You tell yourself,” Maybe I’ll have a couple of bites of that red velvet cake. Oh, are those
Skittles? I’ll just stuff half the bag in my mouth and do 30 minutes on the bike tonight.” Don’t
deny it, we’ve all been there. Even though we have a little of this and some bites of that, the
calories and fat add up and sometimes we’re just not feeling the gym. Here’s why we tend to
snack throughout the day and how to control it:
Anxiety
Stress is the number one factor because it depletes the storage of glucose, “which your brain
needs to fuel smart decision making,” says Ken Cheng, Ph.D., professor of biological sciences at
Macquarie University. This affects your willpower because even if your stomach knows what it
wants, you listen to your taste buds.
How to Resist:
Close your eyes and take deep breathes. Focus on something fun, active or anything to help you
relax. “To reduce tension long-term, do Downward Dogs,” says SELF Magazine’s Karen Asp,
Food and Diet columnist. “Yoga cuts levels of the stress hormone cortisol, so you’ll feel more
Zen.”
Not Enough Sleep
Lack of shut-eye diminishes the part of your brain that helps you make good, healthy decisions.
When you feel rested, you’re more likely to have your head on right and crave less junk food.
Since you’ve slept more, you feel energized and need food that will keep that flow but with less
than seven to eight hours of sleep, you just want to eat what you crave: energy-sucking, high
calorie garbage.
The Fix:
The recommended hours of sleep are seven to eight but for most of us, that amount is on a really
unproductive night or assignments aren’t due the next day. “If you have a busy night coming
up, clock the most shut-eye the first few nights,” says Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D., author of The
Willpower Instinct. You’ll still feel rested when you didn’t get to hit the snooze button as usual
therefore; it’ll be easier to resist binging when the end of the week has you wired.
You’ve been Steering Clear of Junk All Day
“When you exert self-control, your resolve weakens, leaving you more vulnerable at the next
crossroads,” says Roy F. Baumeister, Ph.D., author of Willpower. Gold star for you if you’ve
been walking away or turning your head at buttery bear claws and that fudge cake following you
from the glass case but it could hurt you more in the long run. At the end of the day you might
cave and actually eat the bear claw and fudge cake.
Being a Cheapskate
I know, I know, it sounds weird but it’s proven. According to research from the University of
Maryland in College Park, “People who donated just $1 to charity had the stamina to hold a
weight about 20 percent longer than those who kept the cash.”
Improve Your Stamina:
“Whether it’s true or not,” says study author Kurt Gray, Ph.D., “most people view charitable
types as having more willpower than the rest of us.” You feel good even after common courtesy
deeds like holding the door for a huge crowd or picking up another person’s trash when they
missed the trash can so that feel-good energy transfers to your workout too.