Read more on jimlivingstone.com.au

How One Simple Rule Beat 73 Years of Habits:

The Unbroken Chain:

Picture this: A 73-year-old man sits down to dinner. His plate is full, his family is chatting, and dessert is being passed around the table. For 90+ consecutive days, he's said the same thing: "No thank you."

Not once. Not even a small bite. Not even when he was stressed, sick, celebrating, or going through the toughest weight loss plateau of his life.

That man is me. And that simple "no" became the foundation for the most dramatic transformation of my life.

The ADHD Trap We All Fall Into

If you have ADHD, you know the pattern: We start with massive enthusiasm and seventeen different changes all at once. New diet, new exercise routine, new sleep schedule, new productivity system, new meditation practice - the works.

For about three days, we feel like transformation superheroes.

By day seven, we're drowning in rules we can't remember, systems we can't maintain, and the crushing weight of our own ambitious expectations.

Sound familiar?

I've done this dance more times than I care to admit. But at nearly 73, facing the reality that I was 80.9kg with 26.4% body fat, I knew I had to try something different.

So instead of changing everything, I changed one thing.

The Power of Single-Point Focus

My rule was simple: No added sugar, no sweets, no empty carbs. Period.

Not "reduce sugar." Not "sugar only on weekends." Not "natural sugars are okay." Just no.

Everything else could be flexible:

• Some days I fasted 13 hours, some days 17

• Some days I walked 6,000 steps, some days 12,000

• Some days I hit the gym hard, some days I just did core work

• Some days I ate more, some days less

But the sugar rule? Non-negotiable. Rain or shine, good day or bad day, plateau or progress - that one rule never bent.

Why This Worked for My ADHD Brain

Here's what I discovered: ADHD brains need simplicity in complexity. We can handle a lot of moving parts, but we need ONE anchor point that never changes.

When my weight bounced up and down like a yo-yo (and trust me, it did), I couldn't control the scale. But I could control whether sugar passed my lips. That gave me something to win every single day, regardless of what the numbers said.

When that brutal plateau hit in early August - seven days of virtually no scale movement despite perfect execution - my ADHD brain was screaming to quit. But I still had my streak. I still had my identity as "someone who doesn't eat sugar."

The Identity Shift That Changes Everything

Here's the breakthrough moment: Somewhere around day 30, I stopped being "someone trying not to eat sugar" and became "someone who doesn't eat sugar."

The difference is everything.

"Trying not to eat sugar" requires daily willpower battles. It's exhausting. It's a constant fight against temptation. It feels like deprivation.

"Someone who doesn't eat sugar" requires no willpower at all. It's just who you are. Like saying "I don't smoke" or "I don't eat meat." It's not a diet rule - it's identity.

When dessert gets passed around the table, I don't have an internal debate. I don't calculate whether I "deserve" it or whether I can "afford" the calories. I just think, "I don't eat sugar," and the conversation in my head ends there.

The Compound Effect of One Rule

What happened next surprised even me. That single rule created a cascade of positive choices:

• Better food choices overall: When you eliminate sugar, you naturally gravitate toward whole foods

• Improved energy: No sugar crashes meant more consistent energy for workouts

• Enhanced focus: My ADHD symptoms actually improved with stable blood sugar

• Stronger willpower muscle: Success in one area built confidence in others

• Simplified decisions: Fewer food choices to agonise over meant less decision fatigue

But the real magic was psychological. Every day I kept that rule, I proved to myself that I could change. That I wasn't too old, too set in my ways, too ADHD to transform.

The Results Speak for Themselves

Ninety-plus days later:

• Weight: 80.9kg → 72.7kg (8.2kg lost)

• Body fat: 26.4% → 21.5% (4.9% reduction)

• Muscle mass: 48.2kg → 56.3kg (8.1kg gained)

• Sugar-free streak: Unbroken through shoulder pain, head colds, plateaus, and life chaos

More importantly: It feels right. Not like I'm depriving myself or white-knuckling through cravings. Just like this is who I am now.

Your One Rule Revolution

What if you stopped trying to change everything and focused on changing one thing?

Not the easiest thing. Not the most obvious thing. The ONE thing that, if you got it right, would make everything else easier.

For me, it was sugar. For you, it might be:

• One workout per week (not seven)

• Ten minutes of writing daily (not finishing the novel)

• One healthy meal per day (not overhauling your entire diet)

• Fifteen minutes of focused work (not eight hours of productivity)

The key is making it:

1. Simple enough that your ADHD brain can remember it

2. Specific enough that there's no wiggle room for negotiation

3. Meaningful enough that it creates positive ripple effects

4. Identity-based rather than behaviour-based

The 90-Day Challenge

Here's what I learned: It takes about 30 days to stop fighting the rule and about 60 days for it to feel completely natural. By day 90, it's just who you are.

Your ADHD brain will try to complicate this. It will want to add seventeen other rules. It will want to optimise, systematise, and create elaborate frameworks.

Resist that urge.

Pick your one rule. Make it simple. Make it non-negotiable. And give it 90 days to become part of your identity.

The same restless energy that has scattered your focus across dozens of failed attempts can become laser-focused determination when you give it just one target.

At 73, I rewired neural pathways that had been in place for decades. Not through willpower, but through the power of one simple, unbreakable rule.

What's your one rule going to be?

Want to share this newsletter issue via text, social media, or email? Just copy and paste this link: https://jims-newsletter-51b782.beehiiv.com/p/88510921-5e17-41ac-aabe-fbeec9dae202?draft=true

Download your complimentary PDF of the first two chapters.

Download your complimentary PDF of the first couple of chapters.

Or, if you want to buy a copy. 

Expect the Best,

If you’ve got a second, I would love to hear your thoughts and comments. [email protected]  I reply to every email.

This site is not intended to provide and does not constitute medical, legal, or other professional advice. The content in this newsletter is designed to support, not replace, medical or psychiatric treatment. Please seek professional help if you believe you may have Mental Health Issues.