Is Decision Fatigue Bad for Your Health
Do you wake up in the morning worrying about what to eat, what to drink, what vitamins to take, what to wear, what to make for dinner and so on? In today's world, there is so much information about how to live healthy that it leads us to have to make too many decisions throughout the day. The result? Our health and happiness suffer!
When we have more things to choose between, we have more chances to make a less than perfect decision, or no decision at all (analysis paralysis!), Who can blame us? Let's look at how we can make it easier to do better more often.
With so much freedom and so many options, choices around staying healthy, losing weight, and eating better foods are not easy and, having all these choices may actually be the unhealthiest thing for us.
There is evidence to show that when we have too many choices, each decision we make increases our mind's fatigue, and increases the risk of impulsive decision making. Ever feel so overwhelmed that you decide to just eat that chocolate cake for dinner?
So, what is a person with lots of choices to do? Eat the same exact oatmeal and tea every day, do the same exact workout at the same time of day, wear black every day? Not exactly.
Too much of anything is not good, and that includes decisions, so we need to reduce them especially at key times of day. Here's a simple decision reducing nutrition strategy:
1. Create a morning routine, especially during the week. For example, you might wake up, have a 16 oz glass of hot water with the juice of half a lemon. Next, workout and include stretching and 5 minutes of meditation, followed by a balanced breakfast. Be sure to put it into your calendar at a specific time just like any other appointment (that makes it real!) and you will be more likely to follow through and do it.
2. Have a simple breakfast that you don’t need to think too much about. Smoothies can be made from the same base, so maybe you have the same green and change up the fruit each week. Likewise, if you enjoy oatmeal, you can change up your usual toppings for different nuts, seeds and spices. If you eat eggs and greens, try switching up the veggies or have smoked salmon with greens some days. Save the "wild card" breakfast for the weekend after your workout when you have time or mental "bandwidth" to make a different choice.
3. Don't add decision fatigue to end of day fatigue. Have you ever ended up in a drive through or eaten a bag of chips for dinner before you even realize what's happening? When we are tired (as we usually are at the end of our day), our body calls the shots when it comes to the food it wants, so it will be harder to direct it to make better choices. So, have your dinner planned (and, ideally, prepped) and have a backup option (like a pantry meal) in case life happens and you run late, or don't feel like even assembling your better choice.
4. Take one small step at a time. If it feels overwhelming to do too many things, start with one small step at a time. If you can get the morning routine down, but the rest of the day is not perfect, don’t worry. You have still done something good for your body to start your day. Add additional steps as you feel comfortable. Maybe a month after mastering your morning routine, you begin to look at meal prepping or healthier grocery shopping habits.
Whatever small steps you make may seem small but, believe me, they will make a difference to your health over time.
Stay Well!
