Glucose will increase your reserves of willpower but not long term. They suggest eating eat lower glycemic foods. Those of us in this fitness & health field know that the lower glycemic foods take longer to digest & keep us going longer & help us restore that willpower.

4. It was found that delayed gratification can help a person in situations where that want to eat something that they really are trying not to... it basically is saying that if I don't eat this now, I can have it at a later date or time. They found that people that did this either ate less or did not even go back for the food they delayed eating & thus did better at weight loss. Honestly, I use this strategy all the time. If I am craving something, I tell myself to either wait 10-15 minutes first OR I tell myself I can always have it over the weekend when I normally have my weekend cookie treats. It definitely keeps me from eating things right then 99% of the time. Come the weekend, I always want my cookie so I forego whatever else it was I wanted during the week & I don't make up for that loss which is what the researchers found happened most often.

5. The first step in self-control is set a clear goal & not just a clear one but an attainable goal! Doesn't that sound familiar to all of us! The SMART principle for goal setting. This means making your goals Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.

6. They wrote a great chapter about David Allen’s Getting Things Done system (GTD). I really liked this part because I am pretty bad at organizing & the clutter stuff! This was a great example with a Drew Carey true life story. Years ago, psychologists called this the "inner nag". The system delegates to the 4 D's - "everything that has not been done or delegated or dropped has been deferred to file drawer!  I Really Really liked this part!

7. Those with higher self-control report less stress BUT studies showed that they use the self-control not to get thru the crisis but to avoid it. "They play offense instead of defense". I get this because as much as I wanted to get & read this book, it became a drag on me for all the stuff in it I did not want to read & the points I wanted them to make NOW! I thought I was going to finish this book early yet I procrastinated reading it every time I picked it up which caused more stress for me in terms of finishing it & writing this review. In fact, many times I did catch myself thinking about food & what I could eat when I got frustrated with my procrastination!

8. They say do NOT equate being overweight with lack of willpower. They say to never go on a diet. Never vow to give up chocolate or other foods you love. Per Mark Twain: "The promise not to do a thing is the surest way in the world to make a body want to go & do that very thing".

Now, saying that, there are ways to help you manage & build the self-control, like the delayed gratification above; setting clear & realistic goals so that you have a chance to succeed; keeping trigger foods out of the house or out of your sight; avoiding problem situations that you can control like walking into a bakery just "to look". Things like that.

Also monitor your actions or food.. again, something we have heard before a lot but keep track in terms of the steps to your goal. "Give yourself relevant rewards for achieved milestones. Obviously, achieving your goal will be extremely rewarding, but the road to success might be a long one. Set up milestones throughout the process and award yourself when you meet them." Their studies found the reward system to be highly effective if done correctly & that is outlined in the book. They even used video games as an example. "Even when players lost battles or made mistakes, they remain motivated because of the emphasis on rewards rather than punishment. Instead of feeling as if they failed, the players think that they just have'nt succeeded yet.

9. "Precommitt to success". I think many of us think of this as positive self talk versus the negative self talk. But they describe it more like I don't eat donuts or maybe it is Pop Tarts for you,  vs. I eat my veggies every day.

10. I like at the end of the book it says this: Self-control is ultimately about much more than self-help. It's essential for savoring your time on earth & sharing joy with people you love....People with stronger willpower are more altruistic... inner discipline still leads to outer kindness." That in itself makes me want to work on my willpower more outside the areas I have already seemed to do well at & maybe just put too much into & depleted myself elsewhere.

In the Introduction of the book it says: Acquiring self-control isn't as magically simple as the techniques in modern self-help books....Ultimately, self-control lets you relax because it removes stress & enables you to conserve willpower for the important challenges.".

Honestly, there is a lot to like in this book if you are willing to wade thru all the studies & get to the points & lots towards the end on the food aspect of it & how we can manage, monitor & work with our willpower/self-control to help not only in weight loss but every other aspect of life. I still think I am depleting all my regular life willpower into my health & fitness! Or at least that is what I am going with right now!

I think I got bogged down in this review as well & offer up this list of other reviews to read:  TLC Tours. I really liked a lot of it but it was just hard for me to get this review down in words for you & for that I apologize.... please feel free to read some of the other ones!

So, what do you think of of your "willpower or self-control". Do yo think you might deplete it all in 1 or 2 areas of your life with nothing left over for other things.?