Why Is Changing Eating Habits So Difficult?
While external and genetic factors play a role, no one questions that individuals are in charge of their daily decisions about what and how much to eat. So once we make up our minds to change a habit, why do we find ourselves falling back into old ones? Why can't we simply make a decision and get on with it? What puzzles and frustrates many trying to lose weight is why changing one's eating habits is so darn hard.
According to Dr. Howard Rankin, an expert on behavioral change, a key part of the problem is that we believe we have more control over our behavior than we really do. Stress, anxiety and addiction can limit the conscious control we have over our choices. Dr. Rankin asserts:
What drives our behavior is not logic but brain biochemistry, habits and addiction, states of consciousness and what we see people around us doing. We are emotional beings with the ability to rationalize -- not rational beings with emotions. If we are stressed, depressed or addicted, no matter how good the advice we are given, chances are that we will not be able to act on it. The more primitive, emotional brain generally has precedence over the newer, more rational brain.
But even if we removed those individuals who are stressed, depressed or addicted from the test group, we still would be left with a large population of individuals who are unable to stick with their resolve to lose weight.
I speak from personal experience. I've started many a day resolved to eat healthfully for the rest of my life. But by late evening, a piece of chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream has somehow found its way into my stomach.
One possibility is that I have multiple personalities. Another is that resolve is not constant. According to Dr. Rankin, resolve ebbs and flows like the tide. One moment we can be fired up to be mindful of our eating, but in the next instant, our mood, our state of consciousness or the context has changed. Much to our chagrin, we find ourselves indulging in unhealthy treats.
