The truth about willpower
Do you ever ask yourself why you have no willpower? So many women who approach me for help with their eating behaviour, blame themselves and their lack of willpower for everything that feels wrong in their life.
Willpower is defined as ‘the ability to control or restrain yourself and resist instant gratification to achieve long-term goals.’ But I really do not like the term willpower. That suggestion that we need to ‘restrict’ and ‘restrain’ ourselves is unhelpful in terms of eating challenges. I find one of the most significant factors underlying emotional eating and bingeing, is the pure fact that often food restriction precedes it!
Recent studies indicate that willpower is not a limited reserve of energy. The findings suggest that only the individuals who believed that their willpower was a limited resource ended up with less resolve and determination to achieve their goals. This illustrates how our beliefs drive our behaviour. Our mindset is critical and essential work that I do with my clients.
Other researchers have found that we all have the capacity for self-control. This capacity rises and falls depending on what is happening to us and how we feel. If we think of willpower in this way, we can learn strategies to help manage it.
I prefer to focus on motivation, which is a key factor in creating change. We can influence how motivated we are by examining the beliefs we have about overcoming our behaviour. Do we truly believe we have what it takes? If our motivation is low, we have the power within to strengthen it once again.
Motivation levels may be affected by energy and stress levels and how well you sleep. I have also found in clinic, that depleted nutrients, blood sugar dips and alcohol will often impact the motivation of my clients to change their behaviours.
But sometimes a lack of motivation is long lasting. Here, we can truly begin to observe and understand why. This is where coaching can be so powerful – and how I help my clients find a new path, gain motivation, and ultimately overcome their challenges.
HOW TO STRENGTHEN YOUR MOTIVATION AROUND EATING CHALLENGES:
Eat consistent, balanced meals – avoid food restriction and skipping meals.
Prioritise your sleep - check out my blog ‘9 steps to a better night’s sleep’ HERE
Plan and prep- Build consistent habits that are achievable. For example being organised with food shopping and meal planning and adding structure into your day.
Move your body -but find what’s right for you. Movement can help overcome any impulses to eat unhelpful foods. If this is something you struggle with – avoid pushing yourself into punishing exercise that you don’t enjoy. Instead, choose activities you are more likely to gain pleasure from. It could be anything that rocks your boat from walking in nature to dancing in your kitchen!
Trouble shooting unhelpful situations will help with motivation in the long run.
If you are you struggling with your eating and your relationship with food + your body, head over to The Food Freedom Collective free group, for daily support and weekly live videos to tackle your challenges
If any of these resonate then this community is for you :
💠You are on and off diets all the time
💠You find yourself binge eating
💠You are an ‘emotional eater’
💠You restrict food in order to lose weight
💠 You can’t stop thinking about your weight, appearance or food
💠 You feel overwhelmed and confused no longer knowing what you ‘should’ eat