Think of the typical diet: you’re required to repeatedly avoid foods you love and show
incredible restraint around other people who aren’t dieting. Who has the strength to
exert unrelenting willpower, especially when life presents so many other challenges that
require self-control? Research shows that chronic dieters are especially susceptible to
overeating when faced with an abundance of tempting food, specifically because they
view eating as a constant act of self-control (Vohs & Heatherton 2000).
Traci Mann, PhD, associate professor at the University of Minnesota who studies
dieting and other forms of self-control, says, “The majority of people will not be able to
succeed at a severely restrictive diet because it is simply too hard. It’s just
unsustainable.” Mann recommends that people make smaller but meaningful changes
in their diets, such as cutting out just one type of unhealthy food or reducing calorie
intake by only 200 calories a day. “These types of changes are not as painful and don’t
require as much self-control, so people may be able to sustain them longer.”
Giving yourself breaks from willpower, for example, taking 1 day off a week to
indulge in your favorite foods, might also replenish your resources to resist temptation.
Health and fitness coach Chris Freytag, author of Prevention’s Shortcuts to Big Weight
Loss (Rodale 2007), says, “You have to give yourself a little satisfaction every now and
then. If you deprive yourself all the time, something’s going to give. You have to pick
your battles.”
Author Credit: Kelly McGonigal, PhD
Source: June 2008 IDEA Fitness Journal, www.ideafit.com
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