by Kara Wahlgren
Okay, I'll admit it. I'm the first person to curse my weak willpower
when I find myself polishing off a bag of tortilla chips or skipping a
Piloxing class. But I may have to find a new excuse, because apparently
I—and maybe you too—have gotten the whole idea of willpower completely
wrong.
Most of us believe that willpower is some innate, magical quality
that only a lucky few are born with enough of to reach the goals they
set for themselves. But according to scientists and psychologists who
specialize in this sort of thing, what we call "willpower" is actually
just a one-two punch of self-control and smart decision–making
strategies.
On one hand, that's bad news for anyone—ahem, me—who likes to use
lack of willpower as an excuse for falling off the weight loss wagon. On
the other hand, it's good news because it means you can hone your
willpower like any other skill. And, just like doing push-ups, it gets
easier the more you do it. Here are five easy ways to tap into your
willpower (or whatever you want to call it).
1. Change how you define willpower.
You have it or you don't, right? Wrong. Instead of thinking of
willpower as a genetic gift, think of it as a game plan. "Instead of
saying, 'I have no willpower,' ask yourself how to handle the
situation," says registered dietitian Jill Weisenberger, M.S., R.D., and
author of
Diabetes Weight Loss—Week by Week. Think you just
can't give up your soda habit? Can't stick to a gym routine? Can't make
yourself eat veggies? Think again. "When my patients say, 'I can't,'
they usually mean, 'I choose not to,' or, 'I haven't yet figured out how
to,'" Weisenberger says. "There is a solution to most problems. You
have to look for it and then practice that strategy." Another fun fact?
Through his research, willpower expert Roy Baumeister discovered that
those who believe willpower is finite tend to run out of it. Those who
believe that willpower is not a limited resource continue to be able to
tap into it when they need it. Believe in your willpower, find a few
strategies that work for you to set yourself up for success, and
voilá, you'll have the willpower you need.
2. Set yourself up for success.
You've
probably heard the adage that luck is where preparation meets
opportunity. The same can be said for willpower—a little prep work can
help you make healthy choices. "One of the best things you can do is
create an environment that will help you be successful," says Mitzi
Dulan, R.D., coauthor of
The All-Pro Diet. "Avoid buying chips
and cookies. If you buy chocolate, buy bite-size." Look at it this
way—if you can resist buying chips at the grocery store, you only have
to resist temptation once. If you buy the chips, you'll have to resist
temptation
every single time you walk past your kitchen.
3. Respect your R&R.
In
House of Cards, Kevin Spacey's character Frank Underwood
quips, "I never make big decisions so long after sunset and so far
before dawn." Sure, Underwood is a manipulative villain, but it's not a
bad strategy—lack of sleep can impair your ability to make smart
decisions. "Both stress and sleep deprivation affect hormones that may
impact our appetite and food choices," Weisenberger says. "Adequate
sleep and appropriate stress management aren't optional—they are as
critical as eating your fruits and vegetables and being physically
active." No matter how busy you are, make sure you get a good night's
sleep and carve out a few minutes each day to de-stress. It can make a
world of difference to your willpower.
4. Keep your sugar in check.
It's
harder to stick to your diet when you're hungry—not exactly breaking
news, right? But it's not just pure hunger that's getting in your way,
or else you'd be just as satisfied with a handful of carrots as a
handful of cookies. The real problem is that glucose levels seem to play
a big role in self-control, so the hungrier you get, the harder it
becomes to choose healthy foods over calorie-laden comfort foods. Last
year, Baumeister wrote in the
APA Monitor on Psychology that low glucose levels can reduce self-control—so eat
before you're famished if you want to improve your odds of resisting junk-food faves.
Oddly enough, Baumeister found that it also works the other way
around—exercising self-control can actually lower your glucose levels.
It's possible that the more decisions you have to make, the more your
glucose levels dip, and the harder it is to make a healthy choice the
next time. In other words, resisting that donut on your commute to work
might make it harder to walk past the candy dish in the office, or turn
down greasy takeout at lunch. So rather than relying on sheer
self-control, see if you can find ways to avoid tempting situations—for
example, find a route to work that doesn't pass your favorite bakery.
That way, you'll have plenty of willpower left for the temptations you
can't avoid.
5. Focus on tomorrow's goal, not today's mistakes.
When you're on a weight loss regimen, it's easy to obsess over the
occasional slip-up—a high-calorie snack here, a skipped workout
there—and lose sight of your long-term goal. But the ability to rally
after a setback may be more important than the ability to make virtuous
decisions all the time. Angela Duckworth, an assistant professor of
psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, coined the term "grit" for
people who stay focused on a long-term goal, come hell or high water.
"The gritty individual approaches achievement as a marathon," Duckworth
said in a 2007 study. "Whereas disappointment or boredom signals to
others that it is time to change trajectory and cut losses, the gritty
individual stays the course."
So the next time you're tempted to curse your lack of willpower,
remember that self-control is a skill—and like any skill, you'll screw
up a few times while you're learning it. What's important is that you
keep going. "Determine your weak areas or obstacles and make a plan to
overcome them. Put your plan into practice, evaluate it and adjust it if
necessary. And expect to stray from the plan and know that you can keep
moving forward," Weisenberger says. "Eating fast food doesn't make you
bad at following your diet any more than having a fender bender makes
you a bad driver."
