Raise Your Standards, Control Yourself

This strategy has not worked for me in the past. On net, I gained weight, while I lost weight in my wallet.

Very interesting.

One problem might be that what is driving many out-of-control behaviors isn't a relative desire for yummy chicken and chips that can be overshadowed by delicious grilled salmon and green beans, but an absolute desire for fat, salt, and calories.

My own personal eating strategy is, instead of bringing less food intending to diet and then having no choice but to buy junk food the vending machines when I'm hungry, I bring lots and lots of healthy food (like a grocery sack of raw broccoli, carrots, an apple, banana, etc) and then prevent myself from getting too hungry to begin with.

But isn't fried chicken the highest quality food?

You have to be a total Epicurean. He also recommended "everything in moderation." He was Greek, after all.

I suppose one could also take the Stoic approach of waking up every morning and meditating on everything that could possibly go wrong over the day so that when none (or practically none) of it actually happens, you're left with no worries and are thus happy.

mjh's comment goes along with my intuition: if you already have a hard time with self-control, you now have an eating problem and a spending problem...

Obviously, Dr. Caplan has not had truly great fried chicken or truly great, house made potato chips. With the embrace of comfort food and Southern foods in haute American cuisine, it would not be surprising to see either on the menu of a high end restaurant. Of course, the bread crumbs would be panko, and the potato chips would probably be fried in duck fat with truffle salt seasoning...

Given that food prices are a relatively small part of a well-off person's total expenditures, could this strategy be successful? One can't get into the French Laundry every night, or even every month, but there are many choices available if you have sufficient means.

I only eat desserts that cost more than $10.

My first boss had a great line that I've been quoting ever since. (But only cause it's funny.)

Happiness is attained through achieving one's goals. If one sets one's goals low enough, happiness is assured.

@Steve Roth: Even if I agreed that happiness = achieving one's goals, I don't believe that setting your goals low enough will ensure happiness. At this very moment, I just achieved a goal of getting up, logging into the computer, and reading this blog. I can't say that my happiness is significantly higher. It would have certainly been quite a bit lower if I weren't able to achieve it (e.g. if my internet connection were down).

I think that achieving goals *can* contribute to happiness, but the goals must be past a certain level of significance before they contribute anything at all. Otherwise they simply help you maintain status quo.

$0.02

mjh,

You set your goals to high.

I only eat desserts that cost less than $10.

At some point in the near future, one of the authors of this blog will indirectly lament the quality of comments here by praising the "unusual" high level of discussion elsewhere. When that happens, no one will point out that tripe like this post merits only snark.

I think the best science suggest sating yourself some other way (because self-control is zero sum, although practice can *slowly* increase your amount of self-control).

I recommend safe sexual gratification (monogamous partner? free internet porn?) as probably the lowest cost alternative sating to overeating.