Resisting temptation
IvoryParchment
Posts: 651 Member
I heard an inteview on the radio with this guy whose field is "behavioral economics." He was talking about how people make irrational decisions about spending money based on things like whether you see immediate consequences or not, e.g., if it's the beginning of the month, you're more likely to overspend because you don't deal with the consequences of an overstretched budget until the end of the month.
He also talked about an old research study where kids were given a marshmallow and told that they could eat it if they wanted, but that if they waited for 10 minutes for the researcher to return before eating it, they would get a second marshmallow as well. Some kids ate it without waiting; some kids were able to resist temptation. Those who were able to resist at age 5 turned out to be more successful in high school and college later on.
But what they found was that the kids that waited weren't morally superior or less interested in the marshmallow. They found strategies to distract themselves. They resisted temptation by not being tempted -- they tried to focus on something else and not even think about the marshmallow.
It struck me that a lot of these principles apply to weight loss as well as spending money. MFP works because you enter the calories at the very time you eat or exercise, instead of eating now and realizing you've gained 5 lbs later. It becomes about the numbers, which are immediate, instead of your body weight itself, which changes too slowly and with too indirect of a relationship to your daily food choices to be a motivating force.
And by putting the act of entering food into my iPhone in between seeing the food and eating the food, it acts as a distracting strategy. It's no longer see food-eat food-like food-feel guilty. It's see food-decide if I want to enter it in my iPhone or not, and decide how much I'm going to eat. Now my choices are more rational.
They guy has a blog. It covers a lot of topics, not just money. Here is the entry on the marshmallow experiment.
http://danariely.com/2011/05/15/wait-for-another-cookie/
He also talked about an old research study where kids were given a marshmallow and told that they could eat it if they wanted, but that if they waited for 10 minutes for the researcher to return before eating it, they would get a second marshmallow as well. Some kids ate it without waiting; some kids were able to resist temptation. Those who were able to resist at age 5 turned out to be more successful in high school and college later on.
But what they found was that the kids that waited weren't morally superior or less interested in the marshmallow. They found strategies to distract themselves. They resisted temptation by not being tempted -- they tried to focus on something else and not even think about the marshmallow.
It struck me that a lot of these principles apply to weight loss as well as spending money. MFP works because you enter the calories at the very time you eat or exercise, instead of eating now and realizing you've gained 5 lbs later. It becomes about the numbers, which are immediate, instead of your body weight itself, which changes too slowly and with too indirect of a relationship to your daily food choices to be a motivating force.
And by putting the act of entering food into my iPhone in between seeing the food and eating the food, it acts as a distracting strategy. It's no longer see food-eat food-like food-feel guilty. It's see food-decide if I want to enter it in my iPhone or not, and decide how much I'm going to eat. Now my choices are more rational.
They guy has a blog. It covers a lot of topics, not just money. Here is the entry on the marshmallow experiment.
http://danariely.com/2011/05/15/wait-for-another-cookie/
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Replies
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this is a great post. im in the econ dept at my current school so i love this kind of stuff haha
i agree that the slow results make it very difficult to rationalize. ^^
There is also the uncertainty aspect...if it were 100% certain that i would lose 2 pounds per week eating 1,200 calories...i think i would have already have reached my goal.
i think you have a great point about it being about the numbers though -- that is a very good way of looking at this whole process 0 -
If only losing weight were as easy as spending money (or not spending money). I don't have any issues with resisting temptation to spend money. My husband and I are 34 and paid off our mortgage last summer (2010) by only living on his salary and using mine to pay down the house. He worked full time while in college so he could graduate without taking out any student loans. It took him longer to graduate, but we have no debt. We are constantly telling ourselves we don't need this or that.
I'm an econ grad. woot.
Losing weight is a completely different animal for me. My body doesn't seem to understand basic math. And I'm an emotional eater, so finding things to distract myself with is vital but not always obvious. I'm getting better, though.0 -
Great analogy! I think you're absolutelyy right.0
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Interesting but I don't see how you consider it a distraction. It is the opposite - you are now paying more attention to your food choices.And by putting the act of entering food into my iPhone in between seeing the food and eating the food, it acts as a distracting strategy. It's no longer see food-eat food-like food-feel guilty. It's see food-decide if I want to enter it in my iPhone or not, and decide how much I'm going to eat. Now my choices are more rational.0 -
I havent caught on to that yet. I eat more in the morning and at lunch bc i have the calories to spend... at dinner I typically cook and have to estimate the calories so i aim high and end up going over and realize it's because my lunch was so high but i didnt care bc 'i can make it up tonight' .. Lame.0
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I have been working on this logic myself. I find that when I am diligent with counting calories, I am 98% successful. If I don't, I eat like a growing teenaged boy.....:noway:
For me money, time, and pounds all break down to pennies, seconds, and calories. If I can learn to respect the minute increments of these terms of measurement, I am convinced that I can reap the rewards of a nice savings account, more time to do the things I want to do without sacrificing the things I need to do, and meeting my fitness goals.
MFP helps with the calories and I am still working for the best tools that work for me in the money and time department as I wax and wane in my ability and/or willingness to stay on track in those arenas...:grumble:0 -
Well hot damn...
Bump, I suppose.0 -
Interesting.0
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Interesting.0
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Awesome post! Great *food* for thought! thanks!0
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Bump0
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I remember seeing the marshmallow thing on TV and did a search for it on youtube. If you have time, it's very cute and interesting to watch!
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=marshmallow+experiment&oq=marshmallow+experiment&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=3239l8140l0l8650l22l21l0l6l6l0l334l3164l0.6.6.2l14l00 -
This seems to be true in my case since I tend to stick to my eating plan while at work. Lazy weekends can ruin it since I have no work distractions.0
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When I get hungry, if I put off eating for a half hour and do something else, I often find I don't feel hungry at the end of the half hour.0
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