Self-control

I was doing a little research on self-control (and you know why!) and came across this:

 (copied and pasted from http://www.psychologicalscience.org)

" ...studies indicated that participants who rinsed their mouths with a carbohydrate solution showed improved self-control, despite the fact that they didn’t ingest the solution and there was no observable change in their blood glucose levels... "

In one investigation into whether eating sweets improves self-control, "participants who rinsed with a glucose sweetener demonstrated better self-control than those who rinsed with a non-glucose sweetener, despite the fact that there was not enough time for the glucose to actually be metabolized. These results provide additional evidence to suggest that glucose influences self-control through a non-metabolic route. The researchers speculate that glucose may activate brain areas involved in selecting and inhibiting action, as well as detecting errors and evaluating competing responses."

So--sugar mouthwash?

" ...our initial exertions of willpower lead our motivation to shift away from control and toward gratification. As a part of this process, our attention shifts away from cues that signal the need for control and toward cues that signal indulgence."

In other words, using self-control makes us think about rewards, and thinking about rewards makes us lose self-control.

That made my head hurt!

Kind of like the egg/chicken debate!

I agree with the bit about focusing on self control and rewards. For me, the more I think about not eating, the more likely I am to eat. I find that doing something else, like taking walks, knitting, doing laundry, whatever it takes to get my mind off eating, works best.

Yes. You're right. Keep the focus on something other than the problem behavior, i.e., face-stuffing. Were you reading my therapist's notes??   ;-)

I can see that. Self-control has a connotation of always doing the right thing, and most of us have a conditioned response that doing the right thing has a reward at some point. Because virtue for the fun of it isn't that fun.

So maybe this is where moderation comes in. Yes, some of us will always have foods we don't cope well with and so should avoid, but maybe a planned treat will help us stay on track and help shift our perception that our new eating isn't punitive but rather a gift we give ourselves. For example, if I CAN'T have something, of course I want it, but if I CAN have something it doesn't seem as urgent. Go figure.

I still remind myself of your previous post where you said to just do one right thing and then it's easier to do another right thing. That is right on.

What? Virtue is not its own reward?? Hmmph!

You're right: self-denial is counter-productive. Shifting our perception--reframing our aims--is key.

 

I guess I must have great self control, because I have not cheated on the diet at all and have not been tempted that much. Of course I would have to get in the car, drive to the store, buy a goodie, take it home, eat it in front of the wife. To much work to do. But I never did things like that in my life and was so fat I had to put my arms up so that people could tell if I was walking or rolling down the street. Where my lack of control was in the past is that, when I did eat one of my 3 meals a day, I would eat enough to feed three men at least. I would latterly cook a complete package of spaghetti cover it with sauce, put cheese all over it and have 2 may 3 heaping plates of the stuff and French bread about a half a loaf.