It’s no secret that I’m no fan of the 30 day challenge. I wrote about my problems with it here and here. Basically the 30 day challenge is a reboot. What most people really need is a whole new operating system.

Roy F. Baumeister’s book “Will Power” gives some insights into the complex behavior patterns and underlying biochemistry that constitute your operating system. Reading this book really helped me understand why dieting is so troublesome.

Here’s how it works: the brain circuitry that is responsible for self control relies on glucose. When you go on a strict paleo diet, your blood glucose drops which means your willpower is impaired. After extended periods of self control you experience ego fatigue and that bagel you so easily resisted on day 1 turns into an object of frantic obsession by day 7.

This is why 30 day challengers eat date rolls, Lara bars and the like. They need a hit of glucose to fuel their willpower so they can  make it through the day. The problem with date rolls and other “paleo-friendly” sweets is that they are very high glycemic load. What’s the point of a 30 day challenge if you spend the whole time wallowing in an insulin bath? Ideally a conscientious 30 day challenger would eat nothing but berries and spaghetti squash but almost nobody does this – because they haven’t addressed their underlying behavior patterns and reward mechanisms around food.

Baumeister suggests that a better approach is to gradually and incrementally introduce new eating patterns. I’ve had the most success, both personally and with my clients, by following this model. Gradually changing your relationship with food eliminates the psychodrama and confrontation that comes with strict dieting and allows you to eke out many little successes rather than a few enormous failures.