Why Making Healthy Choices Feels So Hard

A Common Example

Imagine this: You woke up this morning and told yourself you’d do everything in your power to eat clean, avoid snacking, and go to the gym. You keep your promise for the first part of the day and follow through.

But something shifts in the afternoon. You’re at work, and your brain starts to get foggy. Making healthy decisions no longer feels automatic, and you have to consciously resist sweet cravings.

Five o’clock rolls around, it’s time to go home, and by then you feel completely drained of energy and motivation. You know what you need to do—if only you can hold on to your promise a little longer.

Then you come home, hit the couch, and it feels like your brain can’t think straight anymore. You can’t seem to make the right decision, even though you know exactly what you should and should not do. That’s when, despite your best intentions, you find yourself snacking at 10 PM in front of the TV or skipping your workout.

If this sounds familiar, there’s something you should know: Your own biology is working against you. What happened is that you ran out of willpower.

It’s not fair, but willpower is tricky to deal with and that’s why we’ll explore it in this article and give you practical tools not to be a victim of willpower depletion again.

Willpower Is A Battery

Willpower works like a battery—just like your phone. You start your day at 100%, and the more you use it, the sooner it runs out. The problem is that this battery is what allows you to make good decisions—especially those that don’t come naturally to you.

Every decision you make during the day—what to eat, what to wear, how to respond to a coworker, what to say in a meeting—takes a toll on your willpower. Every action requiring your attention and self-restraint drains your self-control reserves.

Willpower might sound abstract, but it’s one of your brain’s higher functions. It helps you resist short-term temptations in favor of long-term goals. It’s a type of healthy self-control and one of the most powerful tools you can use to improve your physical activity and diet.

Ego Depletion

Willpower is wonderful and effective—when your reserves are full. The real problem arises when you run out of it. Without willpower, you lose the ability to act on what you know is the right thing to do. This state of willpower depletion is called “ego depletion.”

Ego depletion has psychological, biological, and environmental causes. By understanding why it happens, you can avoid exposing yourself to this detrimental state.

The first thing to know is that ego depletion is biological. Your brain has a finite capacity for making complex, non-habitual decisions. The part of the brain responsible for this, the prefrontal cortex, is also what sets us apart from other primates. (Don’t worry you don’t have to learn the fancy names just understand how it works)

Using this part of your brain requires significant energy—literally glucose from the food you eat. That’s why your brain prefers to rely on habits, which require very little conscious effort therefore, less energy.

As you make more decisions throughout the day, your brain burns more glucose. Eventually, you run out, and your brain starts to "short-circuit." That’s when resisting the chocolate or skipping the gym becomes nearly impossible. This is why a stable, balanced diet is essential for self-regulation.

Now, if willpower is like a battery, sleep is the charger. Sleep is the only state where you can replenish significant amounts of willpower. Here’s where a vicious cycle can develop: Poor sleep reduces your ability to self-regulate, leading to worse decisions during the day.

Simply put, you need to make intelligent shifts in your lifestyle so your biology doesn’t turn against you and deny you from making healthy decisions. 

Solutions

1. Make Fewer Decisions

The easiest and most effective way to conserve willpower is to minimize unnecessary decisions. Every choice you make—no matter how small—uses up some of your willpower.

Eliminate decisions that drain your energy but don’t contribute meaningfully to your goals.

For example, social media is a massive willpower trap. Every second you spend scrolling, your brain faces hundreds of potential choices (“Do I click on this or that?”).

Other examples include deciding what to eat, cooking daily, or planning each workout session from scratch. All these small choices add up and can prevent you from reaching your goals.

If you want an accessible way to work out without risking ego depletion, here’s an article that may help: How to Build Muscle With Little Time.

2. Make Your Home an Ally

Ego depletion will happen—it’s inevitable. But you can outsmart it. The best way to avoid giving in to late-night cravings is to remove the temptation altogether.

For example, don’t keep chips or other snacks in your home if they could derail your progress when your willpower is low.

This doesn’t mean depriving yourself of everything you enjoy. Instead, design your environment to align with your goals.

A little effort—like clearing out your fridge or organizing your workspace—can save you from days of lost progress and frustration.

For tips on managing cravings, check out this article: How to Stop Cravings from Ruining Your Weight Loss.

3. Don’t Underestimate Yourself

Your brain is capable of incredible things. Just because it’s 5 PM and you’re tired doesn’t mean you’re entirely unable to make the right decision.

It might be harder, but you still have the final say. Don’t use ego depletion as an excuse—keep striving to act in alignment with your goals.

4. Sleep, Sleep, Sleep

If willpower is a struggle for you, the real problem is probably your sleep.

Sleep quality is just as important as quantity. Simply sleeping 7 hours doesn’t guarantee you’ll recharge your willpower battery to 100%.

Most people are chronically under-sleeping, which severely limits their self-control. Prioritizing sleep can significantly improve your ability to make better decisions.

For more on this, check out: Your Recovery Is Probably the Reason You Don’t See the Results You Want.

Final Thoughts

By understanding how ego depletion works, you can minimize its effects on your life. This will help you make better short-term decisions, even when it feels impossible, and ultimately allow you to reach your long-term goals.