Breaking Bad Habits ...

I stumbled upon Charles Duhigg: How to Break a Cookie-Eating Habit. I decided that I would discuss bad habits. I have many but the worse one is red velvet cake. If I go to Starbucks , I get a red velvet whoppie pie, at Timothy's and Second cup , I'll either purchase a piece of cake or a cupcake. In order to effectively eliminate this habit of just mindlessly eating cake, I had to figure out the method to break the bad habit. The video I viewed stated that there are three components to a habit . The first thing would be the Cue  (which is a trigger for the habit to start).The second would be that is is a routine and this is the behaviour that you engage in on a consistent basis. Finally, the last component is the reward ( what it makes you feel). I went through every step and realised that when I was bored and also wanting to spend money , I always turn to fast food. I loved the cream cheese icing in the red velvet cake. So it became a psychological thing. Just seeing it triggered me wanting it. If I'd see cake mix for it I would want to buy that , no matter where I went I was at the mercy of red velvet. Arrrggh ! , It was so frustrating.  The next thing I had to figure out was my behaviour and what I'd typically do is go to any bake shop and always look for red velvet on the menu. Once I would spot it , then I'd purchase it or anytime I am bored it would be on my mind. Finally I thought, of the reward which was the taste of the cake on my tongue but also that no matter what was on my mind at the time it was temporarily distracted by having this piece of cake. Once I had these three steps down , it was no easy task eliminating this habit. I began by having a piece of fruit or Aloe Vera juice in lieu of cake. I just wanted the feeling of something sweet but it did not necessarily have to be unhealthy nor as scrumptious as a piece of red velvet.  Week after week it slowly diminished. I thought about all the calories and sugar , that I was now no longer consuming and figured out over all that it should be maybe a once in every couple of weeks thing. The last piece of red velvet I had was at the end of February , it has been several weeks. While I miss it , I still do not feel completely deprived. I feel that once you study and know the psychology behind something it definitely helps you achieve whatever your objective is. I just needed a little bit of guidance and willpower and his article definitely helped me.