Self-discipline it is not 18 smoking. It simply proclaimed that‘ kissing a smoker was like kissing an ashtray’. Not only did this highlight a clear and present danger with smoking, it threatened a pleasure that preoccupies many teenage minds. On top of the immediate pleasure of eating, there is pain associated with not eating our favorite food. This is the pain of deprivation. Again, this sense of deprivation is immediate and it kicks in the moment we say to ourselves‘ No, I shouldn’ t eat that’. So, in that moment when we are contemplating eating our favorite forbidden food, we have the strong motivator of the promised pleasure backed up by the even greater motivator of the pain of deprivation if we don’ t eat it. In that moment the threat of the pain of illness is irrelevant. Self-discipline cannot compete In this fight between pleasure and pain, self-discipline is completely outclassed. Like a meat pie in a bar brawl, it gets trampled in the fracas. Add to this the deep, old reasons why we over-eat and self-discipline becomes powerless and ultimately irrelevant. Very recent research into how people control their food intake is telling us that we need to think very differently about self-discipline and recognize its limited role in changing eating habits. 3 Self-discipline has passed its expiration date – there is a new kid on the block( or should we say:‘ food item in the fridge’?) To introduce self-discipline, let me tell you about a colleague’ s rather confusing response on this subject. I was at lunch with a couple of old friends, both psychiatrists, and, as I was thinking about the self-discipline conundrum, I asked them what they thought the concept of self-discipline was really about from a psychotherapeutic point of view. 3 For those of you interested in a good scientific review of this subject read: Lowe, MR. Self-regulation of energy intake in the prevention and treatment of obesity: is it feasible? Obesity Research. 2003; 11:44S-59S.