Motivation Strategy for Nutrition
By Jon Buettner, M.S.
I often observe that many clients start with an increase in motivation that either fades as time goes on or, upon achieving their goal, struggles begin. The first situation may appear to be an individual aspiring to lose weight. Still, after a few months, they find that it becomes increasingly difficult to adhere to their nutrition plan and continue making progress towards their goal. In the second example, it is often seen that a bodybuilding competitor displays great motivation, which may appear to be a testament to their willpower in adhering to their nutrition plan during contest prep. Still, once the show is over and their contest prep is complete, they may find themselves struggling to stay motivated and adhere to their nutrition plan.
When someone starts a program, whether it is a general client seeking weight loss goals or a bodybuilding competitor preparing for a show, extrinsic motivation is often the driving force behind initiating motivation towards that goal. I always like to remind clients that dopamine is not necessarily a finish line neuromodulator, but rather a seeking neuromodulator, which means dopamine helps us stay focused throughout the process of accomplishing our goal. But, too often for the weight loss goal-oriented client, dopamine begins to fade, and compliance with the program becomes more difficult. In the case of the bodybuilding competitor, dopamine remains strong to finish the contest prep, but drops off significantly once the goal is achieved, leaving the competitor feeling uneasy and unsure of what to do from that point on making compliance to their nutrition plans more difficult.
For any type of goal-seeking behavior, it is well known that, in motivation theory, intrinsic motivation factors help individuals maintain motivation for longer periods of time than extrinsic motivation factors. Often, it is the extrinsic factors, such as those that motivate us to get up off the couch and move that get us going. Generally, most individuals know that eating better and exercising more is beneficial to their health and that by doing so, they will sleep better, improve their overall sense of well-being, improve their resting heart rate, their blood pressure, insulin levels, and the list can go on in relation to improving physical health markers, but these accomplishments do not necessarily fuel dopamine. In twenty years, I have yet to have a prospective client come in on day one and announce that their goal was to improve their resting heart rate in a high-energy, intense tone; it just does not happen. I like to think of intrinsic motivation factors as the small, subtle accomplishments that we will accomplish over time. However, extrinsic factors, such as being able to display this amazing physique to receive validation through the reward of getting on stage, on social media or at the pool of an all-inclusive resort, are usually accompanied by a higher motivational drive to get us moving and started towards our physique-related goal.
Most clients are familiar with dopamine and, at some point, have heard of the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. I aim to further explore motivation theory by discussing dual-process theory and mental contrasting and implementation intentions (MCII).
Dual-process theory comprises two modes of motivation: assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation mode is the consistent pursuit of a goal and is described as the primary mode of motivation when an individual holds a high value of importance for a goal and upholds positive expectations of reaching it. In contrast, accommodation mode takes over when goal-seeking becomes difficult or frustrating, leading to a sense of uncontrollability in pursuing the goal, and external factors that divert an individual away from the goal become more prevalent, in which, an accommodation must be made by either adjusting goal expectations or discontinuing goal pursuit. (Brandstatter & Bernecker, 2022). In our two examples, this may be a disappointment for the person who has been losing 1-2 pounds of weight weekly and they may suddenly feel a sense of disappointment when they fail to lose weight one week, or they may see less weight loss than they had up to that point. This is a situation where the assimilation mode for that individual is decreasing, and now the dejected feeling arising from not losing weight allows outside influences, such as the foods they crave, to look more appealing. At this point, accommodative mode sets in, and they can either adjust and figure out a way to navigate the cravings or give in to the craving, finding themselves moving away from their goal and, in some cases, discontinuing the goal pursuit altogether.
In the bodybuilding competitor example, this can look like the competitor who, once in their post-contest phase, and their initial motivation to have a successful reverse diet post contest prep has also faded somewhat leaving them in a position where the foods they always said no to in the past, are becoming more difficult to say no to. Now the accommodation mode activating and they must figure out how to accommodate, potentially adjust expectations that it is ok to have a little bit of the treat in moderation versus in excess, or they can find themselves spiraling to a point of disappointment in themselves abandoning their plan all together for several months before regrouping to get themselves back on track and progressing towards their goals.
At some point, we have all felt the autopilot feeling in our goal pursuit, versus the loss of motivation and feeling out of control, ultimately failing in our goal pursuit. How can we overcome these feelings when we are not always feeling in control of our goal pursuit?
Mental contrasting implementation intentions (MCII) is a strategy to help establish a plan ahead of time to overcome situations that may divert us from our nutrition plans and goals. Mental contrasting involves acknowledging the positive feelings that arise from goal attainment while simultaneously being aware of the obstacles that prevent an individual from accomplishing that goal. Combined with implementation intentions, which are the binding plans of when, where, and how to act in goal pursuit (Brandstatter & Bernecker, 2022).
In our examples, both relate to the feeling of losing or lacking motivation to overcome eating situations, and MCII is a strategy that can help.
Many clients I work with are involved in offices where they often choose to decline office events that involve food, as this is not part of their weight loss or contest prep nutrition plans.
In this situation, the first step is to identify the goal. This identification would be a positive feeling associated with reaching a weight loss goal or getting on a bodybuilding stage which leads back to assimilation mode, which again, is the consistent pursuit of a goal and upholding the importance and positive emotions that would arise with accomplishing the goal.
STEP 2 is to identify the obstacle, which is the office party with junk food available at 3 pm on this specific day.
Now we have identified the positive emotion associated with goal attainment, along with the obstacles that may prevent us from reaching it.
STEP 3 is to implement a solution. The solution for the weight loss goal individual may be to bring a cookie dough protein bar with them that day to enjoy, while the bodybuilding competitor may be bring a diet soda with them so that in either case, they can feel some enjoyment from the intake of a substance that will not take them off plan so that emotionally they feel better about being involved in the office situation versus sitting in frustration with nothing in hand, trying to will power their way through the situation until it is over which causes a different emotional response. Remember, even if you use your willpower to get through, the cortisol increase from the stress of the situation can still impact your goals. This is why I often recommend having a zero-calorie drink when on a strict nutrition plan with a specific goal in mind, because everyone needs something to take the edge off in an attempt to keep their emotional well-being more in balance.
If you find yourself in a position where motivation does not feel as strong as it once did, consider implementing mental contrasting implementation intention (MCII) and give this strategy a try.
REFERENCE
Brandstätter, V., & Bernecker, K. (2022). Persistence and disengagement in personal goal pursuit. Annual Review of Psychology, 73(1), 271-299. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-020821-110710
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