You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as
bylines are included and article is published in its entirety. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated. Send it to mailto:drwallin@drwallin.comWHY DIETS MAKE YOU CRABBY
By Pauline Wallin, Ph.D Author of "Taming Your Inner Brat: A Guide for Transforming Self-defeating Behavior"
Word count: 668
Copyright Pauline Wallin, Ph.D. 2003. All rights reserved
If you've ever been on a diet you know feeling of irritability that sets in after a few days. Nutrition experts have attributed this feeling to a physical state of deprivation, such as low blood sugar or dehydration.
While these conditions do have a definite effect on mood, they don't tell whole story. Consider fact that you are not ALWAYS crabby when hungry or thirsty, even though your body may be in a state of deprivation.
Diet-related crabbiness stems not just from your body's physical state, but also from mental fatigue. As you know, it takes concentrated effort to change your eating habits. That effort uses up mental strength, which gets depleted.
According to psychological research by Dr. Roy Baumeister and his colleagues, mental strength operates similarly to physical strength. Suppose, for example, you've just spent afternoon moving furniture. By time you're done, you don't have much strength left to play tennis.
In same way, when you've spent day exercising self-control with food, you don't have much strength left for controlling your behavior in other situations. Thus, you're more likely to snap back at someone, lose your patience easily, or overreact to minor frustrations.
** HERE'S A TYPICAL SCENARIO:
~ You start off day feeling OK, determined to stay on your diet. This takes some effort. If you've been used to having a donut or sweet roll for breakfast, it requires effort to eat something different. When you turn on TV or radio you're confronted with food ads designed to make your mouth water. It takes effort to ignore these temptations.
~ While you're trying to ignore food ads, "inner brat" in back of your mind notices every single one. It nags at you: "I want that . . . I must have it." Your inner brat's nagging intensifies cravings. You become involved in a struggle between short-term gratification (your inner brat) and your long-term goal of losing weight. This, too, takes effort.
