Science shows us that with each decision we make throughout the day, our willpower weakens.
And not just daily decisions about food, which can be in the hundreds (do you want ketchup with that?). Decisions about what to wear, whether to take a shortcut to avoid traffic, whether to call a friend today or tomorrow, whether to sell a stock or buy something in bulk. Each choice we make during the day tests our resolve and wears us down just a little bit (something like telomeres as we age, but that’s another story).
As much as we may start each day with the best of intentions for what and how to eat, have you noticed the later part of the day can sometimes feel like when it comes to your food choices?
- Ever get back home right before dinner and feel tired and unable to muster up the energy to lean into cooking or even just make healthy food choices?
- Does takeout or going out seem monumentally easier than cooking because you feel like you just don’t have it in you to decide to eat healthy today, even just heating up healthy leftovers?
- Ever sit in front of the TV after a stressful day and succumb to what your partner is eating because you feel you don’t have it in you to do otherwise?
Your willpower is an expiring muscle Just like at a gym, if you don’t train with the outcome you want, it is much more difficult to reach it. To squash your cravings, you need a plan, a meal plan.
In my Eat to Heal Coaching programs, I teach the steps needed to build your willpower muscle, master healthy meal planning, and reach your goals.
Let’s start with one of the simplest steps to try.
Before going to bed, decide what you will eat tomorrow. And then do that.
Sounds simple, right? It does require a closer look so let’s go a bit further into the ‘meat’ of it (we really need better analogies in our lexicon, don’t you agree?).
Here are 3 simple ways to start.
- Have healthy food at home ready to prepare/assemble. Batch cook. Have staples on hand in the freezer or pantry. Wash/cut veggies to add to meals.
- Keep treats, snacks, and junk food in your home out of sight or better still out of your home.
- Have a plan for healthy options if you may get hungry before you get home.
There is more to squashing cravings that we cover in my programs, but let’s keep things simple to start.
If there is one thing I learned when I became a certified bingeing coach is that our impulsive brain (aka our reptilian brain) is doing exactly what is supposed to do, getting calories as rapidly as possible. The processed food and restaurant industries know this and even count on this.
They have a plan.
And now, so do you.
When we engage the frontal lobe of our brain, we can take back control of the outcome by outsmarting those impulses with a plan for healthy aging, starting with a single day, tomorrow.
Think of it as taking your willpower to the gym. If you need a personal trainer, let me know.
p.s. No protein powder needed (that is for another post).
