Have you ever wondered why it’s so hard to resist temptation when you’re trying to make healthier food choices?

Have you noticed how cravings tend to hit around the same time of the day (particularly evenings)? And that, as the day progresses, they are harder to deal with?

What about going on a diet, and not allowing yourself certain things? Did you notice the more you deny yourself something, the more you actually want it?

Have you ever wondered WHY that is?

I just finished reading a fascinating book on behavioral economics (you can find the reference in the footnote) and was shocked when I discovered a concept extremely relevant to nutrition, one that can help us tremendously as we seek to create better habits around our food choices.

 

The tired brain, and why we cheat on our diets

What’s going on in our brains? Why do we give in to cravings?

In a clever experiment to shed some light on this, people were separated into 2 groups, then asked to remember one of two numbers: either a super simple, two digit, number (like 46); or a complicated longer number which required more mental effort (like 34165287).

Participants were then asked to walk across a hall, and in to the next room, where they had to recall the number to another experimenter. Sounds simple, right? The trick to the experiment was that, as they walked across the hall, they passed by a lovely tray filled with healthy fruits and veggie snacks, as well as… not-so-healthy junk food treats.

What do you think happened?

As it turned out, the people asked to remember the simpler number picked the healthier snack choices. The people asked to remember the more complicated number made less healthy food choices.

The take-home: the more mental effort we ask of our brains – that is, the more we deplete our brains of the “decision making” mental resource, and tire them out, the more we struggle to make good choices. In fact, we can think of self restraint and the ability to make good choices as a muscle – the more we work it, the more we fatigue it.

Think about all the decisions you need to make during the day, as they relate to your work, kids, family, social outings, what should you pack for lunch?, should you park closer and pay $2, or park further away for free and walk to your destination?

So many things to think about. All. The. Time.

Making healthy food choices is a decision too! The more the brain gets tired, the more likely you are to make bad food choices

Finally, this finding also applies to exercise – deciding to move your butt of the couch and hit the gym gets harder and harder as the day progresses. Especially if it’s not something you particularly enjoy, or a habit in progress. (This is why many people choose to exercise in the morning and get it over with, so it’s one less decision to make later in the day.)

 

Well that sucks. What can I do about it?

As it turns out, not all is lost. Now that you know what’s going on, you can do quite a few things:

And there you have it folks – now you understand why the more mental choices you have to make, the harder it is to keep making those good choices – especially when it comes to food!

 

References:

Dan Ariely – The (honest) truth about dishonesty: How we lie to everyone – especially ourselves (2013); available on Amazon.

Dan Ariely’s work revolves around understanding irrationality – why, as humans, we often make irrational choices, or act in irrational ways, even though most of us think of ourselves as rational and logical beings. I highly recommend all of his books.

 

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