“Days are where we live. This rhythm shapes our lives. Your life takes the form of each new day that is given to you.” - John O’Donohue
Here is a bit of good news: if you are interested in losing weight, you have a very good chance of being successful. In fact, most people who start a weight loss program and follow the protocol carefully will shed anywhere from four to eight pounds in a month. The challenge of weight loss for most people, however, is not losing weight but keeping it off. Studies have shown that more than half of the pounds shed by dieters are regained within two years. Within five years, more than 80% of lost weight is regained, with some people rebounding to heavier weights. But what about the 20% of those people who lose weight and keep it off? What do they do differently? Based on information from the National Weight Control Registry and what we are learning about the brain’s capacity for decision-making, it seems that, for successful weight maintenance, it may be just as important to count our choices as it is our calories.
Making choices is part of the fabric of being human; it is estimated that in one day, most of us make over 35,000 decisions. Our days begin with a decision—whether to hit the snooze button or get out of bed—and end with a decision to turn off the light. From the moment we open our eyes we are faced with choices that will influence the shape and tenor of our day. Some decisions are minor (selecting what to wear) while others are major (deciding to retire), all of which will either directly or indirectly put us on a path in a particular direction. Making choices is an unavoidable part of living in the world—even procrastination is a type of choice, although a passive and indirect one.
Most of us navigate our daily choices without much difficulty, provided the number and gravity of these decisions remain at manageable levels. Studies have found that our decision-making capacity is at its best in the morning when we are well rested and when the body’s temperature and cortisol levels are higher, both of which help to push memory and alertness to their peak levels. As the day wears on, our ability to make good choices starts to wane; the more decisions we make throughout the day, the more difficult it becomes to make good ones. As our brain fatigues, it starts to use shortcuts—we procrastinate, make rash decisions, avoid the situation entirely, or engage in endless ruminating. At the end of a day full of choices, our tired brains respond by making reckless decisions or shutting down completely.
Although we do it numerous times every day, decision-making is a challenging and complex process. Even for minor decisions, choice involves a lot of moving parts. First, we need to consider our preferences and how they are linked to our goals, values, and needs. We must then evaluate the available options to determine which ones will or will not meet these needs. Once we weigh the pros and cons of our options, we must select a course of action, which requires several cost-benefit calculations. These steps take place for many of our decisions, even minor ones. They can make a seemingly inconsequential trip to Starbucks an overwhelming experience—we know we want coffee, but what type of roast? What size? Leave room for cream? What type of dairy? A slice of pumpkin bread with that coffee? How would you like to pay? Add a tip to that? A name for your order? For the uninitiated, all these decisions can make the simple task of ordering coffee a very taxing psychological experience.
All the choices we are faced with each day, even minor ones, can add up to make us feel overwhelmed, anxious, or simply out of sorts. When these feelings reach a peak, they lead to a condition known as decision fatigue, a type of mental overload characterized by brain fog that is accompanied by feelings of being mentally or physically wiped out. It is a cumulative condition that becomes worse with each additional decision a person must make and is more likely to occur when we are faced with a series of complicated decisions. When decision fatigue kicks in, we are likely to feel overwhelmed, which can lead to decisional paralysis as well as depleted self-control, both of which make it more likely that we will avoid making any choice—much less a good one—and we may resort to a default option that isn’t in our best interests.
Decision fatigue isn’t a personal weakness; it stems from changes in how the brain functions. Under normal circumstances, decision-making activity occurs in the striatum and anterior cingulate cortex, the parts of the brain that coordinate various aspects of cognition and impulse control. Research has shown that the ideal number of choices a person can handle at one time is between five and nine. There are undoubtedly individual differences, but it is important to note that we all have a limited number of items we can hold concurrently in our short-term memory. Additionally, the brain organizes our choices into descending layers of preferences, so we make better decisions when our choices are presented in small chunks. This is why the optometrist shows you three lines of letters and then asks which one is the clearest, followed by showing you three more, and then finally the last three. Having too much information presented all at once overloads the striatum and anterior cingulate cortex and spills over to other parts of the brain that make us impulsive, emotional, or unable to make any decision at all.
Although information overload can lead to decision fatigue, not having enough information about our choices can also interfere with our ability to make choices. The importance of the decision will also determine how likely we are to experience fatigue; magnifying the gravity about the choice cranks up the pressure we feel to make it the “right” one. Outside factors can also tip the balance; high stress, general fatigue, poor health, and hunger fuel decision fatigue, even when we are faced with minor decisions.
Research shows that decision fatigue makes it harder to exercise self-control, especially with eating, drinking, and exercise. The more depleted we feel, the more passive we become, which is the opposite mindset necessary for making good choices, especially when it comes to implementing new eating and exercise patterns. People who are successful at both losing weight and keeping it off longer than five years are more likely to follow well-crafted routines. They report that these routines make it easier to exercise self-control when they feel overwhelmed by other aspects of life. For many, their routines automated their eating and exercise habits, which reduced the number of decisions needed to be made, which was helpful at the end of the day when decision fatigue was more likely. Most reported that following a routine made them less likely to overeat or skip exercise when they felt overwhelmed.
Routines are essentially a meta decision we make about the scope of where we want to focus our attention each day. Supportive routines automate certain parts of our lives, reducing the number of decisions we need to make to free up brain space for what is important to us. Many successful weight loss maintainers report that they limit their food choices for each meal, plan ahead, schedule meals, and frequently eat the same thing several times a week. They also schedule time on their calendars for exercise. Although their routines may seem rigid, many reported that they gave a certain rhythm and predictability to the day, reducing their overall stress levels and making it easier to stay on track.
Having a routine is one of the easiest steps we can take to stay healthy. Eastern traditions have long advocated the benefits of following regular lifestyle patterns, waking upon sunrise and retiring not long after sunset. Some traditions stress the importance of eating meals at the same time every day as an aid to digestion. These ancient traditions reflect what science is now confirming: following a healthy daily routine frees up brain resources so we are less likely to become overwhelmed and make poor choices.
Since our lives are filled with numerous choices, establishing a reliable rhythm to our day can reduce the chance of decision fatigue. Finding our rhythm starts not by looking for more of what we want from life, but by looking for what we can let go off. What do you want less of in your day? Find the parts of your life that weigh you down and add to the burden of your daily decision-making. Can you automate any of these tasks, taking them off your decision roster to free up mental space? It might mean you save a food shopping trip by eating frozen vegetables rather than fresh, drive the same route to work every day, put your exercise on your calendar, or establish a strict bedtime, even on the weekends. The goal is to save your decisions for the things that matter to you most and have the greatest consequence to your well-being.
While predictability lacks excitement it offers fertile ground upon which we can grow. As we move further into spring, I invite you to ask yourself how you can reduce the busyness, to limit the non-stop choices that bombard us and clamor for our attention. Rather than striving for perfection, can we be good enough? We need not make the exact right choice for everything. Not every decision is earth shattering or life changing. Let’s learn how to do less and make more space for the things that really matter.
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