A beautiful surprise: From push-ups to the birth of micro-habits

A beautiful surprise

A simple push-up has become a full workout and extra exercise, which was already a pleasant surprise. Then I discovered an even bigger surprise-my resistance to exercise had drastically decreased. The thought of exercising no longer felt resistant. Why the resistance? Exercise had become a part of my life; I exercised a little bit every day. At that moment, I knew it was time to move on to the next step.

After doing one push-up every day for about six months, I started going to the gym. To this day, unless I'm traveling, sick, or injured, I go to the gym several times a week, and resistance is no longer an obstacle.

When push-ups became a gym habit, the changes they brought left me speechless, even though I was already pleasantly surprised (you'll understand if you see my before-and-after photos). I achieved a huge change with a small action, which showed me that I could use similar behaviors to improve all aspects of my life. I immediately set a goal to read two pages and write 50 words every day, and afterwards, my reading and writing volume skyrocketed. I had been thinking about writing a book about personal development for the past year, but hadn't been able to decide on a topic until now.

Using the method of writing 50 words a day, I wrote a book about this concept called "Micro Habits." That's right, I wrote a book called "Micro Habits" using the micro-habit strategy. When I was writing, inspiration flowed continuously, and I was excited to tell others about my discovery, but I was also afraid that no one would read it, or that no one would believe me.

Because the theory sounded absurd, but I knew it actually worked. I gathered all sorts of information about habit formation, willpower, and motivation, and finally concluded that the "one push-up theory," though seemingly ridiculous, had a scientific basis! I was even more eager to share this discovery with people because if I could explain how it works, people might believe me, try it themselves, and change their lives. *Mini Habits* was published on December 22, 2013, almost a year after I first did that life-changing push-up.

Fortunately, many people read this book. *Mini Habits* became a global bestseller, selling 125,000 copies within two years of publication, being translated into more than a dozen languages, and topping the self-help book sales charts in three countries. This was my first book, and its success reflects the success of its readers. After reading it, they used the strategies to change their lives and then shared them with others.

The micro-habit strategy differs from 99.9% of self-help motivational strategies, emphasizing consistency above all else. Some books correctly emphasize consistency, but fail to provide effective strategies to help readers achieve it. More importantly, *Micro-Habits* doesn't just tell readers to "be consistent," but also that consistency permeates every aspect of the micro-habit strategy.

What does all of this have to do with weight loss? The connection is bigger than I thought when I started writing this book. The principles of behavioral and physiological change are interconnected, and certain flawed strategies that hinder us from changing our behavior will also hinder our weight loss. For example, when people forcibly restrict their calorie intake, their weight always rebounds, just like someone who forces themselves to achieve an ambitious goal only to revert to their old lifestyle.

Why lose weight?

Being overweight is not a sin and does not diminish your value as a person, but weight can indeed affect your health and your ability to perform and enjoy various activities. Weight can also affect your self-confidence and almost every aspect of your life.

If you want to lose weight, do it for yourself. Don't lose weight because you "should be thinner" or because your BMI (Body Mass Index) must reach a certain level. There is no rule in the world that "your BMI must be between 18.5 and 25." Weight is a very superficial and incomplete measure of health. According to BMI, many extremely strong and fit people are actually overweight or even obese.

When you say you want to lose weight, what you really want is to be able to play with your kids without getting breathless, to feel happy when you look in the mirror, to make someone's eyes light up when they see you, to live a long and healthy life, to improve your overall quality of life, or simply to look good in skinny jeans. All these reasons for losing weight are fine, as long as it's for yourself.

Book Structure

This book is divided into two parts. The first part explains the content about weight loss, including currently popular weight loss methods, why these methods are ineffective, how the brain and body naturally change, what the weight loss mechanism is, and what the best weight loss method is.

The second part builds upon the conclusions of the first part, proposing various strategies. Our first focus is on the ideal mindset for weight loss: how should we view weight loss holistically? How should we approach food and health? After a thorough discussion of these questions, you will not only understand the best methods for weight loss but also gain a clearer understanding of the optimal mindset for weight loss. For example, you will know that processed foods are a major cause of weight gain, but you cannot simply ban processed foods altogether.