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For
the athlete with a sweet tooth, cravings for junk food, or
with excess body fat, will power is deemed the missing character
trait that leads them into nutrition temptation.
Athletes who lack willpower commonly beg me to put them on
the straight and narrow and empower them with the ability
to ‘just say no’ to food sins. They’re convinced
lack of willpower is the root of their food struggles. I tend
to disagree.
The following case studies explain why I disagree, and offer
another way of thinking about food management.
I believe in nutrition skillpower more so than willpower. |
Case 1: The sweets craver |
“If
only I had more willpower, I could get sweets out of my life,”
complained Rick, a 27-year-old triathlete. He trained hard,
tried to eat healthfully but inevitably would succumb to his
downfalls: chocolate chip cookies, candy bars and ice cream.
These sweets undermined his intentions to fuel his body healthfully.
“I just have no willpower in the afternoon when my training
is done for the day. I want a reward … and chocolate
rewards me well!”
I reviewed Rick’s typical food and exercise programme.
He ran first thing in the morning, grabbed a small breakfast
on-the-run (banana and bagel), then headed for the office.
He did his second workout at the gym during his lunch hour,
then rushed back to the office. by three, he was ‘starving’
and would attack the vending machine.
Rick was indeed correct in describing himself as starving;
he was! He had consumed only 500 calories, yet had burned
at least 2,500 calories. By afternoon, he was 2,000 calories
‘in the hole.’ No wonder he was craving sweets.
His depleted body was screaming at him for quick energy.
Rick believed that lack of willpower regarding chocolate created
his eating problem. Wrong. Getting too hungry was the problem.
He could prevent sweet cravings by eating more calories earlier
in the day. I encouraged Rick to eat a banana and a granola
bar before his morning run, refuel afterwards with 16 ounces
of orange juice and a bagel with peanut butter, then have
half his lunch (a turkey sandwich and a yogurt) at 11:00 (an
hour before his second workout), and refuel afterwards with
another sandwich and juice. By feeding his body adequately,
he prevented the urge to binge on sweets.
“I’m amazed! I no longer crave sweets. I haven’t
had any chocolate all week and I haven’t even missed
it.” Rick needed nutrition skillpower (not willpower):
better fuelling patterns. |
Case 2: Diet failure |
“If
only I had more willpower, I could lose weight” complained
Roberta, a 42-year-old recreational runner. For years, she’d
been on and off diets, only to feel totally unsuccessful.
“I’ve been trying to lose these same eight pounds
for 25 years.” Feeling totally helpless, she came to
me as a last resort to help her achieve her weight goals.
When reviewing her dieting history, I noticed Roberta would
diet by trying to exist on fruit for breakfast, salads for
lunch, yogurt for snack, and fish with vegetables for dinner.
Spartan intake, to say the least-as well as a very limited
amount of food. I asked “When you’re not dieting,
what do you eat?” She quickly listed her favorite foods:
granola for breakfast, pb&j sandwich for lunch, spaghetti
for dinner. Every time she went on her diet to lose weight,
she denied herself of these favourite foods. She even went
to great extremes to keep cereal, peanut butter and bread
out of her house so she wouldn’t eat them. She deemed
them too much of a temptation for her weak willpower.
I encouraged Roberta to stop looking at food as being fattening,
and instead enjoy it as one of life’s pleasures. Given
she has liked granola, breads and pasta since childhood, she’s
naive to think she can stop liking them. Instead of trying
to keep these foods out of her house, I encouraged her to
eat them more often. I pointed out that her standard diet
foods (fruit, salad and fish) had no power over her because
she gave herself permission to eat them whenever she wanted.
I encouraged her to eat granola every day for breakfast (and
even lunch, dinner and snacks) to take the power away from
that food – and simultaneously teach her how to manage
eating granola in an appropriate portion.
If you, too, struggle with weight issues, you need to learn
how to manage your favourite foods – not how to
deny yourself them. By enjoying appropriate portions of whatever
you’d like to eat, as often as you like, you no longer
need willpower to avoid them. Nutrition skillpower, not willpower,
enhances permanent weight loss without denial and deprivation.
A skill that enhances portion management is to eat mindfully
(not mindlessly), chew the food s-l-o-w-l-y, taste it and
savour each mouthful. By doing so, you’ll need far less
quantity to be satisfied; you’ll be content to eat a
smaller portion. You will also diffuse the urge to do ‘last
chance eating.’ (You know, “Last chance to eat
bagels before I go back on my diet …”). You can
have more bagels when your body becomes hungry again. Nutrition
skillpower wins again! |
By
enjoying appropriate portions of whatever you’d like
to eat, as often as you like, you no longer need willpower
to avoid them.
Nutrition skillpower, not willpower, enhances permanent weight
loss without denial and deprivation. |
Case 3. The junk food junkie |
“If
only I had more willpower, I’d eat fewer donuts, chips
...” fantasised Jason, a 22-year-old graduate student
and rugby player. “I know I should eat more healthfully,
but I just happen to love junk food.” In the past, Jason
had tried to go on the straight and narrow by limiting his
intake to “Good clean calories”– a pattern
that left him feeling denied, deprived.
I reminded Jason there’s no such thing as a ‘good’
food or a ‘bad’ food, but rather there is a good
diet or a bad diet. He could healthfully balance ‘bad’
foods into an overall good diet. I encouraged him to shift
his meal patterns to front-load his calories and prevent the
hunger that can all too easily lead to overconsuming junk.
I helped him recognise when he ate healthfully, he not only
felt better but also exercised better and felt better about
himself. Skillpower, not willpower, helped him improve his
food choices. |
The bottom line |
| If
you believe you need more willpower, think again and consult
with your local sports nutritionist. At www.eatright.org you
can find a local nutrition skill-builder. |
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