Your Willpower Muscle

If you find yourself struggling with your commitment to exercising or to keeping a clean nutrition, don’t be too hard on yourself, according to neuroscientists having willpower is not a character flaw and it could all be down to the physical make up of the brain. Because the part of the brain called prefrontal cortex is the same part of the brain that records our working memory and is in charge of willpower, researchers showed that when the brain is overwhelmed with tasks willpower is very weak.
The solution , as I mention in my book, Mind Over Body: The Key To Lasting Weight Loss Is All In Your Head, is not hammering people with new habits but helping them bulk-up their willpower muscle by making them consciously aware of certain changes that need to take place before any physical habits are set in motion. In other words, you must outsmart the subconscious mind and make firm decisions to commit to your goals and be sure to keep your word with yourself. If you put exercising last on your daily “things to do”, you will fail! You will be so tired physically and emotionally that outsmarting your subconscious will be almost impossible. So make sure you make an appointment with yourself to exercise before work or in the middle of your day.

This article or post is not intended to provide individual advice, which should be obtained directly from your health care professional.