Quote:
Originally Posted by kaplods
Benchmarkman, Even if you don't believe, as many of my graduate school professors claimed (especially the behaviorists, but even some of the psychoanalysts) that willpower is a myth, there's a lot of good research supporting the fact that people who attempt changes by willpower alone are far less likely to succeed than those who make things easier for themselves, "setting themselves up for success." .
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I completely agree with this. Losing weight has been a journey of personal discovery. I discovered that I tend to overeat sugary, empty carby foods (like cold breakfast cereal, chips, crackers, pretzels, baked goods, cookies). If I eat one, I want another and another.
So, do I try to strengthen my willpower by buying a big box of Frosted Mini Wheats and trying to carefully portion out servings? **** no, I keep cold cereal out of the house.
It is partly a willpower issue and partly a biological issue. WHY do I want to overeat sugary cereals and not say, broccoli? My body craves quick energy foods because there was a time in history (and the present day for some people) when they were biologically valuable.
I tend to think "why would my body want to do that, there must be some good reason" instead of "wow, I'm a no will power loser." I've lost 70 lbs and kept it off for nearly 4 years because I set myself up for success everyday. I understand that willpower will not do it for me. But hey - apparently I don't need willpower to be successful!
I think Lynn had some great stuff on her blog recently about sugar binges...
Here it is:
http://www.howtothinkthin.com/sugar-cravings.htm
I am a firm believer in calories matter. I lost weight and am keeping it off through a combination of calorie counting (including portion control), volumetrics (getting the most bang for my calorie buck including fiber and protein) and whole foods (eating as many nutritionally powerful foods as possible and avoiding nutritionally vacant foods). This is definitely working for me - not just the scale, but my glowing doctor's report where every year my doctor LITERALLY oohs and ahhs over my bloodwork, cholesterol, fasting sugar, etc.
