Ever think you don’t have the will power to diet? The easy solution: Just start.
It has been proven that will power is a cummulative effort. If you say no to sweets once, you are much likely to say no the next time the choice arises. In the same way, if you let yourself think it’s no big deal if you have that banana bread at starbucks one morning (490 calories by the way), you are more likely to decide to have that banana bread the next time you go to starbucks too.
I have found this to be true, and it is actually part of why I went vegetarian. When I was trying to lose weight over the summer, I noticed that once I got in the habit of eating mostly vegetables and beans I actually started to crave that type of food all the time. However, once I went home for Thanksgiving break and my dad stocked the house with all of my favorite foods (at this point former favorite foods) I got back in to eating those. I mean he REALLY stocked the house with beer, barbeque chips, cookies etc. To me all of these foods together so if we eat barbeque chips at home, order chicken wings for an appetizer at dinner (like my dad and I love to do), I am definitely going to order a beer or two with dinner. But if I’m not in the habit of wanting those foods, I am much more content drinking water and and eating a vegetable based diet.
In the January Issue of Health Magazine in a section titles, “7 things to do starting today”, they write:
LEARN TO LOVE THE FOODS THAT LOVE YOU BACK. A diet of berries and elk or tofu and sea vegetables might seem utterly foreign -- but taste buds can be retrained. “Americans love fat, salt, and sugar because that’s what we’re used to,” Dr. Katz says. “But studies show that if you eat more wholesome foods, you can learn to prefe them.” An easy way to start: Search for stealth sugar, which Dr. Katz says is found in many pacaged foods. “Once you get rid of that hidden sugar, you’ll start to prefer less-sweet foods,” he notes.
One thing all dieticians say to avoid: the guilt and self frustration. If you slip up on your diet it’s ok. My roommate loves to bake and so sometimes I feel like my will power to resist sweets is verry low, but don’t be so hard on yourself.
I recently read an article in Whole Living magazine called, “More (Will) Power to You”. It was a great article because it points out something that none of us give ourselves credit for. Here is an excerpt:
It has been proven that will power is a cummulative effort. If you say no to sweets once, you are much likely to say no the next time the choice arises. In the same way, if you let yourself think it’s no big deal if you have that banana bread at starbucks one morning (490 calories by the way), you are more likely to decide to have that banana bread the next time you go to starbucks too.
I have found this to be true, and it is actually part of why I went vegetarian. When I was trying to lose weight over the summer, I noticed that once I got in the habit of eating mostly vegetables and beans I actually started to crave that type of food all the time. However, once I went home for Thanksgiving break and my dad stocked the house with all of my favorite foods (at this point former favorite foods) I got back in to eating those. I mean he REALLY stocked the house with beer, barbeque chips, cookies etc. To me all of these foods together so if we eat barbeque chips at home, order chicken wings for an appetizer at dinner (like my dad and I love to do), I am definitely going to order a beer or two with dinner. But if I’m not in the habit of wanting those foods, I am much more content drinking water and and eating a vegetable based diet.
In the January Issue of Health Magazine in a section titles, “7 things to do starting today”, they write:
LEARN TO LOVE THE FOODS THAT LOVE YOU BACK. A diet of berries and elk or tofu and sea vegetables might seem utterly foreign -- but taste buds can be retrained. “Americans love fat, salt, and sugar because that’s what we’re used to,” Dr. Katz says. “But studies show that if you eat more wholesome foods, you can learn to prefe them.” An easy way to start: Search for stealth sugar, which Dr. Katz says is found in many pacaged foods. “Once you get rid of that hidden sugar, you’ll start to prefer less-sweet foods,” he notes.
One thing all dieticians say to avoid: the guilt and self frustration. If you slip up on your diet it’s ok. My roommate loves to bake and so sometimes I feel like my will power to resist sweets is verry low, but don’t be so hard on yourself.
I recently read an article in Whole Living magazine called, “More (Will) Power to You”. It was a great article because it points out something that none of us give ourselves credit for. Here is an excerpt:
“We’re used to thinking of willpower in terms of our failures only,” says Kelly McGonigal, a psychologist at Stanford University and author of the new book The Willpower Instinct: How Self Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It. But we’re all exercising our determination all the time, when we don’t blow up at an employee who has made a clueles mistake, for instance, or when we pass up a cocktail and assume the responsibility of being the designated driver.
There’s more good news: Our ability to access willpower is very much within our control. It’s also in our self interest. [...] It’s looking out for our long-term goals -- and it’s managing stress by averting problems.”
Another interesting fact pointed out in this article is that we have a limited supply of willpower and it literally draws on our glucose supply. Tips to enhance willpower?
“EAT RIGHT. Because glucose is directly connected to self-control and our bodies break foods down into glucose, it makes sense that a stead diet could support willpower. [...] Food choices are important. Sugary snacks, for instance will provide a fast fix, but they’ll leave a person hungry soon afterward.”
So willpower may not be as elusive as we think of it as. Eating right can change your choices from a use of willpower to a habit by essentially retraining your taste buds, and can also give you more power to use willpower throughout your day. So why not? The more willpower you have at your disposal the happier you will be :)
No comments:
Post a Comment