08 Mar How Your Phone is Making You Fat
I know, it sounds ridiculous… but it’s not.
Some of the most insidious habits are the ones that are considered normal.
Well, normal may not be the right word here. Let’s try that again:
Some of the most insidious habits are the ones that are common.
Alright. Final draft:
Some of the most insidious habits are the ones we consider common, normal, and — worst of all — acceptable.
In fact, the social acceptance of these habits is precisely what makes them so destructive.
Every time you check your phone, you’re committing a socially accepted attack against yourself.
Yes. I’m not backing down from that statement.
But let me clarify.
If you’re the rare human that has a disciplined and structured routine around how and when you use your handheld computer, then I’m not talking to you.
If that is you, kudos. Keep doing what you’re doing.
(Though I’d challenge you to fact-check your own assumptions. Are you sure that every time you pull out your phone, you’re doing so consciously? If you were to proactively plan your usage, are you sure your plan would match your current behavior?)
I’m talking to the rest of us and I’m referring specifically to the way most of us use our phones.
And lest my words seem accusatory, let me also clarify that I am absolutely guilty of both this habit and, for years, the denial of it.
So look, I’m talking about the impulsive flipping through apps we do to fill every 30 seconds of boredom in our daily lives.
It’s an extremely common habit.
Common, but not innocuous. Far from it.
Every time you check your phone, you’re committing a socially accepted attack against yourself.
And yes, every time you check your phone without thinking, you’re making yourself gain fat.
Here’s how.
So what’s the connection between the phone and the fat?
I’d guess 3 seconds. Maybe 5 at the most.
Regardless, it’s a very small amount of time that elapses between the moment you have an impulse to check your phone… and the moment you find yourself unnecessarily scrolling through email.
Every time you absentmindedly give in to the impulse to check your phone for no constructive reason — you’re establishing a habit for how you react to impulses.
You’re training yourself to skip the conscious decision and instead let yourself act out whatever impulse pops into your head.
You’re training your brain to let impulse rule your life, not decision.
Of course, your brain doesn’t limit this habit to the domain of your phone. It’s a habit of thought that gets triggered when *any* impulse enters your mind.
So then when it’s late at night, you’re not hungry, but suddenly the craving for ice cream floats across your consciousness — you act out the same habit you’ve ingrained. You skip the conscious decision and instead give in to the impulse, almost automatically.
It actually *feels* like the right thing to do in the moment because it has become familiar. It’s what you know. It’s what you’re used to.
So it’s what you do.
Every time check your phone for no constructive reason, you’re training yourself to eat another donut.
Once again — nothing wrong with donuts.
But if YOU decide that you don’t want to eat a donut and find it difficult to maintain control when the impulse arises… then that is obviously something worth addressing.
Essentially, what we’re talking about here is your own power to choose your actions in this life.
That’s probably something worth thinking about.
That’s probably a worthy enough reason to ask the question:
How am I training my brain to react to impulses all day long?
Thanks to your phone, you have an opportunity to answer that question about once every 30 seconds.
The good news is that the less control you currently have over your impulses, the more you stand to gain if you decide to face the problem head on and take action.
Just some food for thought. 🙂
If you want to take action on this, check out the Fit2Go Wellness Challenge of the Month. Details below.
Stay busy. Stay fit.
-Coach Dani
