If your diet is in the slow lane and the pounds aren't coming off as promised, it could be because you've fallen into a weight control booby trap. New research reveals simple behaviors that could be sabotaging your diet.
Lead Yourself Into Temptation
When turning over a new weight-loss leaf, one of the first things people do is to conduct a search and destroy operation in their kitchen, jettisoning the junk food before it ends up in the wrong place - their mouth. The thought process is, if it's there, I'll eat it. This makes sense. Putting distance between you and the food is a logical deterrent. However, new research suggests that this method could be merely a stop-gap instead of a long-term lifestyle solution.
"Tempting foods can actually increase willpower," says Kelly Geyskens, an assistant professor of marketing at the Lessius Hogeschool in Antwerpen, Belgium, and lead author of the study. The theory is that having temptations lurking nearby helps to trigger a "self-control strategy" which becomes stronger with use but fails to develop in the absence of any self-control conflicts. "In other words," says Geyskens, "we believe that self-control can be trained."
You can download the report of the study "When temptation hits you: The influence of weak versus strong food temptations" at: http://www.econ.kuleuven.be/eng/fetew/medewerker/pers_publication.aspx?PID=1023
Weekend Weakness
During the week, we go about our business in, more or less, a routine fashion. Our time is structured. Our days are organized. And so is our food intake. Then the weekend comes. The alarm doesn't ring. You go at your own pace. You eat at your own pace. You reward yourself for making it through another hectic week.
"Weekend indulgences can wreak havoc on weight control, either causing our weight to increase or, if we are following a diet to lose weight, can hinder our weight loss efforts," says Susan Racette, an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis and author of the study "Influence of Weekend Lifestyle Patterns on Body Weight" published in the journal Obesity (June 12, 2008).
Lead Yourself Into Temptation
When turning over a new weight-loss leaf, one of the first things people do is to conduct a search and destroy operation in their kitchen, jettisoning the junk food before it ends up in the wrong place - their mouth. The thought process is, if it's there, I'll eat it. This makes sense. Putting distance between you and the food is a logical deterrent. However, new research suggests that this method could be merely a stop-gap instead of a long-term lifestyle solution.
"Tempting foods can actually increase willpower," says Kelly Geyskens, an assistant professor of marketing at the Lessius Hogeschool in Antwerpen, Belgium, and lead author of the study. The theory is that having temptations lurking nearby helps to trigger a "self-control strategy" which becomes stronger with use but fails to develop in the absence of any self-control conflicts. "In other words," says Geyskens, "we believe that self-control can be trained."
You can download the report of the study "When temptation hits you: The influence of weak versus strong food temptations" at: http://www.econ.kuleuven.be/eng/fetew/medewerker/pers_publication.aspx?PID=1023
Weekend Weakness
During the week, we go about our business in, more or less, a routine fashion. Our time is structured. Our days are organized. And so is our food intake. Then the weekend comes. The alarm doesn't ring. You go at your own pace. You eat at your own pace. You reward yourself for making it through another hectic week.
"Weekend indulgences can wreak havoc on weight control, either causing our weight to increase or, if we are following a diet to lose weight, can hinder our weight loss efforts," says Susan Racette, an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis and author of the study "Influence of Weekend Lifestyle Patterns on Body Weight" published in the journal Obesity (June 12, 2008).
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