Imagine you’re at a restaurant.
You look at the menu and see a small mixed grill is £15, a medium mixed grill is £20, and a large mixed grill is £22.50.
You’re not particularly hungry – certainly not hungry enough to justify eating the £22.50 large mixed grill… but… it’s just £2.50 more than the medium and it comes with so much more you can’t help yourself but go for the large because it’s the “best deal”.
Except, it isn’t.
Yes, you get more for your money, however:
1) You’re not actually hungry enough to begin with
2) Playing the human dustbin by guzzling down all that food will have a net negative effect on your progress towards your goal of building a lean, healthy physique
3) Even though the price per item is lower, you’re still spending more money overall
Not so good value when you look at it that way, is it?
No. It is not.
What we have here is a classic example of something called The Decoy Effect. It’s just one of dozens upon dozens of cognitive biases that have an adverse effect on your ability to make good decisions.
Here’s the kicker: Cognitive biases arise as a consequence of how your brain works. In other words, they’re part of what it means to be human, which is why people just telling you not to do stuff like buying a huge plate of food when you’re not actually hungry doesn’t stop you from buying a huge plate of food when you’re not actually hungry.
Rationally, you know it’s a bad idea. But, in the moment, you just can’t help yourself.
The solution?
Depends on the bias and how it manifests in your specific circumstances. And this is why if you want to lose fat and keep it off you need to work with someone who understands this stuff well enough to equip you with the strategies and tactics you need to make good decisions reliably no matter the circumstances you find yourself in.
Or don’t, try and figure it out for yourself, and keep struggling along feeling like a slave to your instincts in the meantime.
Whatever. The choice is yours.
If you’ve had enough of the struggle, The Phil Tyreman Letter might be for you.
Details here:
www.philtyreman.co.uk/information
Thank you
Phil Tyreman