James Clear is an author and speaker focused on habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement. His new book Atomic Habits breaks down the four laws of behavior change and explains how striving to get 1% better every day can give you remarkable results. He is a regular speaker at Fortune 500 companies and his work has been used by teams in the NFL, NBA, and MLB. You can follow his work at JamesClear.com.

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Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week low-carb is a bust, no edge to human longevity, and writing to improve body image.

Next week’s Mindful Meal Challenge will start again on Monday. Sign up now to join us!

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

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This week our Ask Darya question is from Kaite:

Brain question! How do you convince yourself in the moment to make the choice you *know* will make you feel better… but the bad idea seems like a good idea? I struggle with wanting cupcakes/cookies/chips when I’m overtired & stressed finishing writing work at night (there’s a store downstairs, so temptation’s close). There’s never been a time it makes me feel great- yet it in the moment it always seems like something worth trying for more energy. How do I stop myself from making a choice I already know the outcome of?

I love this question because it is something we ALL can relate to, and I tell my personal story about overcoming my grad school burrito habit. Watch the video to learn how to make the healthiest decision when you really, really want to eat something unhealthy.

Want me to answer your question? Submit it on the Ask Darya page.

Cheers,

Darya

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For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

This week your BMI is lying to you, your brain’s role in late-night snacking, and the best way to reduce diabetes risk.

Too busy to read them all? Try this awesome free speed reading app I just discovered to read at 300+ wpm. So neat!

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (Yes, I took that picture of the pepper heart myself.)

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Photo by Aristocrats-hat

You probably know by now that I’m not the biggest fan of willpower. It’s weak. It’s fallible. And it often backfires when we need it most.

If you were dating willpower I’d tell you to dump the jerk immediately. Seriously, you can do better.

The reason I’m so hard on willpower is because the vast majority of the people I talk to still believe it is the solution to their health and weight struggles, and it’s not.

For long-term goals, willpower is far too unreliable to carry you through. Eventually it will break down, and the rebound you experience will be far worse than if you weren’t trying to control your behavior at all.

That said, willpower can be incredibly powerful for short-term goals. When you need to study for an exam or tolerate your family during the holidays, self-control is often your greatest asset.

The most effective foodists must learn when and how to use willpower to your advantage, and when to let it go and fall back on habits.

When it comes to food, one of the best uses for willpower is when you’re experiencing cravings.

Cravings are internal signals that drive you to act against your better judgement. They can come on suddenly and be intensely powerful, driving all else from your mind except the object of desire.

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For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s (err…. Saturday’s) For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Sorry for the delay, I’m still traveling and had to read through two weeks of articles. On the plus side there’s GREAT stuff in here and it’s the weekend.

This week new low-carb BS, a life-changing essay about mammoths (really), and how to change your food preferences.

Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato,  Google+ and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (Yes, I took that picture of the pepper heart myself.)
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Photo by charliebarker

Last week I received a comment on an older blog post that really took me off guard. The post was about 9 Simple Tricks to Eat More Mindfully and Kelsey, a recent foodist convert, had one of the strangest problems I’ve ever heard after implementing some of the tips.

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For The Love of Food

Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.

Disheartening news this week from the Nutrition Diva about the accuracy of nutrition labels; and from the meat industry regarding their nasty anti-biotic resistant bacteria problem. Also, The New York Times has a fantastic series on exercise that is the perfect inspiration for your spring fitness plan.

Want to see all my favorite links? Be sure to follow me on on Digg. I also share links at Twitter (@summertomato) and the Summer Tomato Facebook fan page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you.

Links of the week

• Can You Trust the Nutrition Facts? <<Short answer: no. But if you’re counting on nutrition labels to keep you healthy, you probably aren’t having much success anyway. Concentrate on the ingredients, and stick to the real ones. (Nutrition Over Easy)
• Is Sitting a Lethal Activity? <<Attention computer geeks! Fascinating article on the problems with sedentary behavior, even in relatively active people. (New York Times)
• Multi-Drug Resistant Staph in 1 in 4 Meat Samples <<This is BS of the week not because it isn’t true, but because we tolerate it. (Wired)
• Dieters find ‘healthy’ food labels can be tricky <<Need another reason to stop dieting? Turns out dieters are more easily fooled by health claims on packages than non-dieters. (Los Angeles Times)
• Bacteria Divide People Into 3 Types, Scientists Say <<I predict the field of gut microflora will take off in the coming decades. Lots of interesting research around this subject. (New York Times)
• Pregnant women exposed to pesticides have children with slightly lower IQ, studies show <<Three new studies indicate that traces of pesticides in pregnant mothers correlated to decreased IQ scores in children 7 years later. Though the mechanism is unclear, even a hint that pesticides can impact cognitive development should concern expectant mothers. (Los Angeles Times)
• For an Exercise Afterburn, Intensity May Be the Key <<Hard workouts seem to be the most effective at burning extra calories after you stop sweating. (New York Times)
• Trying to stop food cravings? Not eating the foods you crave may help, a study finds <<I find this interesting because I’ve definitely noticed that people of all diet camps claim to have gotten in touch with their “true” bodily needs once they changed their diets. Well, it looks like this truth may be somewhat subjective. (Los Angeles Times)
• What’s the Single Best Exercise? <<There’s not one answer, but the top 12 answers are all probably pretty good. (New York Times)
• White bean tuna salad for a picnic in the park <<Such a lovely, simple spring recipe. (Jenn Cuisine)

What inspired you this week?