My battle with self control when it comes to food has been an arduous one, the main problem being I love sugar so much it hurts. One week, I feel I could say ‘no’ to someone waving three of my favorite flavor ice cream cones in my face. And the next, if I saw a shiny piece of candy on the ground I might just pick it up and eat it right there on the spot.

In other words, my self control seems to come in waves. While it’s here, I feel empowered. But when it’s outside of my grasp, I’m left feeling powerless.

But there may be reason behind my inability to pass up my favorite indulgences. According to a new study, we have a limited supply of self control and when it dries up, we’re practically defenseless in the face of temptation.

Researchers asked 16 people to perform a self-control test while being monitored by an fMRI scanner, and found that participants exuded much more self control during the first session than the second. 
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Famous athletes are often admired for their great skill, superhuman strength, or fantastic endurance. What many forget that there is something an athlete needs even more than these attributes: a trained mind.

Mental preparation has increasingly become important as sports have evolved. Sports psychology is a discipline completely devoted to the study, and adages like “mind over matter” are common in everyday speech. Although there is still much to learn about how the brain works in connection with fitness, athletes can learn many mental strategies to help improve their game.

Endurance athletes know how important keeping one’s mind in control is. In long races, the body will eventually send messages of pain to the brain and the athlete will want to stop. To finish, you must be able to not only keep going, but also keep up a good pace. Pain and injuries are inevitable; giving up is not.
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In a recent study found in Health Magazine, Vanessa Patrick, PhD associate professor of marketing at the University of Houston found that 80% of women who used the words, “I don’t eat that,” were able to hold to their good eating habits. On the other hand, only 10% of women who used the similar phrase, “I can’t eat that” stuck to their good eating habits.

“Saying ‘I can’t’ signals that you’re giving up something desirable, but saying ‘I don’t’ gives you a sense of empowerment,” said Patrick.

After reading this piece I couldn’t agree more. A couple years ago, when I was a sophomore in college, I had the pressure to look my best in my little-material cheerleading uniform while knowing I had gained about 10 pounds since making the squad. I used to look at the greasy box of fries my friends were eating and sadly say, “I can’t eat that.” What I didn’t realize was I was making it 10x harder on myself. Losing a few inches on my mid section was a huge goal of mine, but I was going about it the completely wrong way. Saying “I can’t eat that” felt like a slap in the face each time I said it, and it reminded me of the negative consequences and embarrassment I was facing.
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Waking to the news about the theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, this morning reminded me a lot of September 11, 2001.

My responses were somewhat different, but prior to both tragedies, I had received sad news about death and loss impacting me and those close to me in quick succession. Just this week, two families I know lost babies and other friends experienced other losses. With social media, I was also exposed to the losses of friends of friends. In 2001, I had been to four funerals in just the few months prior to 9/11. Today, the sky is gray and it matches how I think many people are feeling.

When we are stressed, we tend to reach for sugary or fatty foods. It is kind of a natural craving, but it doesn’t mean that it will help you manage your stress. While we may be most tempted to cheat on our diet plans when we are stressed or grieving, it might be the worst time to do it.
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Not only can exercise improve your health, but an increasing body of research is finding that exercise benefits your memory. The advantages may be as diverse as reducing the risk of cancer, spurring the growth of new brain cells, and preventing Alzheimer’s.

In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2007, researchers found an improvement in participants’ blood flow to a memory-related brain area as well as increased scores on memory tests after a three-month-long workout program.

Another study, conducted at Cambridge University in 2010, showed that running stimulates the brain to grow new cells in the hippocampus, a part of the brain associated with memory. Mice were given rewards of sugar if they nudged a square to their left, and nothing if they nudged a square on their right. One group then had access to running wheels, and after their exercise they outperformed sedentary mice’s ability to pick the right square by nearly fifty percent. Tissue samples also showed that they had hundreds of thousands of new brain cells.
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