Willpower is limited… let’s use something else.

My heart kind of lurched into my stomach as I read Jonah Lehrer’s recent article on willpower and resolutions. So many people are already dispirited and discouraged when it comes to solving their body struggles. And I worry that they’ll read this article as more evidence to give up hope.

Lehrer explains that willpower is a limited resource. Like a muscle that gets tired from overuse, if we spend our energy (willpower) keeping ourselves from snapping at our boss, we have less leftover to resist the pint of ice cream at the end of a long day.

We know this.
This is the obvious reason why the white-knuckle diet approach never seems to work. Sure, you can stick with your Perfect Eating Plan as long as things in life are running super smoothly and you have a stockpile of willpower in reserve.

But. As soon as something rocks your boat and depletes your stash, lookout junk food frenzy.

On the surface, this doesn’t seem particularly empowering. Sounds like we’re doomed to a life of either/or. Either snap at your spouse or mainline Oreos. Either eat healthy food or floss your teeth.

Bright spots.
Just being aware of willpower’s limitations can help us avoid that “what the hell is wrong with me for not being satisfied with celery for dinner” mentality.

And maybe this knowledge will help persuade us to take a longer view toward making changes, by starting slowing and celebrating small wins.

And some of the research suggests that if there’s something that takes willpower to avoid, like, um, Hagen Daas, one possible workaround is to distract yourself from wanting the ice cream by focusing your attention on something else.

Two things.
1. Being tempted by that delicious slice of pie is one thing. But wanting to overeat is usually about something other than scrumptious treats.

When you deal with the reasons that you want to overeat in the first place, you won’t need willpower to stop when you’ve had enough.

2. Distract yourself for sure. How about distracting yourself from obsessing about food or your body by creating a life that you love? Why should our days be so full of things that take willpower? Blech.

Let’s call it the
Doing more of the stuff that makes you say ‘I was having so much fun I forgot to overeat’ technique.