The other day I read a very interesting article by Patrick Holford on why we can end up eating cookies after a bad day at work.
Patrick is one of the leading nutritionists in the UK and is very into his research - usually as evidence as to the importance of food with respect to health. This article was on a growing body of research that shows that giving in to temptation has more to do with physical fatigue than moral weakness.
The research suggests that exercising will power is actually like exercising a muscle, using up energy and tiring during the day. So you start the day able to resist the cookie jar, but by the time you get home you can't help yourself.
Therefore anything else that uses up energy - a stressful day at work, running around after your kids - can effect your ability to resist temptation afterwards.
City life can be pretty stressful and I'm sure we've all gone home and tucked straight into some ice cream at some point in our lives (I certainly have)! However if you find yourself regularly turning into a post-work cookie monster then that's probably a sign that you should be having an afternoon snack or even just something small before you leave the office to top up your blood sugar levels thereby boosting your willpower. Also if you do get home ravenous then have a piece of fruit when you get in to satisfy your sweet tooth and buy you some time to cook a healthy dinner.
ps If you want to learn more about nutrition and optimum health I'd highly recommend signing up for Patrick's newsletter www.patrickholford.com
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