Be Gentle with Yourself - Decision Fatigue is real

deaterrae

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/magazine/do-you-suffer-from-decision-fatigue.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

This link is to a 2011 article from the New York Times to help you be gentle with yourself. Do not get hard on yourself when will power fails. Scientific evidence demonstrates that decision fatigue is a real problem, and what and when we eat count as decisions. It will always be harder at the end of the day to make the difficult decision. Add the issue that our capacity to make decisions is fueled by food - sugars and fats in particular, which feed our brains. (Please never cut out all sugars and fats, you might risk brain function.) So, dieting is a double whammy. We're trying to eat less while we're having to make more difficult decisions about food. And, as we eat less, our ability to make the right decision gets harder. So, our bodies crave sugars and fats to help us revive our ability to make decisions.

It's also true that while we like to believe that our rational minds are in control, it's simply not true. Our bodies like us to believe that our rational minds are in control while they actually do most of the decision making. Our rational minds are just capable to rationalize what our bodies want to do.

So, be gentle. Learn these realities of hour our minds and bodies work. Forgive yourself if you slip up. Eat snacks as necessary to help yourself make the right decisions.