So often people tell me that they just need more willpower.

And I want to gently challenge that idea.

Because if willpower were the issue, knowing what to do would already be enough.

And for most people, it isn't.

The clients I work with at the fasting method are bright and capable,

most with well-developed fasting muscles and nutritional know-how, and yet they struggle to follow

through. That's not a willpower problem.

That's a human problem.

Willpower is an easy explanation

because it puts all the responsibility

on you as a person.

If things aren't working, the story becomes, I just need to try harder.

But that story is rarely helpful and often untrue.

What's actually happening is that many of the behaviors people label as self-sabotage are actually doing a job for them.

Emotional eating, snacking, breaking a fast early.

These aren't moral failures.

They're responses.

They're ways of coping when you're stressed, overwhelmed, tired, lonely, or emotionally taxed.

I'll often see this with someone who's had a long, demanding day.

They didn't plan to snack.

They weren't trying to derail their progress. But their nervous system is

fried. Their stress is high and food has historically been a reliable way to bring things down a notch.

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