Self control failure during dieting occurs when your brain perceives your current goal to be insufficiently rewarding relative to the required efforts.
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Your attention then shifts from the long term goal to something that results in greater instant gratification. You are completely okay, just that your brain has just shifted its priorities… Your emotional self takes over the rational self. As a result, you choose to eat the want-to pizza instead of the have-to salad.
Your body has homeostatic mechanisms (maintenance mode) in place to prevent starvation. Specifically, fat mass has a negative feedback loop to your appetite suppressing hormone directly by secreting leptin.* Leptin is an appetite suppressing hormone. The less fat mass you have, the less leptin you produce, and the greater your appetite. Appetite is a potent sensation, so as you get leaner, it becomes progressively harder for you to keep suppressing your cravings and thus we see that people who lose weight just by dieting usually are unable to maintain the lost weight easily.
The negative feelings as mental fatigue and unhappiness motivate us to self-medicate on comfort foods to make us feel better.* As a result, exerting willpower increases the chance that we’ll later deviate from our diet.*
In my experience, if you go through these loops time and again, it is useless to generate more and more willpower that eventually sees a breaking point. Instead, it is better that you find an emotional reason itself to stick to the goal. Whether it is your diet or a business goal. For example, I won’t miss my gym session this week because I love my newborn so much I must remain fit and be a good example for her growing up. You continue to narrate this story to yourself whenever you feel rusty. You will always find the right reasons to stick to a health routine. If you don’t have them yet, make them up!
Another method can be repeating an experience for example, I had such insane cavity issues as a teenager that I will never want to eat so much sugary stuff again and repeat the same mistake again, that too this time causing permanent damage. It will automatically whirl you away from unhealthy choices even when they are presented to you on a platter.
The one I have for myself is all about creativity, that my body is my expression. If I run below my capacity I easily lose inspiration and hide away, eventually I will end up in a cave which is dark and very boring. So in order to enjoy a life fully lived I must not be scared to express, even if it may come off as too bushy to someone, it’s okay! Then I easily stick to a diet or any other goals because I have nothing to restrain or to hold back.
The more restrained you feel about something, the more you want to cheat. So the easiest method is to eliminate any temptations at all. Stop scrolling if you are trying to focus. Don’t expose yourself to the sugar if you are avoiding it. Trying to complete a difficult task? Find yourself a quiet spot and sit away from the chatty colleague, at least till you are done. The chances for you to stay on course will significantly improve.
In sum, a minute of prevention is worth hours of self control.
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