Willpower and Decision Making

I'm reading an article on the NY Times that talks about mental energy and how it relates to willpower and decision making. The gist is that you don't always make the same decision even if the subject in question is the same: it also depends on when you make that decision and what decisions you've made before that. In short: many decisions usually means that the last decisions were made hastily with the least effort because you've depleted your mental energy making decisions on the first few things.

A few pages into this article segued into willpower amongst dieters.

The discoveries about glucose help explain why dieting is a uniquely difficult test of self-control — and why even people with phenomenally strong willpower in the rest of their lives can have such a hard time losing weight. They start out the day with virtuous intentions, resisting croissants at breakfast and dessert at lunch, but each act of resistance further lowers their willpower. As their willpower weakens late in the day, they need to replenish it. But to resupply that energy, they need to give the body glucose. They’re trapped in a nutritional catch-22:
1. In order not to eat, a dieter needs willpower.
2. In order to have willpower, a dieter needs to eat.

As the body uses up glucose, it looks for a quick way to replenish the fuel, leading to a craving for sugar. After performing a lab task requiring self-control, people tend to eat more candy but not other kinds of snacks, like salty, fatty potato chips. The mere expectation of having to exert self-control makes people hunger for sweets. A similar effect helps explain why many women yearn for chocolate and other sugary treats just before menstruation: their bodies are seeking a quick replacement as glucose levels fluctuate. A sugar-filled snack or drink will provide a quick improvement in self-control (that’s why it’s convenient to use in experiments), but it’s just a temporary solution. The problem is that what we identify as sugar doesn’t help as much over the course of the day as the steadier supply of glucose we would get from eating proteins and other more nutritious foods. 

The article then goes into what brought up this essay in the first place which was a study done on the sentences of Jewish Israeli prisoners who were showing up in court. Similar to how we would always showed our parents our low test scores right after they ate in hopes that their full tummies would make them not get as mad at us (er.. at least I did, but I actually *got* low test scores, so you high-achieving Asians reading this blog may have no idea what I'm talking about), the prisoners had a higher chance of receiving parole right after lunch. Towards the end of the day more prisoners got denied parole proportionally for the same or lesser sentences, presumably because it was easier for the judge to avoid making a decision based on evidence and keep the prisoner in jail. So, food makes us happy. And you suck at making decisions when your stomach is empty. No-brainer. Back on topic....

I'm not sure how much exactly I agree with everything this journalist has stated. No doubt you get tired of making decisions and say, "fuck it, just take anything" after a long process of making decisions. But when it comes to self-control and repeat instances of "should I eat the cake or should I not," I feel like it becomes easier. For example: In January I decided to go mostly vegan for a month if any of you can remember. It was tough in the beginning, but once I got used to it, it became easy to avoid foods I told myself not to eat. And then 3 weeks into it I got a mini molten lava chocolate cake and I couldn't even finish it which amazed me so bad -- I didn't have the sweet tooth I was so familiar with. I always say that if you're going to avoid something you eat a lot, it's hard in the beginning, but it gets easier after the first few days. I stop craving those foods. In this example, using my willpower seemed like "practice" and it got easier with way less effort as the days went on. Of course, there is also a factor of addiction here too, as well as seeking out specific foods that didn't have animal products associated with them. Like my sweet tooth. I used to ALWAYS have to have something sweet after lunch but after a few days of forcing myself not to eat it, the urge is really really light after lunch.

“Good decision making is not a trait of the person, in the sense that it’s always there,” Baumeister says. “It’s a state that fluctuates.” His studies show that people with the best self-control are the ones who structure their lives so as to conserve willpower. They don’t schedule endless back-to-back meetings. They avoid temptations like all-you-can-eat buffets, and they establish habits that eliminate the mental effort of making choices. Instead of deciding every morning whether or not to force themselves to exercise, they set up regular appointments to work out with a friend. Instead of counting on willpower to remain robust all day, they conserve it so that it’s available for emergencies and important decisions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/21/magazine/do-you-suffer-from-decision-fatigue.html?pagewanted=5&ref=general&src=me

All this not working out is really paying off

**EDIT:** I just realized that this is basically the same blog post from a month ago. So, apparently, not much has changed. Read if you're REALLY bored or forgot what I wrote in my last post. 

Lately I've been consistently between 117-120 lbs. Not really eating much in general... been kind of angry at food, I guess. Also I want to save money. Went on vacation to Chicago and when I came back my skin was super inflamed. I went to the dermatologist the day after I got back and he helped me a bit. My LATEST food gripe is bananas. I ate bananas while in Chicago and everyday when I got back for about 6 days, noticed that I started breaking out and tried stopping bananas, and my skin cleared up after a couple of days. Apparently bananas fall into the category of "inflammatory" foods. Fuck bananas, fuck peanuts, fuck gluten, fuck dairy. The list of foods I can eat is smaller than the foods I can't / won't. I have noticed though that I don't have to completely stay away from it; if I eat those foods sparingly then it seems to be okay. My self-control has worsened. I find myself "cheating" a lot more often, and it's not even at times where I am STARVING and there are absolutely no other options.

Previously I was eating for the purpose of getting adequate nutrition and building muscle. Now I'm eating for the purpose of not breaking out. This War on Acne has paid off, though: my skin is SIGNIFICANTLY better than it was in 2008 and because of this I am happier than when I ate anything I wanted and had acne. I have found foods that are like switches in my body that I can turn on and off (although the off switch is much more difficult to flip than the on switch). And I guess the other payoff is that I've lost weight. I wonder if I can lose 3-5 more lbs to get to a solid 115...

This morn...

I weighed myself this morning. 118 lbs. All that not working out is paying off!

In all seriousness, I don't know how much more muscle I can lose after the first couple of months of not working out. My waist was a good 26". Although, the bad part is that I haven't been drinking much water lately.

I've been slacking off food-wise. I ate like 4 quesadillas in the past 11 days. I finally caved and bought gluten-free tortillas. They are made from rice and are not as good as the flour kind.. of course. They get hard and not in a crunchy way. And they flake. I also ate some chocolate-covered almonds earlier this week. Boooo milk!

I hate to say it, but I am growing more and more hateful of food. The list of foods that I restrict keeps getting bigger. Rather than say what I choose not to eat, it's come to a point where it is much easier now to list the foods I DO choose to eat for environmental, moral, or skin purposes: fruit, vegetables, tree nuts, tofu, legumes that are not ground nuts, beans (although I suppose tofu goes in this category). Oh, chocolate, but I guess that goes in the beans category? The part where this hurts the most is cookies. A good vegan cookie isn't hard to come by, but it has wheat in it. I eat wheat sometimes. Like banh mi. Or cookies when I fold. Good news is my skin is under control. Well, under control in the sense that I know what causes acne and what doesn't for me, not under control in that my skin's completely clear, because it's not. I feel like if I screw up once I break out, which does if I eat certain things (like peanut butter or granola. Bread is hit or miss). So it makes me kind of depressed.

***edit*** just weighed myself to see my body fat percentage. 53% hydration = 23% body fat! Holy crap. I better water it up! I'm usually around 56% hydration. oigh.

I didn't exercise, but I'm updating my blog anyway.

So this new report came out from this stats company that does the stats of how fat everyone is by state, and the news is: we're getting fatter. Wait, that's not news! Well, the "news" is that we're getting fatter slower than we were last year, pointing towards an eventual stop -- and hopefully a stop-and-reverse -- trend of obesity. Stats: in 1995, no state had a higher than 15% obesity rate, but now, only one state has a less than 20% obesity rate (it's like 19.8% or something super close to 20). However, a few states reported no more people getting fatter than last year. The other good ("good" being relative here) is that the reports stated a steady obesity rate in children. Meaning the percentage of kids that are fat is the same as last year. Good job, parents, good job.

It's studies like these that usually prompt the divide: there's the side that says, government, step in, do something! The other side says, screw the government, they can't control me, I can eat whatever I want!

Hey losers (that would be those who say the second one), listen up. I'm all for government keeping their grubby hands offa my life and all, but a >20% (and >30% in some states) obesity rate affects me. Firstly, selfishly, the bigger the average person, the smaller I am in comparison, and the less that things fit bodies like mine. In addition, there is a REASON people are getting bigger. It will become harder and harder to avoid the foods that are bad for me. I mean, besides the fact that I'm picky as hell. If the food we're surrounded by makes us fat, that means *I* am surrounded by food that will make me fat. Again, the average: if the average Californian is fat, it's because she eats in a certain lifestyle, and I don't want to eat that lifestyle, but it's going to be hard to avoid if it's the norm. Well, I'm exaggerating. Everyone who knows me knows that I don't eat the norm. So this is a worse-than-what-is-currently-happening scenario, and actually more places now have vegetarian and even vegan offerings, so this most likely won't happen in CA. This may be the case in other states though. Also, everyone who knows me knows that I have a discipline that allows me to eat a way that's drastically different from the average. Not everyone has this desire to suffer everyday like I do (I kid, I kid) so this means that I do fear for those who I love.

I just want to make sure I'm not coming off as shallow. I mean, I am shallow: I am watching my figure and would prefer it if others did too. But ALSO, I believe that the VAST MAJORITY of what ails us today could be prevented, mitigated, or cured through weight management primarily and nutrition education secondarily: obesity, high blood pressure, many cancers (yes, I said it, cancer), heart diseases. Technology has helped us live longer lives so we can continue to enrich our own well-being, the lives of those who love us, and our very own Mother Earth, and we're challenging that by feeding (pun intended) into preventable diseases.

The society we have today is one that needs to be immediate satiated, and the thought of long-term effects hardly have any consequence on our actions today. We're also very protective of our rights. We celebrate eating and make competitions out of it. We tell overweight children that they should love themselves the way they are and to continue living the same lifestyle they are living. The fashion industry started to hire plus-sized models to accommodate the plus-sized population (not that I loved the anorexic ones; we just went from size -10 to size 10 models). The last two imply that this problem is okay and again we should continue living the same lifestyle we're living. Obesity IS A PROBLEM. It is a problem that affects every American, whether or not that American is obese.

Other studies done on patrons at restaurants that have calorie counts in their menus have shown that either the calorie numbers have no effect or only have an effect on those who already watch their figure and try to eat healthy and do exercise. This means that there's apathy or lack of education among consumers. I think programs like that of Michelle Obama's Get Moving (or whatever it's called) Campaign and the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution (or something) help a lot. I also think we need to ditch that 2000 calories a day thing. That number is so subjective. I mean, firstly, I don't think the average American counts calories, and secondly, a female eating 2000 cals is different from a guy eating 2000 cals. 2000 calories in fruits and vegetables is different from 2000 calories in grains and meat. I'm not saying that Americans need to count calories at every meal or snack but I just think this is the wrong way to go about it.

I was at Mongolian BBQ earlier this week for lunch and a couple and their very young daughter were in line in front of me. The dad filled up the daughter's bowl with some meat and then moved down the line and asked if she wanted some vegetables (rhetorically). She said no. He asked her twice more, each time trying to entice her: "you want some vegetables? Look, they have snap peas!" Each time she said no. They of course put vegetables in her bowl. It also reminded me of a work event I attended a while ago, and one of the women brought her daughter, probably the same age as the kid I saw this week. She had a bowl of rice, vegetables, and meat, and she only ate the meat. Now I'm not judging the parents at all. Obviously, the kids think the meat is very tasty, and the vegetables yucky. There may be some biological intuition going on with what their bodies are craving... I don't buy into that since meat doesn't provide as much nutrition as plant food pound per pound, there's no biological reason for a human body to exclude plant food, and if you wanna go biological, hunter-gatherers didn't eat meat too often. But I had to throw it out there.

Everyone knows the early ages are the most influential. The future generation is what worries me the most. We need to celebrate fresh fruits and vegetables, and make them the center of the dinner, and use lean meats and refined carbs as side dishes.

This is where I'm okay if the government steps in. I'm all for capitalism, okay, but I honestly would be an advocate for getting rid of high fructose corn syrup as one of the first ingredients on an ingredient list. Sure, as the old commercial told us, it's "natural, comes from corn, and is okay in moderation," but the truth is, it's NOT used in moderation. That being said, government stepping in will only do so much and it will also make some sensitive people backlash and cry that the guys on Capitol Hill are trying to control their lives. Education to the people and empathy by manufacturers will make more of a difference. We need more widespread education about food and how it affects our bodies. We need the government to shift its subsidies from meat plants to the produce department and stop thinking about the revenue and more about its people. One of the reasons this is so hard to reverse is because sugar is an addiction. Refined carbohydrates is an addiction. When it's hidden in your food as a kid you grow up and stuff like vegetables that aren't laden in dressing and sauce taste like nothing. Your tastebuds are taught to like a certain type of thing and your body is trained to crave certain types of things from when you're a kid and what your parents and siblings eat.. The transition is difficult which makes me go back to the "immediate satiation" thing.

Lots of misinformation out there. You cannot go wrong with some discipline, fruits, vegetables. Maybe some lean meats if you're into that. Indulgences here and there, no big deal. Some grains. The initial part is hard, but it gets easier. Don't listen to the manufacturer label. Look at the actual ingredients. A cookie is still a cookie even if it's made from whole grains and dark chocolate. Then you don't even have to worry about your weight.

Last thing. And yes, it's going to be preachy. FYI: we are the only country (maybe Canada too?) that allows our cows to be injected with growth hormones. In Europe and Asia, growth hormones are outlawed. Think about it. Our cow farmers are injecting their cows to get beefed up quickly. And then you eat it. You're undoubtedly getting some of that growth hormone too. Just throwing that out there...

Back in action

OOOOOhhh.. Chloe has arisen from the dead!!!

Man, going clubbing in LA really does wonders for my self-esteem. There are WAY too many skinny girls in LA.

I always found it a little amusing that although Insanity is way harder than P90X (not to say that P90X is in any way easy), I was able to get 99% of the way through Insanity (damn you, last session of Plyometrics!!). I finally figured out why. It's because Tony Horton is freaking annoying. He talks way too damn much. And his sexual innuendos make him come off so pervy. Also, Insanity is more exciting than P90X. Although I wonder if I did the two in reverse order would I have finished P90X and not finished Insanity? I like the work outs in P90X (except legs... that sucks) though.

Two days ago I did arms & back without the dvd. This morning I did Cardio Abs from Insanity. I think I'll merge the two. HOLY hell am I in horrible shape!!! When I was doing arms & back, I used the same spreadsheet as I did before with the designated weights, and one of the first ones I wrote, "7.5 lbs <~ too light." I could barely do the exercise all 15 reps without collapsing using the 7.5 lb dumbbells! I lost so much muscle mass. Cardio Abs this morning was no walk in the park. There is too much jiggly going on over there. Yuck!!

I don't know why I keep doing this. Work out like crazy for a couple of months, stop for a few, start up again. Maybe I need to tone it down and go easier. But I feel like it shouldn't be this hard to keep up a work out regimen 4-6 days a week. I'm just lazy.

Food-wise, I'm okay. I have started to eat for my skin now and less for the shape of my body, but I guess they can coincide. But honestly if I had clear skin I would be way more lenient on my dietary standards. Also, that is a huge reason I put such a large emphasis on working out... if I don't have clear skin, at least I can have a nice body. So in addition to shying away from animals and cutting down tremendously from anything that came directly from animals, I've also cut down on many refined carbohydrates. This is mainly because most refined carbs in Western worlds come from wheat, and I don't think my face likes wheat. No oats or granola, including any bars. Obviously no bread or pasta. Rice seems to be okay. Peanuts / peanut butter also make me break out. This makes me scared because I don't know if it's all nuts or just tree nuts or just peanuts. I'm aiming towards a gluten-free vegan diet. Unfortunately all this eating means that if I slip up, I get bloated for a couple of days. Last night I ordered a gluten-free vegan pizza. It was the most expensive pizza ever, but it was good! Gluten-free, can't really tell the difference. It's just flour that's why. Been eating lots of mochi too (real mochi, not mochi ice cream) and I haven't broken out. I went to Costco and bought around $35 worth of veggies to juice and that is helping a LOT. I SWEAR by vegetable juice. 25oz a day will help your acne if you have it. It will also help a ton of other things.

Speaking of veggie juice I should get going to make that and head to work. Hope you hear from me soon...

P90X, Days 38 and 39: Lots of things.

Oy.. *shameful* I feel like I owe you guys an explanation. I know I've been MIA for the past three weeks. Unfortunately, waking up at 5AM and the horrible commute + other stuff ripped out my innards and left me begging for mercy. Okay, that *may* have been some sort of hyperbole, but I think the point got across.

The past couple of weeks have consisted of good/bad eating and 2 days of exercise. Looks like I've lost so much of my motivation. I've moved, so I'm a bit closer to work! My commute is around 0:45 - 0:50 each way so it didn't cut down as much as I wanted, but it's still a great improvement. Truth is I have time to work out now; I just don't. Also discouraging is the fact that I left my workout papers at home! I'll pick them up tomorrow.

Food-wise I'm doing.. okay. I have gotten accustomed to not eating too much wheat but I've been slipping lately with animal products. I had like 3 quesadillas this week! In good news, my skin is the best it's been since 2008. so FUCK YEAH! Peanut butter was indeed the last culprit so I won't be eating much / any pb in the future.

I want to say I'll pick up working out again after tomorrow. But I'm not sure if I will. I want to want to. I love the look of my muscles and I know I lost a ton in the past couple of weeks I haven't been working out. However... and I know I am going to get hate for this.. but it is hard to have motivation to work out when you are already satisfied with the way you look! In Feb I was unsatisfied. I worked out, ate right, lost some fat, gained some muscle, got to where I was a month - month.5 ago and while that wasn't my ideal body it was the best I've had in my whole life. I was in the grocery store the other day, caught a glimpse of my reflection in the frozen food section and said damn! I'm skinny! So, lack of motivation is there when I'm already skinny. But I know I won't stay this way if I don't work out because if I don't work out, I also don't eat right. All or nothing. I need to get my mindset to where it was a month ago: I looked good but I could always improve. And I also need to remember I need to continue to work out so I can stave off osteoporosis when I'm older + keep my heart healthy. I live on the 2nd floor so I can't do plyometrics (boo hoo). I don't know if I want to continue P90X exactly the way it's laid out. I already skip many things: many of the push ups, yoga, plyo, some of the other exercises. I also think I don't get enough cardio but my knee started hurting today which I felt when I was driving during the times I was releasing the clutch.

We shall see. I know I was a source of motivation for some of you out there... looks like someone needs a favor returned!!! :D

P90X, Days 33-37: Lots of things.

33 = Friday, rest
34 = Saturday, Kenpo
35 = Sunday, Legs & Back, ARX
36 = Monday, Shoulders, Chest, & Triceps, ARX
37 = Tuesday, rest

Wow, I have not had much time to blog on here. It is awful. I feel pretty bad. My core sleeping time is 11-7 and when I deviate from that and sleep from 10-5, things go south. I cannot work out at night because I won't be able to sleep after, not to mention my motivation to work out is way higher in the morning when I actually do get up. The result is me feeling tired all the time and slacking off in working out. I am seriously thinking about replacing Yoga with a rest day and work out 5 days a week instead of 6 so I can sleep in 2x during the week so I would work out Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. I am bummed I didn't do Plyo this morning but I got to sleep in an hour and a half. Oh, also bummy is that I only did 1/2 of the Legs & Back and I totally neglected the ARX on Sunday. I just was not feeling it and I was miserable. I hate doing leg exercises. Lots of pull ups too. That was disappointing. Yesterday's work out was tough: so many push ups, but I really enjoy the arm work outs because I want to get strong. I don't care if my legs are strong to be honest. I feel like the plyometrics (which I totally didn't do this morning, oh, right...) should be enough work out. This feeling is weird because I want my thighs to be smaller but I hate doing leg exercises... so, lots of work, long hours at work on many days, lack of sleep means loss of motivation.

I haven't been eating incredibly great, either. I've had tofu pad thai twice in the past week; so many carbs. and a couple of granola bars. Also on the menu for the past few days was salads, fruit, protein smoothies, nuts, all that jazz. Today I had 34g protein smoothie, banana, apple, lunch was a salad, 2 more bananas w/ pb, 2 pcs chocolate, 2 pcs mung bean cake. I think I need to diversify... and drink lots more water.

This always happens. Any time I see a little bit of progress -- in this case, SOME ab formation in a certain light -- I start to lose motivation. I am already skinny. But I don't have the body I want and in times like these I wish I were more of a perfectionist and less of a... "this will suffice"ionist.