Don't Let These 5 Habits Sabotage Your Self-Control

With a new year ahead of us, many of us have thoughts about how to make 2020 the best year we've ever had. Why not? Setting goals to be a better you year after year sounds like a great idea. Self Control has a big role in helping you achieve the goals you want to accomplish; so watch out for these 5 things that might take you off track.

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1. NOT GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP

Out of all the things that sabotage self control, this might be the worst for me. I just can't bring myself to go to bed and get those needed 8 hours of sleep. I try to never get under 6, but the experts say that lack of sleep is linked to overeating and weight gain because waking up and inconsistent sleep schedules mess with hormones that are directly related to over eating! OMG!!!!! That explains why I might have trouble losing weight as quickly as I would like.

2. GET RID OF CLUTTER

Researchers say that, "Chaotic environments can create vulnerabilities to make unhealthy eating choices." The researchers did a study of people with messy and clean kitchens, giving them a try of cookies, crackers and carrots. The participants could eat as much as they wanted. The people in the cluttered kitchens ate more cookies than those in the tidy ones, suggesting that there is a correlations between clutter and high calorie snacking.

3. WORRYING TOO MUCH

The founder of Butter Nutrition says, “When it feels restrictive, or like you’re depriving yourself, and you need to rely on willpower to power through your meals, that’s when you see increased food cravings and struggling.” Thinking about eating healthier is a good idea, but make sure that you find balance between treating yourself and not feeling deprived too much, or it might have the opposite effect...munch, munch, munch.

4. SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR FAILURE

James Tylor Dodge, a performance coach and nutritionist from New York, says there are two things that will lead you to sabotage your goals; "Failure to create a set of realistic goals and a lack of a plan to reach them". It's fine to have big goals, but set smaller, realistic goals to help you reach the overall goal.

5. MULTITASKING

If multitasking stresses you out, maybe you should try to single task it for awhile. Stress causes cortisol to stay "ON" all the time, which can eventually cause you to sabotage your goals but increasing cravings and decreasing your drive to conquer them.