Trying to resist eating cookies, cupcakes, chips and other delicious treats? If you’re an impulse eater—someone who’s easily tempted—then taking a few moments to think about times when you failed to resist in the past makes you more likely to resist now. And vice versa—thinking about times you were successfully at not caving in makes you more likely to indulge. The proof: Impulse eaters who were asked to recall instances when they didn’t give in to a tempting treat gobbled over four times as many cookies and more than twice as many cheeseballs as those asked to recall instances when they gave in to temptation in the past, according to a study in the Journal of Consumer Research. Why? Impulse eaters switch back and forth between resisting and splurging. “When they recall giving in, they tend to tighten up, and when they recall holding back, they let themselves go,” says study co-author Anirban Mukhopadhyay, Ph.D.
[photo: iLoveButter]
