You’re at the takeout or Starbucks hankering for a tasty snack.
That double chocolate brownie sure looks good (410 calories; 24 grams of fat), but you know you should choose the apple (52 calories, 0.4 grams of fat).
Here’s a suggestion: Make a fist before picking your dessert.
The simple act of tightening a muscle — in your hand, your calf, whatever — can help you make the healthier choice.
“Firm muscles can firm willpower and … increase self-control. … Put simply, steely muscles can lead to a steely resolve,” says a study recently published in the Journal of Consumer Research.
“It’s actually quite easy,” one of the study’s authors told me. It works because “the mind/body association is so strong,” said Aparna Labroo, associate professor of marketing at the University of Chicago. She said her study was the first to show that the body, not just the mind, can influence self-control.