Copyright bbc
Many people believe that struggling with diet, exercise or breaking habits is down to personal weakness, and Xand shares those feelings. "I feel lazy and inadequate most of the time. "I go to Manchester every week and I usually arrive late after a long train journey and I order a takeaway and do no exercise then I beat myself up about it." Their expert guest on this podcast episode, psychologist Kimberley Wilson, helped Xand understand that "there's no such thing as willpower". Willpower is not this magic thing inside you, instead your ability to stick to something is "about the way you've arranged the world around you," he says. For example, by planning ahead and thinking about what you'll have for dinner, you can more easily ditch the takeaway and eat something healthy. Since the episode, Xand has managed to increase how much exercise he is doing, but still doesn't enjoy it. "I just get on the exercise bike and have those negative thoughts while I do my workout," he says. Another simple change he's made is taking a bag of apples with him on his regular commute between London and Manchester, rather than buying unhealthy snacks on the train. Chris realised willpower wasn't about increasing your tolerance to distress and suffering, but simply being more organised. "I've started batch-cooking which now releases time for me to do things like read with my daughter." How important is willpower?
