To successfully change your lifestyle in a sustainable way, it is better to set modest goals and lower your expectations in order to create habits that are sustainable over the long term, rather than aiming for radical and unrealistic changes from the start.

noli's read

Dr. Julie Smith's advice is based on extremely solid foundations in behavioral psychology. A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) conducted by Graham and colleagues (2021) confirms that the 'small changes' approach is particularly effective for weight stabilization and maintaining healthy lifestyle habits. Furthermore, a large-scale controlled trial, the SNAP study, demonstrated that while radical changes lead to rapid results, they are often accompanied by a long-term rebound effect, unlike gradual modifications. In the psychology of motivation, researchers Polivy and Herman have also documented the 'what-the-hell effect,' demonstrating that initial expectations that are too rigid and high cause total abandonment of the goal after the first slip-up. Finally, routine anchoring models, such as the 'Tiny Habits' method by researcher BJ Fogg (expert opinion), confirm that lowering the level of effort required at the start is the key to sustaining a behavior without exhausting one's willpower. There is no exaggeration here: this advice to adjust one's ambitions for long-term success aligns perfectly with behavioral science.

the sources

1. 1Lally P et al. 2010
2. 2Gollwitzer PM, Sheeran P 2006