Black and white rules

I've heard (and said!) many times that Fast-5 works because it's easier to NOT EAT for most of the day than to EAT REASONABLY for the entire day. There's no second-guessing yourself or rationalizing that extra cookie.

Bevan James Eyles has a great podcast about this exact subject. Black and white rules (i.e. "no sugar, ever!") are more useful than limited rules (i.e. "not too much sugar today").

When you have a black and white rule, your mind will start to find ways to comply with the rule. Your mind will work with you.

But, when you have the limited rules, your "internal lawyer" will start to find loopholes and exceptions. Your mind will work against you to rationalize the exceptions to the rule.

The trouble, for me, was convincing myself that the rules really were final. No eating before 5pm, no sugar, no flour. Those are my eating rules. At this point, emotionally and mentally they're pretty easy to follow. I don't give myself the option of breaking them. I've even joked that my only superpower is not eating until 5pm no matter what.

Anyhow, if you check out the podcast I'd love to hear your thoughts. Mr. Eyles says it much more eloquently than I do.