Jim Katsoulis explains why "I'll have it later" works better than "I can't have it" when resisting tempting foods. A study found that postponing indulgence, rather than denying it outright, reduces psychological resistance and helps people stick to weight-loss goals.
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The phrase that makes you thin. The phrase I'm about to tell you is one that was discovered from a study where they put tempting foods in front of people and then had them say different phrases to see which one would be most effective in helping them say no to these foods in a comfortable way. Now, they tested, I can't have it, I'm on a diet, I shouldn't eat that. None of those work. The one phrase that was the most effective was, I'll have it later. And so when you say this anytime that you're tempted by something, the reason it's so effective is instead of shutting the door on it, right, with those I can't have it, I shouldn't eat that, we feel like we're never gonna have that food again and we start to feel deprived. When we say, "I'll have it later," we kind of keep that door open, but we just push it off into the future so we don't feel as much deprivation and we can still look forward to the pleasure of having it at some point in the future. So begin using this phrase anytime you're tempted by unhealthy foods and notice how much easier it is to move towards your goal weight.