SILY Episode 470 – Telling Someone Is Better Than Willpower




Stuff I Learned Yesterday show

Summary: My willpower used to be pretty strong when it came to donuts. When I was on a low carb diet during the days when Atkins and South Beach were making the rounds, I discovered it was true what they say about your body chemistry changing. After awhile of sticking to high-protein foods and staying away from bread and pasta, you start to lose your craving for those carb-heavy items - including donuts. Pretty cool! In fact, every month on a Friday, the different departments at the high school where I work host a breakfast for the staff. Sometimes the math teachers would bring in goodies; other times it would be the English instructors treating us to yummy food. Whether there were homemade treats or fruit or bagels or eggs depended on what people signed up to bring, but there were always donuts. And for the year I was doing the low-carb thing - around 2003-2004 - I was able to walk right by that table. I considered myself to have good willpower, ascribing the ability to resist temptation to some mental fortitude rather than the chemistry of cravings. Read more...