Why is it so easy to recover, while dieting

Healthy lifestyle takes a lot of time and effort, and it is quite natural to sometimes treat yourself to something tasty, or relax and skip the workout. In fact, we are violating the mode much more often than we think. Why is this happening and what to do, read the article.

When researchers from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania equipped with carts in supermarkets motion sensors, they found that the supermarket, and we are moving on the same rails life.

Routes thousand people showed a clear pattern. If you put in the basket cabbage, the next stop will be the beer section or tray ice cream. The more "correct" foods we choose, the greater the temptation to buy something harmful.

This behavior is not difficult to predict. Who has not rewarded himself with a piece of cake or sip beer after deadly training? And nothing wrong with that.

But a more detailed study of the effect of the so-called resolution suggesting that the principle of "an eye for an eye" is built into us very deeply and works even when we do not notice.

The key point effect resolution, which was described researchers in 2006: our choice is determined by internal weights.

Each of us have an idea of ​​what is good and what is bad, it's cool and what is harmful. And if a decision tips the scales in one direction, we'll automatically try to do something to return to equilibrium.

The result is poured into a clever scheme. Imposing the plate a small portion of salad, you compensate yesterday hamburger. But the researchers found that the possibility to order healthy food at the restaurant leads to the fact that visitors choose the most harmful food. And knowing that you can order a salad, you order french fries.

Most affected by this are people who strongly self control. They are confident that they can resist temptation. And when they have the opportunity to buy something useful, they quietly allow themselves too much: after all, then something they will compensate you for any harm healthy diet.

The effect became even more obvious during another research. As the subjects in it were made by people who are watching their own weight. They were offered to the eye to determine the caloric content of foods. Normal hamburger evaluated approximately 734 kcal. The same hamburger, but served on a plate with celery stalks, estimated at 619 kcal. It's simple. The brain receives signals that a hamburger is bad, but celery is useful, and as a result gives us the arithmetic mean of the good and bad.

This explains why it is so difficult to get a result, following some special techniques: adding superfud diet or eliminating it using the 10-minute of exercises and so on.

Oddly I seek a magic pill, it is still no substitute for regular physical activity and proper nutrition.

results research Taiwanese scientists almost surreal. In one test, two groups were treated with placebo. One group and said. Another group reported that they were taking a multivitamin. And this group choose less healthy food.

When testing the pedometer people from the second group choose shorter routes. At lunch we went to the buffet, and not to balanced and healthy foods. And even in the psychological tests showed a greater desire to receive pleasure like casual sex, relaxing in the sun and drinking.

The group of smokers who thought that takes vitamin C, smoked twice as much as the group that took the placebo, and knew it. And if you give people a "fat-burning supplement" for breakfast, then for lunch they eat more than those who did not receive these supplements.

This reaction is not limited to food. seat belts, bike helmets and knee pads provoke more risky behavior.

The problem is that every day we take a lot of decisions, the consequences of which manifest themselves in the distant future, and it is difficult to measure. When we allow ourselves something harmful, we do not balance the effort of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. We can not immediately assess the benefits of proper nutrition, so compare hazy benefits with instant reward for deeds. The latter, of course, wins.

How not to spend all efforts in vain? Psychologists recommend to use two tactics:

1. Focus not on the results of a healthy lifestyle, and in the process. Researchers from the University of Zurich found dependence of weight loss in people sitting on a diet: the more kilograms took one week, the less will go for another. rebound effect was weaker when the test should not be the results of the diet (loss kilograms), and for the eating behavior in general.
2. Make decisions in isolation without taking into account past and future actions. This example illustrates studyConducted among students, who offers to get a movie to view. If students think that they are allowed to choose one time, half of the participants stayed at a comedy like "Dumb and Dumber." The other half opted for "Schindler's List." And if the students know what to choose, you can double, comedy lasted more than 80% of the participants of the experiment.

The same thing happens if you need to choose between low-fat yogurt and biscuits.

By the way, if you have to decide when to behave properly, and when - not very good, the correct behavior is postponed for later. In general, you want to treat yourself - health, but do not say that you eventually worked out.

Of course, we all know how to lead a healthy lifestyle. Sport, proper nutritionenough sleep and so on. But it's a long and uncomfortable. Of course, we want the magic potion or fitness bracelet We made the process a little easier.

But the only working way to protect against the effect of the permission - set high standards for itself each decision. Stick to one course and a deaf ear to all the marketing noise with all the statements such as "This tool can help, and will not bring harm." Sounds nice. But this is only an illusion.