The #1 Way to Avoid Decision Fatigue on a Raw Food Diet

I recently received an email from raw reader Caryn with a link to this New York Times article on decision fatigue. She also suggested that I post an article about it with regards to raw foods, so that’s what I’m doing.

Great suggestion, Caryn!

What’s Decision Fatigue?

According to the author, decision fatigue:

…helps explain why ordinarily sensible people get angry at colleagues and families, splurge on clothes, buy junk food at the supermarket and can’t resist the dealer’s offer to rustproof their new car. No matter how rational and high-minded you try to be, you can’t make decision after decision without paying a biological price. It’s different from ordinary physical fatigue — you’re not consciously aware of being tired — but you’re low on mental energy.

It’s all about will power. The more decisions we make, the more our will power weakens and the less discerning we are.

And when we’re less discerning, we tend to respond in either one of two less-than-optimal ways:

1. We make a rash decision or
2. We do nothing

#1: Rash Decision

You’ve had a long day, you’re tired, and you’re hungry. Instead of expending the little bit of extra energy it takes to make a healthy and delicious raw meal, you take the shortcut. You make a rash decision and go for the cooked leftovers in the fridge.

This actually helps explain why many of us feel like giving in to our cravings is beyond our control. It isn’t that we lose control, it’s simply that we don’t take the time to stop and think. We behave rashly and before we know it, we’re chowing down on any unhealthy foods we can get our hands on.

This also helps to explain why dietary discretions tend to occur later in the day, when you’re worn out from all the decision-making of the day.

#2: Do Nothing

You’ve read so many different books, listened to so many different lectures, and watched so many different videos that you can’t discern one raw food guru from the next. You feel overwhelmed.

What do you do? You do nothing. Instead of getting healthier, you stick with the same diet that, while familiar, has left you unhealthy, overweight, and unhappy.

The Sweet Solution

Oddly enough, the solution really IS is sweet! When researchers gave participants lemonade mixed with either sugar or a no-calorie sweetener, here’s what they found:

Again and again, the sugar restored willpower, but the artificial sweetener had no effect. The glucose would at least mitigate the ego depletion and sometimes completely reverse it. The restored willpower improved people’s self-control as well as the quality of their decisions: they resisted irrational bias when making choices, and when asked to make financial decisions, they were more likely to choose the better long-term strategy instead of going for a quick payoff.

This relationship between glucose and willpower also helps explain why people consuming your typical high fat, low fruit raw food diet struggle to stick with it. It’s next to impossible to go raw and avoid temptation when your body and mind are screaming for glucose! It then becomes all to easy to make a rash decision and just go for the cooked food.

This connection also explains why many raw foodists want high-carb foods like bread, pasta, and pastries when they’re having a craving. They need glucose!

So how do you avoid decision fatigue on a raw food diet? The answer is ridiculously simple and satiating.

Simply eat more fruit! In fact, the bulk of your calories should come from fresh fruit. The fruit will provide all of the glucose you need to stay alert, energetic, and focused, as well as tons of necessary nutrients to keep you healthy.

For more on following a healthy and sustainable low fat, high fruit raw vegan diet, be sure to sign up for my report The 4 Principles of a Healthy Raw Diet at the link below:

==> www.fitonraw.com

More Tips and Tricks

Even if you follow a raw food plan that’s glucose-rich, you’ll still come across decision fatigue now and again. Luckily, I’ve got a couple of simple tips to help you out:

#1: Be Prepared

The absolute best way to avoid rash decision-making is by being prepared.

For instance, if you know it’s going to be a long day, prepare dinner ahead of time. Chop up all the ingredients for a big salad in the morning or even the night before. Then when you get home, all you have to do is blend up a tasty dressing and start eating.

I know what you’re thinking. Raw food eating is supposed to be simple. You shouldn’t have to be burdened by meal plans, blah blah blah.

Well, you’re wrong. If you want to succeed on raw (or ANY diet), you need to be prepared. That means having at least some idea about what you’ll eat each day and making sure you have that food available, especially when you are transitioning.

#2: Pick a Plan and Stick With It

The best advice I can give when going raw is to pick one raw food plan and stick with it. Pick one raw food guru, follow their advice for 30 days, and see where it takes you.

I know, I know. You want to make sure you have all the knowledge available before you get started. You want to do this right.

Well, guess what? Even if you research going raw for months, you’re still going to make mistakes when you actually take action and go raw. Knowledge is power, but reading a book or watching a YouTube video won’t earn you any experience points.

How do you know how much food you need if you don’t eat raw? How do you know what a truly ripe peach looks, smells, and tastes like if you don’t see, smell, and taste it for yourself? How do you know which fruits and greens are your favorites if you don’t actually eat any fruits or greens?

Quite frankly, you don’t. And you won’t ever know until you take action and actually go raw.

Your Thoughts?

Got any tips for avoiding decision fatigue? Leave your comment below!

Go raw and be fit,
Swayze

P.S. Having trouble avoiding cooked food temptations because of cooked food cravings? Be sure to check out my cravings-crushing program…

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A Guide for Destroying Cravings on a Raw Food Diet

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To learn more about the program and order your copy today, click on the link below:

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