The Proof is in the (lack of) Pudding

Here's the deal.  We do not have any snacks in our house right now.  Okay, really we don't have any unhealthy snacks in our house right now.  You know, the ones that end up in your belly while sitting on the couch at 9:00pm while you are watching episodes of your favorite show on Hulu+ (ice cream, chocolate chips, potato chips, sugary cereal)?  Believe me, I looked on Wednesday and Thursday night - I searched high and low in the deep dark depths of our pantry for something I may have conveniently forgotten to get rid of.  Last night we did get those individual ice cream cones things with carmel in the middle when the whole family went grocery shopping and we all had one.  (I guess there are two of those left in the freezer.... good thing it's 8:20 in the morning and even I know it's not a great decision to eat one of those BEFORE breakfast.)

But, really, I haven't missed the snacks.  I think my husband has.... (And my kids have trail mix, string cheese, Clementines, apples, etc. for snacks after school so no worries there.)  The proof right now is in the (lack of) pudding, if you will.  If there are unhealthy snacks in our house I will eat them.  And usually my mentality is, "Well, if I just eat it all quickly then it will be gone and the temptation won't be there anymore."  The problem with that attitude is that I would eat the unhealthy snacks fast (lots of calories in a short amount of time) but then the next time I went to the grocery store I would get more unhealthy snacks that I needed to eat "fast to get rid of them."  No wonder I was consuming WAY to many calories for my body, weight and age.

Recently I was listening to The Splendid Table on NPR over the weekend and the host was talking to the co-author of the book Willpower.  (Link to the book here.)  Essentially, from what I gleaned from the short time I listened to the interview, the co-author was saying that individuals who have will power and exercise self control tend to be more successful.  They did some studies with children and followed them throughout their academic life, and those children who exercised self control early on tended to do better in school, made better decisions and found higher paying jobs.

The co-author also said (paraphrase) that will power is a muscle - the more you exercise it the stronger it gets... BUT if you have to continually use it throughout the day the "muscle" will get tired.

Think of it this way: Every time you walk in to your kitchen, you have to choose to avoid or ignore the pretty little dish full of caramels.  (Real life example from two weeks ago.)

 

The first two times you walk by you utilize your will power "muscle" and you say no.  Then you remember that you have three open bags of different types of chocolate chips in the cupboard because your son wanted you to make "Little R's Special Chocolate Chip Cookies" using a quarter bag of white chocolate, butterscotch, milk chocolate and dark chocolate chips.  (Another real life example from two weeks ago - using a quarter bag of each means there is three-quarters of a bag of each left. Open.)

 

 

Let's say your will power muscle is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.L.Y strong[er than mine] and you avoid those open bags of chocolate chips.  THEN you remember the Sour Cream and Cheddar chips in the snack drawer and the salted caramel and pretzel Klondike bars in the freezer. (May or may not be a real life example... You choose. Ha.)  By this point your will power muscle is getting tired from overuse.  And those Klondike bars sound amazing! 

 

I don't know about you, but this makes perfect sense to me... and happens on a regular, sometimes daily basis. 

 

Another real life example, work edition: There is a table at work that sits in front of me where people on my team put the treats they bring in to share.  Cookies, dips, cupcakes, etc.  On a good day, I can resist them for awhile, but by the end of the day I am so tired of resisting them that I give in and have "just one" which may turn in to "just three." (Mind you, just one isn't always a bad thing because I truly believe in moderation and not deprivation.) 

 

But, if those same treats were in the cafeteria that I only visit 2-3 times a day (to fill up my water bottle and to eat lunch) they do not pose as great a threat to my will power.  I can say no to them 3 times in a day instead of saying no to them 10+ times an hour.

 

So, like I said our snack drawer at home right now is pretty slim and we only have healthy snacks available.  And, in case you are wondering about those real life examples earlier - I used the rest of the chocolate chips to bake more cookies a couple of weeks ago and brought them to work to share. The caramels that were left over from Christmas baking? Well, I lost the battle with those.  And the conversation hearts that I brought home from the grocery store the other day?  Also lost that battle.  My will power muscle was tired from overuse and, frankly, (TMI alert) I was PMSing so sugar was a compulsary need.  Yes, I said need.

 

All of the above mumbo jumbo is to say (again) that the proof of my discipline is in the lack of "pudding" in our house right now.  I just do better when there isn't constant temptation and distraction. This way I can strengthen my will power muscle and not over use it... so it is strong in the moments I need it.  Like when I know I am going to my parents' house tonight and will be faced with candy, birthday cake, a high calorie supper, dry roasted peanuts and whatever other yummy baked goods my mom happens to have sitting on her kitchen counter.