Books — Health

Health

The Pocket Guide to the DSM-5(TM) Diagnostic Exam

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Author: Abraham M. Nussbaum

Designed for interviewers at all levels of experience, The Pocket Guide to the DSM-5 Diagnostic Exam is the clinician s companion for using DSM-5 in diagnostic interviews. Beginning with an introduction to the diagnostic interview, the Pocket Guide addresses the goals of the interview, provides an efficient structure for learning how to conduct one, reviews the screening questions, and then explains the ways in which DSM-5, with its updated approaches to diagnosis and classification, impacts the interview going forward. Significant revisions from DSM-IV-TR® to DSM-5 are reviewed. The final chapter, the core of the guide, walks the reader through a complete diagnostic exam that includes the follow-up questions for each of the DSM-5 disorder classes. The book is useful for beginners learning the format and flow of the diagnostic interview and for seasoned clinicians conducting an interview consistent with the significant revisions reflected in DSM-5. Not intended to replace DSM-5 itself or psychiatric interview texts, The Pocket Guide to the DSM-5 Diagnostic Exam is a pragmatic and concise resource for diagnosing a person in mental distress while establishing a therapeutic relationship.

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The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

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Author: Stephen R. Covey
Brand: Franklin Covey

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen R. Covey presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. With penetrating insights and pointed anecdotes, Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity--principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change was a groundbreaker when it was first published in 1990, and it continues to be a business bestseller with more than 10 million copies sold. Stephen Covey, an internationally respected leadership authority, realizes that true success encompasses a balance of personal and professional effectiveness, so this book is a manual for performing better in both arenas. His anecdotes are as frequently from family situations as from business challenges. Before you can adopt the seven habits, you'll need to accomplish what Covey calls a "paradigm shift"--a change in perception and interpretation of how the world works. Covey takes you through this change, which affects how you perceive and act regarding productivity, time management, positive thinking, developing your "proactive muscles" (acting with initiative rather than reacting), and much more. This isn't a quick-tips-start-tomorrow kind of book. The concepts are sometimes intricate, and you'll want to study this book, not skim it. When you finish, you'll probably have Post-it notes or hand-written annotations in every chapter, and you'll feel like you've taken a powerful seminar by Covey. --Joan Price

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Wheat Belly Cookbook: 150 Recipes to Help You Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health

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Author: William Davis

This cookbook companion to the New York Times bestseller Wheat Belly serves up 150 great tasting wheat-free recipes to help readers lose weight and beat disease.

Wheat Belly shook the foundations of the diet world when author and renowned cardiologist William Davis revealed that an epidemic of adverse health effects—ranging from minor rashes and high blood sugar to the buildup of stubborn belly fat (so-called "wheat bellies")—could be banished forever with one simple step: Saying goodbye to wheat. The Wheat Belly Cookbook takes readers to the next level with over 150 fresh and delicious wheatless recipes, including Breakfast Quesadillas, Braised Pot Roast with Vegetables, velvety Peanut Butter Pie—and surprising wheat-free hits like Blueberry French Toast, Bruschetta Chicken on Angel Hair, Spaghetti Bolognese and velvety Scones.

Additionally, readers will also learn how to:

Dodge symptoms of "wheat withdrawal" experienced by about 10 percent of dieters, ensuring a smooth transition to this new healthy eating plan
Set up their wheat-free kitchen, including important prep techniques, shopping lists, and strategies to get the whole family on board

Avoid regaining a wheat belly while eating out at restaurants and parties—plus exciting meal ideas guests will love

See Recipes from Wheat Belly Cookbook

Mini Pizzas (Click here for the recipe)

Reuben Sandwich (Click here for the recipe)

Chocolate Frosted Yellow Cake (Click here for the recipe)

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The End of Diabetes: The Eat to Live Plan to Prevent and Reverse Diabetes

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Author: Joel Fuhrman

The New York Times bestselling author of Eat to Live and Super Immunity and one of the country’s leading experts on preventive medicine offers a scientifically proven, practical program to prevent and reverse diabetes—without drugs.

At last, a breakthrough program to combat the rising diabetes epidemic and help millions of diabetics, as well as those suffering with high blood pressure and heart disease. Dr. Joel Fuhrman, the research director of the nutritional research project of the National Health Association, shows you how to live a long, healthy, and happy life—disease free. He offers a complete health transformation, starting with a diet with a high nutrient-per-calorie ratio that can be adapted for individual needs.

Dr. Fuhrman makes clear that we don’t have to “control” diabetes. Patients can choose to follow better nutritional guidelines that will control it for them, even before they have lost excess weight. The end result is a medical breakthrough—a comprehensive reversal of the disease. 

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Practical Paleo: A Customized Approach to Health and a Whole-Foods Lifestyle

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Author: Diane Sanfilippo

Our great-grandmothers didn't need nutrition lessons—then again, they weren't forced to wade through aisle after aisle of packaged foods touting outlandish health claims and confusing marketing jargon. Over the last few decades, we've forgotten what "real food" is—and we're left desperately seeking foods that will truly nourish our bodies. We're disillusioned with the "conventional wisdom" for good reason—it's gotten us nowhere.

Achieving optimal health without calorie-counting, diet foods, or feelings of deprivation has never been easier. Practical Paleo explains why avoiding both processed foods and foods marketed as "healthy"—like grains, legumes, and pasteurized dairy—will improve how you look and feel and lead to lasting weight loss. Even better—you may reduce or completely eliminate symptoms associated with common health disorders!

Practical Paleo is jam-packed with over 120 easy recipes, all with special notes about common food allergens including nightshades and FODMAPs. Meal plans are also included, and are designed specifically to support:

immune health (autoimmune conditions)
blood sugar regulation (diabetes 1 & 2, hypoglycemia)
digestive health (leaky gut, IBS & IBD)
multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndromethyroid health (hypo and hyper - Hashimotos, Graves)
heart health (cholesterol & blood pressure)
neurological health (Parkinson's & Alzheimer's)
cancer recovery
fat loss
athletic performance
a "squeaky-clean" Paleo approach

Practical Paleo is the resource you'll reach for again and again, whether you're looking for information on healthy living, delicious recipes, or easy-to-understand answers to your questions about how a Paleo lifestyle can benefit you, your family, and your friends.

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Outliers: The Story of Success

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Author: Malcolm Gladwell

In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?

His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.

Brilliant and entertaining, Outliers is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.

Amazon Best of the Month, November 2008: Now that he's gotten us talking about the viral life of ideas and the power of gut reactions, Malcolm Gladwell poses a more provocative question in Outliers: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential? Challenging our cherished belief of the "self-made man," he makes the democratic assertion that superstars don't arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: "they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot." Examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, "some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky."

Outliers can be enjoyed for its bits of trivia, like why most pro hockey players were born in January, how many hours of practice it takes to master a skill, why the descendents of Jewish immigrant garment workers became the most powerful lawyers in New York, how a pilots' culture impacts their crash record, how a centuries-old culture of rice farming helps Asian kids master math. But there's more to it than that. Throughout all of these examples--and in more that delve into the social benefits of lighter skin color, and the reasons for school achievement gaps--Gladwell invites conversations about the complex ways privilege manifests in our culture. He leaves us pondering the gifts of our own history, and how the world could benefit if more of our kids were granted the opportunities to fulfill their remarkable potential. --Mari Malcolm

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VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good

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Author: Mark Bittman

“I live full-time in the world of omnivores, and I’ve never wanted to leave. But the Standard American Diet (yes, it’s SAD) got to me as it gets to almost everyone in this country.”

Six years ago, an overweight, pre-diabetic Mark Bittman faced a medical directive: adopt a vegan diet or go on medication. He was no fan of a lifelong regimen of pills, but as a food writer he lived—and worked—to eat. So neither choice was appealing.

His solution was a deal with himself. He would become a “flexitarian.” He adopted a diet heavy in vegetables, fruits, and grains by following a healthy vegan diet (no meat, dairy, or processed foods) all day. After 6:00 p.m. he’d eat however he wanted, though mostly in moderation. Beyond that, his plan involved no gimmicks, scales, calorie counting, or point systems. And there were no so-called forbidden foods—he ate mostly home-cooked meals that were as varied and satisfying as they were delicious, but he dealt with the realities of the office and travel and life on the run as best he could.

He called this plan Vegan Before 6:00 (VB6 for short), and the results were swift and impressive. Best of all, they proved to be lasting and sustainable over the long haul. Bittman lost 35 pounds and saw all of his blood numbers move in the right direction.

Using extensive scientific evidence to support his plan, the acclaimed cookbook author and food policy columnist shows why his VB6 approach succeeds when so many other regimens not only fail, but can actually lead to unwanted weight gain.

He then provides all the necessary tools for making the switch to a flexitarian diet: lists for stocking the pantry, strategies for eating away from home in a variety of situations, pointers for making cooking on a daily basis both convenient and enjoyable, and a complete 28-day eating plan showing VB6 in action. Finally, Bittman provides more than 60 recipes for vegan breakfasts, lunches, and snacks, as well as non-vegan dinners that embrace the spirit of a vegetable- and grain-forward diet.

If you’re one of the millions who have thought of trying a vegan diet but fear it’s too monotonous or unfamiliar, or simply don’t want to give up the foods you love to eat, VB6 will introduce a new, flexible, and quite simply better way of eating you can really live with . . . for life.

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The Fast Metabolism Diet: Eat More Food and Lose More Weight

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Author: Haylie Pomroy

Haylie Pomroy has helped countless clients lose up to 20 pounds in just 4 weeks –all through the fat-burning power of food. Hailed as “the metabolism whisperer,” Haylie reminds us that food is not the enemy, it’s the rehab needed to rev-up your sluggish, broken-down metabolism and turn your body into a fat-burning furnace.

On this plan you’re going to eat a lot. You’re going to eat three full meals and at least two snacks a day – and you’re still going to lose weight. What you’re not going to do is count a single calorie or fat gram. You’re going not to ban entire food groups. You’re not going to go carb-free or vegan or go cold turkey on the foods you love. Instead, you’re going to rotate what you’re eating throughout each week according to a simple and proven plan carefully designed to induce precise physiological changes that will set your metabolism on fire.

Phase I (Monday-Tuesday): Lots of carbs and fruits
Phase II (Wednesday-Thursday): Lots of proteins and veggies
Phase III (Friday-Sunday): All of the above, plus healthy fats and oils

By keeping your metabolism guessing in this specific and deliberate way, you’ll get it working faster. This isn’t just a theory, it’s the results-based product of Haylie Pomroy’s successful programs. It’s worked for celebrities, for athletes, and for people with chronic illnesses who need to lose weight, doctor’s orders. Now it’s going to work for you.

In 4 weeks not only will you see the weight fall off, you’ll also see your cholesterol drop, your blood sugar stabilize, your energy increase, your sleep improve, and your stress dramatically reduce. All thanks to the miraculous power of real, delicious, satisfying food!

Plus, by switching up what you’re eating every few days, you’ll get to enjoy a greater variety of foods, so your palate will never feel bored or deprived. Complete with 4 weeks of meal plans and over 50 recipes – including vegetarian, organic, and gluten-free options – this is the silver bullet for the chronic dieter who has tried every fad diet and failed, the first time dieter attempting to kick her metabolism into gear, and anyone who wants to naturally and safely eat her way to a skinner, healthier self.

Q&A with Haylie Pomroy

Q. Why is metabolism so important?

A. First of all, metabolism isn’t a thing—it’s a process! It’s how your body converts food into either fuel or body substance (muscle, fat, bone, blood). If you have a fast metabolism, your body easily processes nutrients into heat and energy, or into creating a strong body. If you’ve got a slow metabolism, you’re storing—instead of burning—and more of your food ends up stuck to your thighs and belly as fat. The good news is that you can CHANGE your metabolism by eating the right foods.

Q. In the book you talk about the importance of switching up what you eat and how it can help you lose weight. Can you explain?

A. To start fixing your broken-down metabolism and lose weight, you’ve got to re-train it: You have to confuse it to lose it. And by eating the right nutrient-dense whole foods on the right days and at the right times, that’s exactly how you’ll get your metabolism burning fast and hot, like it should be.

It sounds like magic, but it’s really just good, solid science. The book is the product of 20 years of clinical experience, of helping people lose weight and keep it off. It’s worked for my clients—many of them athletes and celebrities—and it can work for you too. Each phase of the diet—and the specific foods within that phase—sets off precise reactions in your body, coaxing it to unlock and burn fat. It’s the constant switcheroo that forces your metabolism to get going again!

Phase One focuses on fruit and whole grains
Phase Two emphasizes alkalizing veggies and lean proteins
Phase Three balances proteins, veggies, fruit, and whole grains, plus healthy fats

Q. And I don’t have to count calories?

A. Nope! Your metabolism doesn't count calories and neither should you, as long as you follow the diet's guidelines for which foods to eat and when to eat them. A "calorie" has nothing to do with your weight or metabolism; it's actually a unit of measure—the amount of energy it takes to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius!

Q. Is this diet really for everybody?

A. The Fast Metabolism lifestyle is the way we SHOULD be eating all the time, not just for the 28-day course of the diet! With The Fast Metabolism Diet, you'll learn healthy eating habits that will improve your physical and mental well-being, no matter how much weight you need to lose. There's plenty of flexibility for working around food allergies or sensitivities, and any other restrictions imposed by medical conditions.

Q. So you're saying real food, not processed is the way to go?

A. We eat only real food on the Fast Metabolism Diet. Nothing fake, nothing with an ingredient list as long as your arm. Fat-free and sugar-free diet junk are off the table too. The diet lists healthy portion sizes too—you’ve got to fuel that metabolism. And you won’t go hungry. In fact, many of my clients are surprised how much food they get to eat.

So say bye-bye to frozen low-cal dinners and fat-free “diet” foods. That’s fake food—it’s just a load of chemicals that drag down your metabolism.

Luckily, real food is really pretty easy. The Fast Metabolism Diet book includes more than 50 super-simple recipes—including family favorites like my Slow-Cooker Chili and Pepperoncini Pork Roast—that you can tailor to your preferences and cooking style.

Q. So what happens after I've reached my goal?

A. Learn how to live the Fast Metabolism lifestyle! Once you create your fast metabolism, you get to use it! Enjoy barbecues, birthday parties, holiday feasts—and really enjoy them. With the Fast Metabolism Diet, you’ll learn how to keep that metabolic fire roaring so you can handle every diet curve life throws your way. By the time you hit your goal weight, you'll have built exactly the habits you need to live a balanced, food-loving life. You don't have to follow the phases anymore (although you can). Just follow the diet's rules for maintenance and remember the true meaning of "DIET": Did I Eat Today?

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What to Expect When You're Expecting, 4th Edition

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Author: Heidi Murkoff
Brand: Workman Publishing

Announcing a brand new, cover-to-cover revision of America's pregnancy bible. What to Expect When You're Expecting is a perennial New York Times bestseller and one of USA Today's 25 most influential books of the past 25 years. It's read by more than 90% of pregnant women who read a pregnancy book--the most iconic, must-have book for parents-to-be, with over 14.5 million copies in print.

Now comes the Fourth Edition, a new book for a new generation of expectant moms--featuring a new look, a fresh perspective, and a friendlier-than-ever voice. It's filled with the most up-to-date information reflecting not only what's new in pregnancy, but what's relevant to pregnant women. Heidi Murkoff has rewritten every section of the book, answering dozens of new questions and including loads of new asked-for material, such as a detailed week-by-week fetal development section in each of the monthly chapters, an expanded chapter on pre-conception, and a brand new one on carrying multiples. More comprehensive, reassuring, and empathetic than ever, the Fourth Edition incorporates the most recent developments in obstetrics and addresses the most current lifestyle trends (from tattooing and belly piercing to Botox and aromatherapy). There's more than ever on pregnancy matters practical (including an expanded section on workplace concerns), physical (with more symptoms, more solutions), emotional (more advice on riding the mood roller coaster), nutritional (from low-carb to vegan, from junk food–dependent to caffeine-addicted), and sexual (what's hot and what's not in pregnant lovemaking), as well as much more support for that very important partner in parenting, the dad-to-be.

Overflowing with tips, helpful hints, and humor (a pregnant woman's best friend), this new edition is more accessible and easier to use than ever before. It's everything parents-to-be have come to expect from What to Expect... only better.

Amazon.com Exclusive
An Essay from Heidi Murkoff

What to Expect started with information--or, actually, lack of information. In fact, when I found out I was expecting for the first time--I didn't have the slightest idea of what to expect. And back then, it wasn't as easy to find out what to expect as you'd think. I created What to Expect When You're Expecting because I couldn't find the answers to my questions or the reassurance for my worries that I was searching for in the pregnancy books I read (and believe me, I read plenty). I was a mom on a mission--a mission to help other moms and dads worry less and enjoy their pregnancies (and their babies, and their toddlers) more. And I've been on that mission ever since.

So what sent me back to recreate What to Expect--for a fourth time? Today, there's definitely no lack of information on pregnancy. In fact there's more information than ever before (a quick online search of pregnancy or a glance at pages and pages of pregnancy and parenting options right here on Amazon will clue you in on that). But often what's still hard to find is the right kind of information. Information that's accurate yet empathetic, reassuring yet realistic--that empowers you, but doesn't overwhelm or confuse you, that guides you but doesn't dictate to you. And it's not just about the right information, it's about information that's presented in the way that's most helpful--easy to access, easy to digest, easy to use. It's about information that makes your pregnant life less stressful--more enjoyable, and, well, easier.

The fourth edition is a new What To Expect for a new generation of readers--you!--and I'm excited to say it's the best What To Expect yet. It's packed with all new information, of course (since things tend to change quickly in the baby-making and baby-delivering business--something you're probably all too aware of already if you've made more than one trip to the birthing room). But it doesn't only take into account what's new in obstetrics and what's new in pregnancy; it takes into account what's relevant to pregnant women now. Lifestyle. Working. Eating on the run. Juggling the pregnant life with real life. Keeping up with relationships. Birthing options that are family friendly and pregnancy care that incorporates the best that complimentary and alternative medicine has to offer. Managing multiples (which more and more moms are carrying). Sorting out the information from the misinformation--the reality from the hype, fact from Internet legend.

The fourth edition also takes into account how you likely use books these days, so the format is even more accessible than ever. More geared to in-the-moment, find-it-in-a-flash reading.

Most important of all, the fourth edition celebrates pregnancy. I have a passion for pregnancy, and always have. I love moms, I love dads, and I love babies. But everything about this fourth edition from the happy, excited mom-to-be on the cover, proudly caressing her beautiful belly and its even more beautiful contents, to the adorable week-by-week description of the making of your baby, to the positive (yet realistic), mom-to-mom tone throughout--this fourth edition is not just an explanation of those 9 amazing (though often bewildering) months you have ahead of you. It's a celebration of them.

What to Expect When You're Expecting fourth edition is everything moms and dads have come to expect from What to Expect... only better. And I can't wait to start sharing it with you.

I guess you can say--I'm a proud mama all over again.

--Heidi Murkoff

More to Explore

What to Expect: Eating Well When You're Expecting

What to Expect the First Year

The What to Expect Pregnancy Journal & Organizer

Features:

Recommended Age: 18 years and up

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The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

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Author: Charles Duhigg

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
The Wall Street Journal • Financial Times

A young woman walks into a laboratory. Over the past two years, she has transformed almost every aspect of her life. She has quit smoking, run a marathon, and been promoted at work. The patterns inside her brain, neurologists discover, have fundamentally changed.

Marketers at Procter & Gamble study videos of people making their beds. They are desperately trying to figure out how to sell a new product called Febreze, on track to be one of the biggest flops in company history. Suddenly, one of them detects a nearly imperceptible pattern—and with a slight shift in advertising, Febreze goes on to earn a billion dollars a year.

An untested CEO takes over one of the largest companies in America. His first order of business is attacking a single pattern among his employees—how they approach worker safety—and soon the firm, Alcoa, becomes the top performer in the Dow Jones.

What do all these people have in common? They achieved success by focusing on the patterns that shape every aspect of our lives.

They succeeded by transforming habits.

In The Power of Habit, award-winning New York Times business reporter Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling edge of scientific discoveries that explain why habits exist and how they can be changed. With penetrating intelligence and an ability to distill vast amounts of information into engrossing narratives, Duhigg brings to life a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential for transformation.

Along the way we learn why some people and companies struggle to change, despite years of trying, while others seem to remake themselves overnight. We visit laboratories where neuroscientists explore how habits work and where, exactly, they reside in our brains. We discover how the right habits were crucial to the success of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and civil-rights hero Martin Luther King, Jr. We go inside Procter & Gamble, Target superstores, Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church, NFL locker rooms, and the nation’s largest hospitals and see how implementing so-called keystone habits can earn billions and mean the difference between failure and success, life and death.

At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key to exercising regularly, losing weight, raising exceptional children, becoming more productive, building revolutionary companies and social movements, and achieving success is understanding how habits work.

Habits aren’t destiny. As Charles Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.

A Q&A with Author Charles Duhigg

What sparked your interest in habits?
I first became interested in the science of habits eight years ago, as a newspaper reporter in Baghdad, when I heard about an army major conducting an experiment in a small town named Kufa.

The major had analyzed videotapes of riots and had found that violence was often preceded by a crowd of Iraqis gathering in a plaza and, over the course of hours, growing in size. Food vendors would show up, as well as spectators. Then, someone would throw a rock or a bottle.

When the major met with Kufa’s mayor, he made an odd request: Could they keep food vendors out of the plazas? Sure, the mayor said. A few weeks later, a small crowd gathered near the Great Mosque of Kufa. It grew in size. Some people started chanting angry slogans. At dusk, the crowd started getting restless and hungry. People looked for the kebab sellers normally filling the plaza, but there were none to be found. The spectators left. The chanters became dispirited. By 8 p.m., everyone was gone.

I asked the major how he had figured out that removing food vendors would change peoples' behavior.

The U.S. military, he told me, is one of the biggest habit-formation experiments in history. “Understanding habits is the most important thing I’ve learned in the army,” he said. By the time I got back to the U.S., I was hooked on the topic.

How have your own habits changed as a result of writing this book?
Since starting work on this book, I've lost about 30 pounds, I run every other morning (I'm training for the NY Marathon later this year), and I'm much more productive. And the reason why is because I've learned to diagnose my habits, and how to change them.

Take, for instance, a bad habit I had of eating a cookie every afternoon. By learning how to analyze my habit, I figured out that the reason I walked to the cafeteria each day wasn't because I was craving a chocolate chip cookie. It was because I was craving socialization, the company of talking to my colleagues while munching. That was the habit's real reward. And the cue for my behavior - the trigger that caused me to automatically stand up and wander to the cafeteria, was a certain time of day.

So, I reconstructed the habit: now, at about 3:30 each day, I absentmindedly stand up from my desk, look around for someone to talk with, and then gossip for about 10 minutes. I don't even think about it at this point. It's automatic. It's a habit. I haven't had a cookie in six months.

What was the most surprising use of habits that you uncovered?
The most surprising thing I've learned is how companies use the science of habit formation to study - and influence - what we buy.

Take, for example, Target, the giant retailer. Target collects all kinds of data on every shopper it can, including whether you’re married and have kids, which part of town you live in, how much money you earn, if you've moved recently, the websites you visit. And with that information, it tries to diagnose each consumer’s unique, individual habits.

Why? Because Target knows that there are these certain moments when our habits become flexible. When we buy a new house, for instance, or get married or have a baby, our shopping habits are in flux. A well-timed coupon or advertisement can convince us to buy in a whole new way. But figuring out when someone is buying a house or getting married or having a baby is tough. And if you send the advertisement after the wedding or the baby arrives, it’s usually too late.

So Target studies our habits to see if they can predict major life events. And the company is very, very successful. Oftentimes, they know what is going on in someone's life better than that person's parents.

Features:

by Charles Duhigg The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

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