biting nails, you might want to put gloves on or get some fake nails. These help prevent you from seeing the imperfections of your nails and prevent you from biting them.
For smoking, you might want to hang out with non-smokers or go to a place where you can’t smoke, like the movie theater.
Dr. Oz: Say Yes to Stress
Dr. McGonigal said that every bad habit is a way to avoid or escape stress. If you want to transform your bad habits, you need to transform your relationship to stress. This will help you stop avoiding or suppressing stress. If you start to think about how stress can be a good thing, you can transfer the conversation in your head. A pounding pulse or anxiety can tell you that there’s motivation for something. Embrace it instead of avoiding it. The stress can be a fuel for your want power.
Dr. McGonigal’s new book is called The Upside of Stress: Why Stress is Good For You and How to Get Good at It and it’s out now.
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