I'm Krishnan, Guru Murthy and welcome to our first podcast to 2020 on my guest.

Today is the perfect guest for the beginning of the year, where we're all desperately trying to lose weight.

Joined gyms have dry January.

Very boring because he is well, he's a doctor.

He's a TV doctor.

Best knows a TV doctor, I suppose.

But it's also the author of a number of self help books, the latest of which just came out before Christmas on It's called Feel Better in Five.

Your daily plan to feel Great for life.

So Dr Rankin Chester Welcome.

Thank you very much for having me.

Um, can you really feel better in five?

You absolutely can.

Yeah, on DDE the whole idea behind me, saying you can't appeal.

Battered five is based upon almost 20 years of clinical experience, but also the best behavioral science research on it.

It sounds a little bit too good to be true.

Doesn't especially this time of year when we're making resolutions, as you you mentioned, right, The top.

You know, making these lofty resolutions 2020 is gonna be my years could be my decades, but we make a few common mistakes, which is why so many resolutions don't really last beyond January or certainly the first week in February.

And that's really what I tried to tackle with this book in this approach on gets this idea that actually change doesn't have to be as hard as we think it is.

I mean, when you say that, I mean, we need to work out why we fail, I suppose, on DDE a lot of us will begin the year or begin a moment, you know, with it with a big goal on, be successful for a little while and then we give up what we give up.

Well, you just you actually said the ants They said for a little while, and I think that's the key.

So typically what happens?

We make our goal when our motivation is really high, right?

So the New Year we're feeling very motivated.

And so we say What?

I'm gonna go spinning four times a week for one hour on the gym's 20 minutes way.

But that's okay because this is my year, and for the first week in January, you manage the second week, third week you might manage, but little by little, you start to return to your pre existing behavior.

Isn't actually you sort of fall off the wagon?

Because what happens is there's something called the motivation wave.

Motivation doesn't say static.

It goes up and it comes down.

Most of us plan our resolutions for when the motivation wavers at its peak.

But what we need to do is plan for when it's at its bottom, because that's what's gonna happen a lot of the time on.

That's why you need to start small.

I'm gonna give you an example.

That's why five minutes is about as much as you can manage well, but actually it sounds like a gimmick, right?

But it really isn't like let me tell you about a patient I saw when I really first understood how powerful this concept says.

Maybe six or seven years ago, now in my prices.

In an n HS 10 minute consultation, 42 year old gentleman came in a little bit over waits, a little bit tired, and he was struggling a bit with this moods.

Now these are the source of common problems, which many people around the country is struggling with.

It is quite clear to me after talking to him, that there were various components of his lifestyle that were actually contributed to the way that he was feeling, and I discussed a number of options for them.

Said What about this?

What about that?

The one he weighted like with strength training.

He said to me, especially that's it.

I want to do strength training.

What shall I do 40 minutes, three times a week?

I said, Hey, if you could do that, that would be amazing.

So he walks out feeling good about himself, and we make a follow up appointment for a month.

When he comes back a month Laser, he walks in.

I said, Hey, look, how you getting on?

How was the gym?

How you feeling?

And it looks a bit sheepish, he says.

You know what?

Let's just see where it's been really busy gyms actually quite expensive.

It's quite far away from work.

I've not actually managed to go yet, and he looks a bit ashamed of himself Now.

I remember really clearly in that moment.

I never thought question.

I never thought Why is he not done what I've asked him to do.

I thought wrong.

And you clearly not giving him advice that he feels his relevant in the concepts of the rest of his life.

So I took my jacket off and I said, Right, I'm gonna teach you a five minute strength workout Now that doesn't require to join a gym.

Doesn't require you to get changed.

Doesn't even require you to buy any equipment.

Nothing on a tortilla, man.

I said, what do you think?

You got your quite like I could do that.

I said, Look, I'd like to do this of five minutes twice a day.

What?

10 minutes away?

Sorry.

Five minutes.

Twice a week.

I said you said, what?

10 minutes a week?

What's that gonna do?

I said no.

It will make a difference, but can you commit to five minutes twice a week in your kitchen?

Said Okay.

I could do that.

No problem.

So he goes away, comes back a month later, and then I say, Hey, look, how you getting on this time?

His body language is completely different.

He walks in big smile on his face.

It's a daughter, Chastity.

I started off doing it for five minutes, twice a week in my kitchen.

But it's so easy to do, and I'm enjoying it so much.

I now do it for 10 minutes every evening before my evening dinner.

Now he's been doing that for over five years now.

Rights.

So that small change.

Not only was he able to do it, it's ripple into other areas of its life source.

And now, because he's feeling better, he eats better.

He's sleeping better.

He gets up every morning and he does five minutes of deep breathing before he does anything else on it all started with those five minutes.

Now, why did that work so well?

Because I've seen that over and over again.

I've seen with patients busy people with busy lines that you can say or the ideal things you would like them to do.

But often they come out so I can't do it.

And the biggest obstacle to people is time.

I really tried to address it head on with this book.

Now let's look at this another way, what we're talking about, his behavior change.

Fundamentally, we talk about how do you create a new habits and there was some rules to follow that we do not follow when we try.

Make those new behavior stick.

So if you look at corporations rights, our behaviors are constantly being changed by the world around us, Right?

So Amazon is a prime example.

When Amazon moves to one click ordering about three or four years ago, the estimates say that their profits went up by about $300 million a year.

That's incredible from one change.

Three in Germany dollars more a year.

But it makes sense when you're on the sun.

Behavior change because 34 years ago, what did you have today?

Find what you want to buy.

Go to next screen.

Type in your details.

Putting your expiry day.

Confirm order.

Place sorted the three or four steps you have to take before you can, you know, participate in that behavior by making it one click ordering before you've blinked.

Something's been delivered to the next day, Rights said.

They're using it to get you to spend more money as they should, because that's their job.

Online streaming platforms, Netflix.

Whatever they you know, they roll one episode into the next episode.

That's not an accident that is done.

So before you had time to think and think, No, I'm pretty tired of got work tomorrow morning.

I should probably go too bads.

The next episode started.

I'm saying there's some simple rules to follow on.

These corporations are following them to get you to do what they want, as they should.

That makes sense in retail, where you know, if you make things easier for people, then they're going to spend more because it's just easier to do.

But I'm when it comes to health and happiness and fitness.

You know what happens.

So no pain, no gain, you know, actually having to invest some time and effort.

What is something wrong with investing time and effort?

And I agree.

We need to invest time and effort.

But if we start off trying to invest all that time and effort, we do it for a week or two and then we fall off because if you start small, it builds.

So why does that work right?

Because it back case and I've got many case like illustrates just how powerful that is.

So if we just break that case down a little bit in terms of what's going on in behavior change there.

By making it easy.

I followed about one click ordering process.

He did not need to join a gym.

He did not need to drive anywhere.

He didn't need to change his clothes.

Right.

So I've made it easy for him to do that behavior.

How many times the people know engages, You know, I'm tired.

Call me brother.

Drives the gym now.

You know what?

Gym?

Gym memberships.

Frankly, I spoke to Jim only the other day.

He told me.

Actually, our business model works on the fact that people don't set up right.

I think if everyone who joined a gym actually turned up, you probably want to get in.

So that's the first thing.

But I kind of had a second, which is really in poor sense, because I know that this sounds a little bit like a gimmick, right?

But it's the only approach I found to consistently work well over almost 20 years of seeing patients with people.

Did you notice?

Once said about his behavior, his his body language.

The first time he came back, he looks ashamed of himself.

He was talking quietly, roll the shoulders.

So it's a doc, you know, I'm not managed to do that.

So he's in reinforcing the belief that he can't stick to a change.

You know, I've tried to help and support.

It's not for me.

By making it easy, his identity starts to change.

He follows what the doctor asked him to do.

He feels good.

He started to increase it, not because I told him to, but because he felt like he wants to.

I really I really think this is a very, very powerful thing that, as I say, that's just one case.

But actually, the research also supports that for most people, the way that you make sustainable change and what I thought you said short term change, right, people, you could make shorts and chase doing anything.

You can buy any health work in January, and if you follow it for 23 weeks, you will feel better.

But as a daughter, that doesn't interest me.

I'm interested in how do you feel Good in January?

But how do you still feel good in February, March, April, May and there is a way to do it.

Well, I mean, I was gonna say I mean, it is in line with everything else you do, isn't it?

In broad terms, both in terms off, doctor in the house that you know, the TV series that you've done going in to try and change people's lives And the other books you've done as well.

Well, come to the detail of the plans in a moment.

But I just wanted to step out of that for a little moment.

Just say you're a man on a mission.

I am an amount on a mission.

Yeah, I am.

Um I mean, look, I've been a daughter now almost 20 years, writes on dhe.

I went to medical school with a view to helping people.

That's what I thought I was gonna learn how to do when I did up to a point.

And as I started practicing, I started off in hospital medicine.

I did my exams to become a specialist.

I was working in kidney medicine.

I felt, you know, we'll be becoming a little bit reductionist about how we're looking at all the different organs is separate parts on.

I just felt for me I didn't want to spend the rest of my career just seeing kidney problems.

And so I took the rather unusual step to go from that to becoming a GP.

My dad was a little bit shocked, surprised that I made that move from going from this sort of esteemed, hallowed turf training, to be a specialist, to move into becoming a generalist.

But that's what I did.

I've got to say I love my job as a GP because I get to see everything I get to join the dots and see how one thing affects another thing.

And how about that's another thing and how all these very sponsors playing together so actually influence the way that we're feeling and one day in my GP practice.

And remember, it's a busy day.