How I Lost 15 Lbs, Increased My Plank…and Got a Summer Internship?
I started my quarantining days with two goals: lose weight and improve my physical endurance. More important than the outcome was the process — I wanted to eat better, run more often, and strengthen my core.
But many of these habits felt hard to work towards while in lockdown! I’ve always found it difficult to start and maintain a new habit unless someone’s keeping me accountable. I love apps and have tried habit trackers like Habitify and Productive before, but they always end up collecting dust on my screen within a week.
This March, I stumbled across a simple habit tracker that helps you build habits with friends and family. And now I work on it! I’ve been using SnapHabit for about 3 months now to track my weight, running, and plank holds. Here are the results:
Since I started the three habits, I’ve lost over 15 lbs (164 lbs → 148 lbs). I’ve decreased my 4-kilometre running duration from 22.3 to 19.6 mins. And I have increased my plank hold from 67 sec to 106 over 2 months, a near 60% improvement. I used James Clear’s ‘3 R’s of Habit Change’ to stick to these habits and accumulate progress:
1. Reminder
(the trigger that initiates the behaviour)
I’ve found habit updates I receive from my other friends to be great cues to work on my own habits. Every time a friend logs onto the app, SnapHabit notifies me and encourages me to mark my own habits.
Even further, I get notified of any notes that friends add so that I can chat with them on the app about their progress.
2. Routine
(the behaviour itself; the action you take)
I’ve relied on several behavioural science principles to trick myself into working on my habits:
Habit Stacking
Here’s the stack I built: “After running for 20 mins at 7 pm, I will hold planks for a second longer than last time. After doing my planks, I will log both habits on the app”. This works great to make sure I don’t skip planks out of laziness! Another stack I use is “I will measure my weight every Tuesday as soon as I wake up. After measuring, I will log my weight on the app.” For each stack, I use implementation intentions to make sure I follow through (“I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]”).
Note-taking + Graphs
I take notes on my runs and planks to document my progress and keep myself more accountable. I find that notes are very effective for habits where progress outweighs completion. SnapHabit also has a cool feature to auto-generate graphs if I start my notes with a number. Combining note-taking with graphs help me track metrics for habits and view my all-time performance trend. Check out some of the notes I added for my plank hold and the resulting graph:
The 1% Principle
“If you get one percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done” — James Clear
This has been my go-to mantra to make sure I’m not only sticking to new habits but actually making progress on them. I use the 1% improvements principle by holding my plank for a second longer than the last time. The improvements compound over time to result in astounding changes!
3. Reward
(the benefit you gain from doing the behaviour)
I love daily showers. I find them very effective in uplifting my mood and clearing my mind. So I decided to reward myself by showering only after I complete my run! There are days where I don’t feel like exercising but only do so because the post-run showers are blissfully endorphin-rich. (reward aside, it’s probably a good idea to shower anyways 😉)
If post-run showers ever lose their appeal, I can always reward myself with something more enticing! This snippet from NoneToRun gives some great examples on how to make running a habit:
“With our exercise example, you might get done working out and treat yourself to a (healthy) snack or maybe schedule a post-workout rest session by watching an episode of your favourite TV show. Some people derive enough reward from the exercise itself (e.g., “runner’s high”), which acts as powerful reinforcement for their habit. Whatever you do, be sure to incorporate a healthy reward into your habit routine.”
I also just enjoy logging on SnapHabit. Every time I break a new record, my friends get notified of my progress and often text me encouragements. The app makes habit tracking fun and social!
Building better habits with friends has drastically improved my days in lockdown. The best part: I get to intern at a company where I love using the very app that I’m working on!
