Have you ever noticed that you become more easily fatigued—mentally as well as physically—when you are in a situation where you have to make a lot of choices or decisions in a short period of time?

I had a client this week who felt defeated after making less than ideal food choices during a trip last week. She started off with a good plan and intentions, but as the days wore on and she was constantly put in situations where there were limited resources for getting healthy food (a Southern barbecue, staying in someone else's home and eating what they cooked, traveling hours by plane with airport layovers), it became harder for her to ignore the stimulus of the junkie foods around her. 

By the end of the trip, she sort of threw up her arms and said, "I just don't care anymore." She came to her session questioning whether she really could stick to the healthy eating habits she was starting to form in her work with me.

I reminded her that even someone who had mastered a healthy lifestyle, such as myself, would have found it difficult to make ideal choices in that situation. Not only were there extremely limited choices, there was a lot of stimulus to contend with and "ward off." This gets draining after a while.

This reminds me of what I see a lot with my friends and family who have kids. The child is constantly asking for things, over and over and over again. After saying "no" a couple dozen times, they eventually get worn down and say "yes" just to stop the relentless asking and having to say "no."

A report I recently read has actually shown why this happens. It has to do with a capcity of your brain know as executive function.  "According to this new research," states Dr. Mercola in his synopsis of the findings, "anytime you focus on a task for an extended period of time, or make any kind of selection or choice, you flex your brain’s executive function muscles. The kinds of thought processes that require your conscious effort, such as resisting the temptation to let your mind wander, or choosing between different flavors, for example, draw on the same limited capacity in your brain: your executive function. What researchers are finding is that once your executive function is exhausted from one activity, then your capacity to draw upon it again shortly thereafter may be severely hindered."

The research was specifically focused on the impairment of self-control after the executive function was taxed, and found significant decreases in the ability of the study subjects to execute self-control in many areas, leading to:

• Less physical stamina
• Reduced persistence in the face of failure
• More procrastination
• Less quality and quantity of arithmetic calculations

So "if you're constantly taxing your brain’s executive resources with non-essential choices, you could be increasing your probability of not being able to make sound decisions when it really counts," claims Dr. Mercola, "and you could end up beating yourself up for it."

How can you change this? By pairing down choices and stimulus whenever possible (e.g., don't go to buffets; stick to fewer meal choices at home; don't keep your cupboards too stocked; etc.). Keep focused on the most important things and limit (or delegate) non-essential decision-making.

To read more about the study and its findings, and get links to other related information and ideas, click here.

Live fully!
Lisa