Time-based eating works on the same principle as all of the strategies we’ve discussed in this lesson: by adding friction to our eating behavior.
But it’s more than that. A powerful feature of time-based eating comes from creating a simple rule ahead of time so that you don’t have to decide in the moment.
The psychological term for this strategy is precommitment, which essentially means planning ahead. Like any strategy, it’s not perfect, but it can be an effective tool for changing behavior.
If we commit to a course of action in advance, it’s as if that decision has already been made. So even if other options come up in the moment, we are more likely to stay with our initial commitment.
Let’s say that you’ve set an eating window between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Outside of those times, you only drink water.
If your roommate offers you a dish of ice cream at 8:00 p.m., there is a much better chance that you will say, “No thanks, I’m on my fast.” Without a precommitment, you’d have to use willpower. Or just have some ice cream.
There is something about setting a simple rule in advance that makes it hard to break. Note that we say simple rule. If the rule is too complex, you’ll have to think about it and you lose the power of precommitment.
Precommitments can be a great tool, but they take practice. Initially, we all slip up, but the longer we do them, the stronger they become.
We recommend using precommitments frequently in any area of behavioral change because they are so effective.
