I've been thinking a lot about mind-sets. We keep hearing that the AIG executives didn't realise there was anything amiss about accepting bonuses because of their mind-set,that Rick Wagoner didn't have the right mind-set to fix GM,that,ahem,newspaper folks need to get away from a print mind-set. A mind-set is not just a buzzword,says Norman Doidge,a psychiatric researcher at the University of Toronto and Columbia University. Doidge is also the author of "The Brain That Changes Itself." "Brain" explores the research into neuroplasticity: how changes in skills and behaviours are linked to physical,measurable changes in how the brain works and how we go about changing our mind-sets. "Plasticity is like snow on a hill in winter. Because it is pliable,we can take many paths if we choose to ski down that hill," Doidge says. "But because it is pliable,if we keep taking the same path,we develop tracks,and then ruts,and get stuck in them." What does this have to do with fitness? Well,over the course of three years in my early 20s,I lost 100 pounds. When the subject comes up,inevitably people ask how I did it,and they always seem a little disappointed when I say,"I ran,and I ate more carefully." I feel bad,like I should have a more elaborate answer involving a secret Tibetan meditation that burned a pound every 20 minutes,or some fat-absorbing nanobots I cobbled together in my garage. In truth,the mechanics of losing weight are simple: Exercise more,eat less. Changing my mind-set to break my bad habits and develop healthful ones was the hard part. Doidge says that self-help books about how to "rewire" the brain in 21 or 30 days don't work. It usually takes a significant crisis to block an old mind-set and allow a new one to develop. So how was I able to do it? Change in routine: To unlearn a negative mind-set or to develop a more healthful behaviour,it can be helpful to associate it with another change in your life. Change in situation weakens a mind-set that has become accustomed to a certain context. "Doctors used to recommend people go on vacations to deal with a number of ailments,in part because they observed that getting out of a routine allowed people to unlearn certain behaviours," Doidge says. For me,the most significant weight loss came after other changes in my routine: relocating across the country for an internship,leaving college for a new job,going from working days to nights. My time became more structured,I had fewer distractions,and it was easier to incorporate exercise as a regular part of my routine. And while I would not recommend unemployment as a weight-loss scheme,my most successful two-month span was the two months I was out of work in 2001. Not only did I have plenty of time to exercise,I was so paranoid about going broke that I ate the bare minimum. Getting a second opinion: Psychiatrists believe that in order for us to function,our brains have to map the world around us into some kind of order,including our own places in it. We develop emotional attachments to that order and resist any changes to it,even after it is clear that it is no longer accurate. Problem is,people don't get attached only to beneficial conditions. For instance,if you hold certain views about your body,those views can stay with you even when they no longer match your actual body. "One can be judged beautiful by one's peers,but it may not match one's own body image," Doidge says. "Marilyn Monroe who suffered a lot of trauma as a child didn't find herself attractive." Even after I had lost most of the weight and despite the evidence on the scale,in my mind I was still fat. I couldn't change my perception. Then I flew home 60 pounds lighter and the jaws of my cousins,who had come to pick me up at the airport,dropped open. That's when it started to sink in. It's those reactions from others that boost your confidence and help your catch up to your new reality. Remember that it gets easier: While there's an emotional component to a mind-set,there's also a neurological function. Routines lead to the firing of the same set of neurons in a certain sequence. That makes the neurons stronger and increases comfort with the routine. "Because ours is a use-it-or-lose-it brain and brain plasticity is competitive,any coalition of neurons that is fired frequently becomes faster than all others." Doidge says. "And the more we use a mind-set,the more automatic and unconscious it becomes." It took me about three years to lose the weight,with a significant plateau between the first 40 and the final 60. I changed what I ate (more whole grains and lean protein) when I ate (breakfast is the most important meal) and I exercised. Repetition made the routine easier to sustain,and made it easier for me to continue to keep the weight off.
