Resist temptation
50 fewer calories a day: why is this so hard and how can we succeed?
In an attempt to keep a healthy weight, eating 50 fewer calories a day may already make a large difference. This is about the same as one biscuit a day. So why is this so hard to do? When we see attractive food, such as a chocolate biscuit, we will instinctively think about the feeling we get when we eat it. Based on our previous, pleasant experiences with this food, we start thinking about its taste, where and with whom we will eat it and how rewarding this will be, just upon looking at it. While we ‘relive’ these experiences, our brain even activates the same areas that are involved in the actual eating of the food. This triggers us, even unconsciously, to eat it again this time. It may be possible to prevent yourself from raiding the biscuit tin. Make sure you remember, before you come into a tempting situation, that you wish to remain slim. Focusing on this objective may help you to leave the biscuits in the tin.
Esther Papies, Assistant Professor Social, Health & Organisational Psychology