Willpower when Shopping

The Effects of Decision Fatigue and Hunger on Shopping

by Jerome K Brown

I often suggest that people to stick to a list, stay around the perimeter of the store and not be hungry while shopping. I also talk about this in my shopping video (I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it). These may seem like trivial things but there’s a reason behind the suggestion. What’s the reason you ask? It’s because of willpower.

Yes, willpower is a real thing! Some have more than others, but contrary to the what most people think, the level of willpower that you have is not always the same. Think of it this way, you may have the cardiorespiratory endurance to run a marathon. However, if you’ve over exerted yourself before the race and haven’t been eating properly, your ability to run a marathon will be severely hampered. In this way, willpower is similar to cardiorespiratory endurance. It’s strongest in the morning, you have a finite amount and it can be depleted.

One of the things that depletes willpower is making decisions. In the book “Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength” by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierny, experiments are detailed that show that having to make decisions throughout the day at home and at work can create a condition called decision fatigue. Something as simple resisting chocolate chip cookies can make it harder to make decisions later. The authors write, “Decision making depletes your willpower, and once your willpower is depleted, you’re less able to make decisions” and “…decision fatigue helps explain why ordinarily sensible people get angry at their colleagues and families, splurge on clothes, buy junk food at the supermarket, and can’t resist the car dealer’s offer to rustproof their new sedan.”

Shopping around the perimeter of the store and sticking to your list helps reduce the number of decisions you need to make, thereby reducing the likelihood that you will make poor food choices. Most of the good food choices (fresh fruits and vegetables, meats and dairy) are located around the outside of the store. Most of the sugary, salty, processed foods are located in the center of the store. So if you stay away from those aisles and stick to the list, you won’t have to burden yourself with having to decide if you’re going to buy those yummy looking cookies or chips that are on sale 2 for 1.

Something else that affects willpower is hunger. It has been shown that if the brain is depleted of fuel(hungry), self-control becomes much more difficult. This effect was even seen in dogs! That’s why shopping when you’re hungry is a bad idea. And “hungry shopping”(my term) along with decision fatigue is a recipe for shopping disaster.

So far we’ve only talked about what happens while shopping. What happens once you bring the poor food choices home? At some point stress and decision fatigue will set in and willpower will become depleted(remember willpower declines throughout the day). At some point your desire will probably win out and you’ll reach for the chips, doughnuts, cookies or sugary drinks. Its best not to bring them home in the first place. I always say, “If its not there, you can't eat it.”

So stick to the list, shop around the perimeter and don’t shop when you’re hungry. Save your willpower to resist the impulse buys on the internet.