Hanging in There?

Selected results of an image search for “willpower:”

• A fist into a brick wall
• A bunch of really difficult-looking yoga poses/contortions
• LOTS of bicep close-ups
• Tiny seedlings growing out of piles of rocks
• 2 wrists bound by measuring tape set on a plate (um, YIKES)

Are you nodding along as you read the list above? I think we can pretty much agree that this is what willpower conjures up for most of us. The words and images we associate with the concept of willpower, especially with regard to nutrition and food, are "difficult," impossible," "restriction," to name a few. I don’t know about you, but it makes me pretty tense. Can we look down a different path?

A lot of us think that if left to our own devices, we wouldn’t be able to manage eating on our own. Without external frameworks like calories or points or macros or a list of good and bad foods to keep things in check, we might feel that we have no control. Why? Because these frameworks tell us that we can’t trust ourselves, so we need external rules and restrictions. But what if we were able to look at eating differently and realize that hunger is not an enemy or something to fear?

What is hunger, anyway? It is a natural biological cue that lets you know you need energy. It’s your body’s way of communicating its needs for survival. But if you are experiencing hunger as something to be avoided, take a closer look. What are the rules and restrictions you may have placed on yourself really bringing to the table? When you eventually break the rules (as we all do, because we are humans and not robots) and eat a food or a meal at a time that’s “off limits,” things may feel out of control. Then that out-of-control feeling reinforces the need for rules, even though it is actually a totally predictable outcome of restriction – and not a lack of willpower or faulty personal trait.

Labeling hunger as something to fear, and willpower as the fix, is the issue here. Only allowing yourself to eat when you are super-duper ravenous can trigger "primal hunger" which often results in eating in a manner that feels out of control. Once you reach the moment of excessive hunger, all intentions of moderate, conscious eating are off that table.

Now, you may have heard that if you “allow” yourself to eat when a little hungry but not yet ravenous you are overeating. But you’re actually setting yourself up for a cycle of guilt -> binge -> shame -> restrict -> repeat.

Using "tricks" or “willpower” to not eat when you are biologically hungry will lead to an inability to listen to and trust your body. Hunger is not a symptom to overcome on your way to a healthier you. And willpower shouldn’t be a way to white-knuckle it through your day. Follow along with Karen this week as she presents a kinder and more sustainable path.