Short-term cognitive dissonance and smoothies April 8, 2008
Posted by Niels in : Life, the universe, and everything, Personal , trackbackSince going on a smoothie kick and discovering that I can drink an entire bag of spinach in one fruity cup, I’ve been eating much healthier. The interesting thing is that the healthier living is mainly confined to those times when I’m actually drinking a smoothie. My other meals aren’t more nutritious, I don’t eat more salads, and I don’t eat less junk food.
But I still brainstorm how to get more nutrition into a single smoothie, whether it’s increasing the vegetable-to-fruit ratio, or adding protein or wheat germ, or blending a variety of different vegetables. I also remember to take my vitamins most often when I’m drinking a smoothie. I hear the same thing from my friends, who are actually blending their vitamins and fish oil capsules into theirs.
So I wonder, what is it about the smoothie that makes us so intent on maximizing nutrition during that 15-minute blending and drinking timeframe? There’s some cognitive dissonance at play here. You may be familiar with the study in which having signed a petition three weeks beforehand made people three times more likely to agree to have a huge and poorly lettered “safe driving” sign installed in their yard. Apparently signing the petition caused people to think of themselves as more civic-minded and they changed their actions to agree with this self-image.
Perhaps the action of making a vegetable smoothie causes people to think of themselves as healthier, and hence they look for more vegetables and vitamins to consume. Or maybe we’re all maximizers in a never-ending quest for the “optimal smoothie”. Or maybe it’s just easier to be healthy once I’ve already “context-switched” out of my normal routine. I do find smoothies particularly satisfying right after I exercise.
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Get protein. In particular, products from AtLargeNutrition.com The taste is amazing. I just got the Maximus (weight-gainer) product for lifting. I can’t believe that this chocolate shake is good for me!!! Insane.
“who are actually blending their vitamins and fish oil capsules into theirs”
I got mentioned! Woot! :)
My basic smoothie is: handful of mixed fozen berries (strawberries, blueberries and raspberries), 1 banana, 3/4 bag of fresh spinach, 2/3 cup OJ, 1 vitamin and 3 fish oil capsules.
I bought a 6 pack of kiwis the other day, so I was throwing in 1 kiwi as well.
My goal is to get some whey protein in there, but I gotta buy some flavorless stuff to avoid upsetting the tasty frozen goodness that is being produced.
It’s all good, but man, by the day I’m swearing more and more by the AtLargeNutrition stuff. Niels, next time I’m in Seattle I’ll be sure to look you up! Show me what’s hot. One of my friends enjoyed “The Last Supper” club last week.