Why planning (not willpower) is key to a healthy weight

It’s often said reaching or sticking to a healthy weight range is down to self-control, but this narrative is harmful and simply false. Dietitian Susie Burrell explains what really helps us reach our health goals.

It’s a commonly held belief that the ability to follow and stick to a diet is largely dependent on willpower – being able to follow something strictly; to deprive oneself of treats and indulgence, and to resist temptation. Indeed, this belief has fueled modern diet culture for years, priming those with the goal of weight loss to become stuck in a constant cycle of dieting, then self-blame when willpower falters.

What may come as a surprise is that emerging research in the areas of willpower, self-control and goal achievement has found that sticking to a plan to achieve various goals is a lot more complex than simply needing more willpower. Rather, achieving our long-term goals has a lot more to do with planning than trying harder or exerting more self-control.

What is self-control?

Self-control refers to the ability to override or change our inner responses, as well as to interrupt undesirable behavioural tendencies and to refrain from acting on them. Often used interchangeably with the term ‘willpower’, self-control is often used in a moralistic way, linked to what are perceived as positive life outcomes such as maintaining a healthy weight or avoiding indulgences like drinking or partying.

The Marshmallow Test

One of the most significant studies on self-control was the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment, published by US psychologist Walter Mischel. In the trial, children aged between 3 and 5 years were offered one marshmallow now, or two if they delayed eating the first marshmallow. Participants were followed for more than 30 years, with researchers finding links between those young children who were able to delay gratification and positive life outcomes including better academic performance and healthier body weights. Such findings have fueled interest in self-control and the link between positive life outcomes for more than 50 years.

There are different types of self-control

While self-control is often described as a general trait, it has been shown to differ for individuals depending on the circumstance. While one person may rate highly in self-control generally, their control may fluctuate depending on time and situation. For example, you may find it difficult to remain self-controlled when you are tired or in the presence of a trigger, even though you have good self-control at other times. Both the trait and state matter when it comes to self-control.

A closer look at self-control

When you take a closer look at the research on self-control, while some individuals may score highly in the trait of self-control for lifestyle behaviours, in general, they are actually no better at resisting temptation when they are exposed to it. Rather, individuals who consistently rate higher in self-control are better at avoiding temptation.

Specifically, people who can act in a more self-controlled way make it easier for themselves to be self-controlled, because they develop strategies to minimise temptation by planning to avoid it. This means that most of us will struggle to say no when presented with a chocolate biscuit, but those who are more likely to act in a self-controlled way are better at avoiding the chocolate in the first place.

What does this mean?

Basically, it means that having self-control is not enough. Rather, it tells us that to be self-controlled when it comes to health goals, the secret is to make it easy for yourself by making sure the tempting foods, drinks or situations aren’t easy to access. For example, not keeping biscuits in the pantry. Not keeping alcohol in the house. Or going late to the work morning tea so most of your favourite treats have already gone. It‘s all about having a plan that a helps to keep the goals you have for yourself on track.

The link between self-control and planning

The simple act of planning appears to modulate the link between self-control and the goals we have for ourselves. Planning is focused on future action, so it helps us to develop ‘implementation intentions’, or a plan of how to act when a particular scenario presents.

In the case of a weight-related goal, if you are going to the supermarket, planning what you will buy will help to reduce the exposure to other tempting grocery items, so that you are less likely to buy them, and more likely to be able to exert self-control and reach any weight-related goals.

Understanding this link also helps to lessen focus on the belief that willpower or self-control has let us down. In many cases, we simply needed a better plan.

How to use planning to help achieve your goals

When you consider the biggest predictors of overeating discretionary or high-energy, indulgent foods include availability, the influence of others, and emotional eating triggers, there are some easy ways to use planning to help reduce the need to exert self-control. In some cases, this may mean proactively avoiding scenarios in which your self-control will be challenged, but also having a different plan to manage the scenario when it presents.

5 plans to set you up for success

1 Plan to reduce temptation

Whether it is going late to a morning tea, taking a salad when you are invited to a pizza party, or skipping the biscuit and confection aisle at the supermarket, the more you reduce your exposure to tempting food and drinks, the less you will consume. This also means not keeping foods in the house that you do not want to eat, even for guests!

2 Plan to always have a back-up

In our busy modern lives things rarely go to plan, which is why having a back-up goes a long way towards keeping health goals on track. For instance, keeping a supply of quick and easy healthy meals on hand; having a back-up exercise plan for bad weather, and keeping a healthy snack with you at all times in case meetings run over time.

3 Plan for quick and easy meals

Eating well does not have to be time consuming or difficult. Simply keeping a supply of healthy frozen foods on hand for late nights and times when you are not motivated to cook will go a long way towards keeping your food choices balanced and nutritious.

4 Plan for support

Keep in mind those around us heavily influence what we eat and do. So if you want to make healthier choices and move more, you need to get those closest to you to support you in following through.

5 Make exercise easy

Often we commit to exercise regimens we don’t like or enjoy, and wonder why we don’t follow through with them. Planning movement and training that easily slips into your routine will help to ensure you do it.