Plus Size Wellness Spring 2018 Issue

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each pair with lower self-control had poorer outcomes, despite shared family background. So how can you improve your willpower? Use It or Lose It, But Don’t Overdo It You undoubtedly already know these facts about muscles: ● Muscles get stronger when exercised. ● Muscles can be overworked, leaving them weak until they have a chance to recover. What you may not know is that these things are also true of willpower. In one study, participants were instructed to try to not think about a white bear. Thought-suppression tasks like this require a good deal of selfcontrol. After completing the task, they were told to limit their intake of beer during a taste test because a driving test would follow. These participants drank a lot more beer than other participants who had not done the thought-suppression task. In another study, people who were asked to suppress their feelings while they watched an upsetting movie gave up sooner on a subsequent test of physical stamina than did people who were allowed to freely respond to the emotional impact of the film. In a third study, women watched a nature documentary while being seated next to or across the room from a bowl of candy. Later, they were given impossible puzzles to solve. Those who had sat near the candy while watching the movie gave up sooner than the women who were seated far from the candy. In other words, the effort it took to resist that nearby temptation depleted willpower, causing these women to give up sooner on the stressful task. In each of these cases, people found it difficult to slog through difficult tasks when their willpower had been depleted. But willpower can also be strengthened. Here’s how. How to Strengthen Your Willpower
1. Don’t keep yourself in a constant state of willpower depletion Weight-lifting is a great way to build muscle. But you wouldn’t spend half an hour lifting weights just before helping a friend move his furniture because you know that your muscles would be too fatigued to do a good job. Neither would you spend hours daily lifting weights with no recovery time. The same holds for willpower. While wisely exercising self-control is a great way to build willpower, never giving yourself a break is a good way to deplete your resolve. In sports, coaches and trainers often draw a distinction between comfort zones and stretch zones. If you are comfortable running a 10-minute mile, increasing your pace to a 9-minute mile puts you in your stretch zone. Alternating between the two is a good way to improve your performance. But staying in your stretch zone indefinitely is not a good idea. Your risk of injury increases, and your performance will suffer in the long run due to a lack of recovery time. The same holds for willpower. 2. Use your imagination. Imagination is a powerful technique for improving willpower. The body often responds to imagined situations in the same way it responds to experienced ones. If you imagine lying on a peaceful beach, listening to the waves gently lapping the shore and tasting the salty sea air, your body will respond by relaxing. If instead you imagine being late for an important meeting, your body will tense in response. You can use this to your advantage in building willpower. For example, as willpower experts Roy Baumeister and John Tierney point out, dieting is a means for keeping oneself in a chronically depleted state. As a result, the dieter feels everything more intensely—from minor irritations to longings for food or rest. But imagination can blunt the cravings that erode your self-control. In one study, participants were asked to watch a movie, and a bowl of chocolate candy was placed nearby. One group were told to imagine they had decided to eat as much as they wanted, a second group were told imagine they had decided to eat none, and a third
Page 2 and 3: It’s Your Choice and We’re Here
Page 4: Publishers Thoughts Tonya L. Keatz
Page 7 and 8: 2. Revamp Your Diet with Fresh Frui
Page 9 and 10: 10 Spring Fitness Tips for Everyone
Page 11 and 12: 3. Expect the weather to change It
Page 13: 9. Take care of your spring fitness
Page 18 and 19: group were told to imagine they’d
Page 20 and 21: daily runs progressed from a paltry
Page 22 and 23: Healthy Eating Tip #1: Don’t Stre
Page 24 and 25: Top 10 Healthy Spring Foods & How T
Page 26 and 27: need for blood clotting, heart and
Page 28: How to eat them: Aside from eating
Page 31 and 32: 1. Citrus Olive Oil Cake Serves: 1
Page 33 and 34: 3.Strawberry Muffins Serves: 12 Ing
Page 35 and 36: 5.Strawberry Crush Serves: 4 Ingred
Page 37 and 38: 7. Raspberry Almond Tray Tart Serve
Page 39 and 40: Homemade frozen yogurt can be made

Plus Size Wellness Spring 2018 Issue

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