Controlling Our Self-Control

Okay, it's a new year...  if you have been watching your diet more closely,  joined the gym and worked out a couple of times, you are on the right rack.  So far, so good.
But how do you stick with it over the long term?  After all, this is a lifestyle not a quick fix, right? However, even the most determined of us get sidetracked by real life events, the allure of some foods we've been missing and the feeling that we have worked hard enough to deserve a little down time.  It is not uncommon at all to dive headfirst into total healthy life changes only to slide back into our old habits after a few weeks.

In the September 2012 issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, Inzlicht and Shmeichel proposed that our initial exertions of willpower lead our motivation to shift away from control and toward gratification.  As part of this process, our attention shifts away from cues that signal the need for control and toward cues that signal indulgence.
One quick and easy method that can be used to reinforce your willpower is to rinse your mouth with a glucose solution.  There is evidence that glucose may activate areas of the brain involved in selecting and inhibiting actions.*

*"The Gargle Effect: Rinsing the Mouth with Glucose Enhances Self-Control"
  Matthew A. Sanders, Steve D. Shirk, Chris J. Burgin, Leonard L. Martin
in Psycholical Science