The 66-Day Rule: Make a peace treaty with weight loss and stop declaring war on yourself.

A 2010 study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, conducted by a psychology research group at the University of London, showed that changing habits requires a significant investment of time, and that the three weeks we usually think of are far from sufficient.

The research team observed the lifestyle habits of 96 participants for 12 weeks.

The experiment first had them choose the habits they wanted to change, and then checked whether they had formed new habits over 12 weeks.

In addition, records were made regarding whether their practices were conscious or unconscious.

The habits they want to change are varied, ranging from simple to complex.

After 12 weeks, the research team collected and analyzed their data, and finally determined that it takes humans an average of 66 days to adapt to a new habit.

This means that people need at least two months to repeat a new habit for it to happen naturally.

The research team published a report stating that since changing a habit takes a long time, there is no need to feel disappointed too early or too easily.

Research indicates that changing eating and exercise habits to lose weight takes a considerable amount of time.

Therefore, do not give up or admit defeat too early, but rather acknowledge your mistakes as soon as possible and continue to persist in training to change your habits.

Don't forget, you can't achieve your weight loss goals in 2 weeks, 4 weeks, or 8 weeks.

The effects of weight loss only began to appear gradually in the 8th week.

Peace Agreement with Weight Loss

Nowadays, many people often use phrases like "a decisive battle with so-and-so" when speaking.

This is a way of expressing our firm will to solve problems.

However, it is difficult to succeed in solving problems from such a standpoint, such as the war on drugs, the war on crime, the war on cancer, and the war on poverty.

Despite the U.S. government's declaration of a fight against crime and drugs, a Pew Research Center study shows that illegal activities such as crime and drugs have actually surged over the past 30 years.

The number of people incarcerated in U.S. drug rehabilitation centers surged from 300,000 in 1980 to 2.319 million in 2007.

The greatest gift that humanity's war against disease has given us is a large supply of antibiotics.

At first, it seemed very successful, enabling us to defeat infectious diseases.

However, many experts now believe that the overuse of antibiotics can cause the human body to develop resistance to antibiotics that can kill bacteria.

War is a negative psychological process.

Actions based on this mentality will only treat the other party as an "enemy" or "evil," and will ultimately exacerbate the conflict.

The same applies to the "war against fat."

Nowadays, people of all ages and genders are waging a "war against fat." They are determined to succeed and immediately embark on this weight loss journey. However, if they regard the fat that must be eliminated as the enemy and start a "war against fat" with this mindset, they are destined to fail.

What is fatty meat?

Fatty meat is a type of fat that, along with protein and carbohydrates, is one of the three major nutrients for the human body.

Our body fat can store energy and is also a very ideal and convenient fuel for the human body.

In addition, it can protect our organs from impact, help us resist the cold in extremely harsh environments, and deliver vitamins A, D, K, and E to the body.

However, instead of appreciating the existence of "fat," one of the three essential nutrients, we regard it as an enemy. Such a negative attitude towards its existence will only lead to failure in weight loss.

Of course, the "meat" in "the war against fat" refers to excessively fattened meat.

But who caused this extra weight gain?

Would someone really threaten you with a weapon from behind just to force you to lose weight?

Ultimately, I started dieting because I was dissatisfied with myself.

Calling it a war against fat seems a bit extreme, because it's tantamount to declaring war on oneself.

Therefore, we should abandon this extreme attitude and stop forcing ourselves to lose weight excessively.

A short-term weight loss campaign will only leave you feeling physically and mentally exhausted.