Do you feel like you’re running out of willpower? The reason for this is that you probably
are!
Psychologists refer to the concept of willpower as
self-regulation or self-control and they believe that self-control is a limited
resource for each person (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000). This is the principle of limited
self-control.
As I was studying for my American Council on Exercise (ACE,
hereafter) Health Coach certification exam, I was struck by the concept of
willpower as discussed in Chapter 15: Lifestyle Modification and Behavior
Change. I’ve always known the
definition of willpower but had never seen it discussed, studied, and analyzed
as it was in my manual. The very same
afternoon I was becoming intrigued about the concept of willpower, the December
2012 issue of Men’s Health arrived. As I
flipped through the pages, I came across an article titled: Prevent a Pig-Out (Solan, 2012).
One of the catch-phrases was “learn to boost your willpower.” I read the entire article and was excited to
have read about a psychological concept in my ACE manual and then find a
relatable article in a popular men’s magazine.
While my wife was making breakfast the next morning, I sat at the kitchen
table and read the highlights of both articles to her. She remarked how interesting it was and said
that she’d never heard of willpower being discussed like that and that I should
blog about it. I will make an attempt to
hit the highlights, meld the two articles together, and relate some practical
advice below.
1)
Willpower appears to be renewed daily with
levels being their highest in the morning and declining throughout the
day. This is partially due to the
constant bombardment of our senses with images, smells, and sound bights that
slowly dissolve our daily allotment of self-control. It makes complete sense to me now, in
hindsight, why my food logs and calorie-tracking are pristine until about 4 o’clock
in the afternoon and start to become a little less-focused and wholesome after
that. After getting up at 5 in the
morning, eating healthy, and staying on the go all day long, I begin to tire of
it. Feelings of “I’ve earned it” start
to whisper in my ear. All day long I’ve
seen billboards with Big Macs and Budweiser.
I drive by a Dunkin’ Donuts every 20 seconds and see pictures of donuts
and smell fries cooking at the McDonald’s next door. I find a Domino’s Pizza coupon under my
windshield wiper after I just dodged the ice cream aisle in Market Basket. I deal with crazy drivers and terrible
traffic while I hear about Captain Morgan and Hooters on sports radio. When I get home I see uncooked chicken
tenderloins and a bag of baby spinach in the refrigerator. Suddenly I realize I had a terrible day at
work or I’m exhausted from running errands.
I check my pedometer and notice that I have 16,500 steps for the day and
know that the Beerworks in Salem is about 6000 steps roundtrip. If we walk down there for dinner, I’ll get my
20,000 step goal for the day and most likely still be in a calorie deficit for
the day. While it may be true that I’ll
have burned more calories than I’ve taken in when I go to bed, the real issue
is that today is likely the exception.
Most of the time I won’t have been as active throughout the day and won’t
have the calories to spare and what is more disturbing, my willpower has failed
me. Why?
Because I ran out of it. This
morning I took my ACE Certification exam for Health Coach (which I passed) and
I was completely stressed about it until I hit “submit answers.” When I saw that I passed, I was relieved. I felt like celebrating. That brings me to….
2)
Coping with stress requires self-control. Is it possible that I used up my ration of
self-regulation when I fell asleep before I was done studying last night
(stressed when I woke up) and while I was unsure about my answers to the 150
questions I answered over the course of
two hours? Or…
3)
Was I too dependent on my willpower to deny myself
a well-earned treat? This is a
scientifically researched phenomenon. It
is called compensation. The
recommendation is to go ahead and reward yourself, but you should choose a
non-food and non-beverage reward most of the time. I’m guilty of this one. I do lots of runs (Turkey Trots, Jingle Bell
Runs) and more often than not, there is a post-race party involving a beer
garden. It is easy to give in. The endorphin rush makes me want to
celebrate. If you run an ultra- marathon
or swim the English Channel, knock yourself out. You can probably justify the caloric intake
of a 6-pack and a Factory Burrito from the Cheesecake Factory. If you just completed a local 5K, you should
probably celebrate by getting that finisher’s medal and having 1
more (glasses can be huge;
measure out no more than 6 ounces; the antioxidants may help with recovery,
too) glass of wine with dinner.
4)
Speaking of eating, your willpower runs on
sugar. If you are restricting your
calorie intake severely and not getting enough complex carbohydrates in your
diet (complex carbohydrates are just long chains of glucose, which is the
simplest form of sugar), then you run the risk of starving the gray matter in
your frontal lobe and succumbing to temptation.
The frontal lobe is where good decisions are made and bad decisions are
rejected. If you’re trying the Atkins thing,
then not only are you starving your body of essential vitamins, minerals, and
fiber, you are also teetering on the edge of a massive pig-out. This can happen with carbohydrate-cycling,
too. Low carbohydrate days are much,
much tougher to handle mentally. Your
brain needs a diet with healthy sugars (carbs), fats, and protein to function
properly and fend off that bag of Doritos.
Research even suggests that extreme dietary constraint can be
counter-productive for this reason.
5)
As I alluded to earlier, the world is full of
incentives and lures for you to spend your hard-earned money on things like
Bacardi and Red Velvet Cake. It is
important to thwart these willpower- busters as much as you can. If you keep Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in the
house, then you’re going to eat them.
Attack the situation by not having them in the house. Your self-control needs a break. It just can’t handle open cupboards full of
sugary cereal, empty-calorie snacks, and bottles of Jagermeister. If you’re trying to stop smoking, research
suggests that you aren’t serious about it unless you get rid of your favorite
ashtray and lighter. If you’re trying to
stop drinking then you probably don’t mean it if you Jack on the counter and
Coke in the fridge. If you’re trying to
avoid late-night binges and mindless consumption of Ruffles while watching the
Patriots, then get them out of the house.
Your willpower will thank you.
6)
We all procrastinate. Just admit it. You do it.
I bet you have put several things off today that you’ll now have to do
tomorrow, or the next day, or the next.
Is procrastination a bad thing?
Not always. Your willpower knows
the difference. It reacts much more favorably
to delay than absolution. You should
never say, “I’m never eating gummy bears or Twizzlers again because I know they
are bad for me even though they try to justify their consumption by claiming to
be a “fat-free food.” Never is
absolution. Try saying this instead, “I’m
not having Twizzlers at the movies today.
I will have them next time I go to the movies.” As mundane and stupid as it sounds, multiple
studies suggest it will actually work.
Personally, I need to “delay” Twizzlers and Christmas beer.
7)
Sleep on it.
I know I’ve blogged a ton about willpower and said a lot. If you’re reading this at two in the morning,
then I’m glad you read it, but I also want you to get some shut-eye. “Willpower is lower when you’re sleepy,” says
Kelly Glazer Baron, Ph. D., a clinical health psychologist at Northwestern
University who specializes in behavioral sleep medicine. I personally can attest to this. If I’m up late, I eat more. If I’m exhausted from a poor night’s sleep I
tend to make bad choices the next day.
This is when Dunkin’ or Starbucks can be your friend. Get a cup of coffee (not a ridiculous dairy,
sugar, syrup-infused nightmare) and a
couple of lumps of real sugar, not the imitation stuff (zero calorie sweeteners
include Splenda, Aspartame, Equal). As
mentioned earlier, your gray matter runs on sugar and it will attempt to make
better decisions for you if you quickly get some simple sugar and caffeine
on-board. Additionally, I’ve never heard
of one single malady or health problem that can’t be improved, negated, or
mitigated with a full 7-9 hours of sleep.
Getting a good night’s sleep isn’t just good for your willpower, it is good for your immunity, weight loss,
recovery, and mood as well. Just do it.
In summation my take-away message is to make every attempt
to eat a balanced diet with few, if any temptations, in the house. If I’m having a tough day I’m going to try
and divert my attention to some physical activity or something that stimulates
my gray matter (more on this in a future blog, but suffice it to say you can
work your willpower like a muscle to strengthen it and give it more
endurance). I’m going to head to bed
early and get a good night’s rest. My
willpower will be back in force in the morning.
References
Muraven, M. & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of limited
resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle?
Psychological Bulletin, 126,
2, 247-259
Brehm, B. A. (2011). ACE Lifestyle and Weight Management Coach
Manual, Chapter 15: Lifestyle Modification and Behavior Change.
332-333
Solan, M. (2012). Prevent a Pig-Out in Men’s Health, December 2012, 98-96
