Making healthier choices is a struggle.  We are faced with the decision to exercise, eat right, and refrain from alcohol, tobacco, etc. every single day.  What we don’t realize is that a lot goes into the choices we make. Previous theories of what influences the decisions we make about our health suggested that we, as thinking and rational human beings, consider the consequences and then make a decision based on if the benefits outweigh the costs.  What this theory boils down to is that we make decisions based on how much we might gain or lose because of the decision. 

We’ve all said it.  That little phrase we all use as an excuse to not exercise.  “I just don’t have the time.”  Sound familiar?  Time seems to be our biggest barrier to starting or keeping up with an exercise regimen.  What’s interesting is we probably do have “time” that we could devote to physical activity.  Like that time we spend sitting in front of the TV or on Facebook.  We could spend that time working out.  But we choose not to.  Researchers Ryan E. Rhodes and Chris M. Blanchard may be able to tell us why. In their study titled

Let’s face it.  Being motivated to exercise can sometimes be a drag.  We can find all kinds of excuses not to exercise.  But what if we searched out excuses to exercise?  Exercising for charity might be just that excuse you need to get you motivated.  Researchers, Karin A. Jeffery and Ted M. Butryn (2012) examined the motivation of runners in a cause-based (i.e. charity) marathon-training program to find out exactly what motivated these runners to race.  They found that there were three main motivations – improved fitness, connection with the cause, and mutual training support- and four supporting motivations –

The main goal of weight loss is to lose the weight and then KEEP it off, i.e. weight loss maintenance. When you think about this concept of weight loss maintenance, you might be thinking, “Ok, so if I lose weight doing X, Y, and Z, then if I keep doing those things I should be able to maintain that weight loss, right?”

“Who you want to be in 5-10 years” is not something most of us take time to think about at least on a regular basis. Most often it comes up when putting a resume together or interviewing for a new job when it conjures up images of being the executive in the corner office or being the head of the department. At the same time we may also think about who we don’t want to be in 5-10 years like stuck in the same place or worse–jobless. Both sets of images usually provide good incentives for us to continue working towards our goals.

Last week, we discussed the Strength Model of Self-Control, or the idea that self-control is similar to a muscle that can be fatigued with overuse. Also, similar to a muscle, self-control can be strengthened through “exercise.

Last week in Resisting Temptations: Part 1, we discussed the Strength Model of Self-Control, or comparing self-control to a muscle that can be fatigued with overuse. For example, you use your self-control muscle all day, resisting some chocolate chip cookies, and when you go home, you have no strength left to resist the chocolate cake on the counter.

Has this ever happened to you? You are at work minding your own business. Suddenly someone brings in a plate full of your favorite sweets and plops it down on the table next to you. All day the sweets sit next to you. Tempting you. Calling you.