Your Diet or Your Money? |
10 Comments |
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Science Daily found some research from the University of Minnesota that says that if you are on a diet you might spend money impulsively. This is something that has always seemed intuitive me. The scientists theory is that people have one “bucket” of focus or will-power to apply to all areas of their life. If you use it all on saving money, your focus won’t be on losing weight and vice versa. I’m willing to agree with that as long as there are allowances for people to have different size “buckets” of focus and will-power to start with. I also like to think it’s something that can be grow bigger as it’s exercised, but this is simply a theory I have, I have no evidence or research to back it up.
The disappointing part of the study is that it didn’t test any specific aspect of being on a diet. It simply tested how people spend money while they were preoccupied with other thoughts. Those other thoughts may or may not be diet related.
How can you do be on a diet and save money at the same time? From the study, the scientists didn’t tell people that how they spent money was part of the test. Thus the result was to test the subconscious effect of spending money. However, you are aware of this connection now. If you think a bit about saving money while on your diet, you may be able to break that subconscious connection.
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September 13th, 2007 at 9:03 am
[...] Over at Lazy Man and Health, I wrote an article that should be of interest to Lazy Man and Money readers. Science Daily has a report about how being on a diet can affect your money. [...]
September 13th, 2007 at 9:56 am
If diet was a high priority for me and money wasn’t tight, I could see being willing to spend more for results, i.e.gym memberships, personal trainer, special food, nonfood rewards for good behavior.
However, I since the article was more about general spending when trying to maintain self-control, I’m not sure if those thoughts would be applicable.
If the dieter’s spending is conscious, I’m sure the excuse “Well, I’m losing weight so I deserve x” is often applied.
September 13th, 2007 at 11:11 am
Psychology has provided some evidence that willpower is a finite resource that can be depleted by doing something difficult or increased by exercising it. Take a look at research by Roy F. Baumeister - for example, this study: http://www.apa.org/monitor/jun03/selfcontrol.html
September 13th, 2007 at 11:52 am
I actually find that when I’m watching what I eat, that helps me save money, too. My coworkers and I order in a little too often…the dollars spent and calories consumed is definitely a lot higher there!
September 13th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
i dont agree with this study. when i am focused on losing weight, i tend to be more diligent and focused on other areas of my life. this thing seems to need more research.
September 13th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
While this could possibly be true, I wonder if the reverse is also true. When I’m being aware of how I spend money, I’m more likely to bring my own food from home, rather than going out to eat. Since food from home is likely a sandwich and simple salad, it’s probably healthier for me.
However, I’m an impulse buyer in general, so now I wonder if I justify purchases by saying, “Well, I didn’t buy lunch this week, so I can afford the new toy.” I’m going to have to pay attention to that!
September 24th, 2007 at 4:59 am
[...] Lazy Man and Health presents Your Diet or Your Money. Lazy Man discusses some research from the University of Minnesota that says that if you are on a [...]
September 28th, 2007 at 7:03 am
I agree with this. It’s not that eating healthy costs more money, it’s more the idea that everything you do is restricted. I know that I struggle with eating well now as I’m working out of debt.
October 8th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
I somewhat disagree because it can be done. You just need to make saving and staying healthy a goal.
September 5th, 2008 at 6:28 am
I think I have to disagree with the study too. When I do really well watching what I eat, I also tend to stick to my budget better too. Lately, I have not been doing either, and I feel like crap! Also, I disagree with an above poster’s comment that eating healthy doesn’t cost more. While lately I’ve been spending more on bad food, its because I’ve been eating ALOT of junk. Based on normal amounts of food and the quality of food, I find eating healthy is definitly more expensive. It can still be done on a budget, but it is still more costly.
And I say this with, up untill two months ago, an 80-100 dollar a month food budget.