--- title: Research Says You Can Beat Your Cravings With These Two Words description: When deciding whether to eat something that isn’t necessarily nutritious, use the words “I don’t” instead of “I can’t.” You’re 8 times more likely to... canonical: https://time.com/3852415/beat-cravings-two-words/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-13T04:01:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:25:04.876Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Research Says You Can Beat Your Cravings With These Two Words og:description: Use the words 'I don't' instead of 'I can't' og:url: https://time.com/3852415/beat-cravings-two-words/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45a7fa6c273e66ee/6987ef040b72e37a586e1f7e/83540138-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=750&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: word-bubble og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Research Says You Can Beat Your Cravings With These Two Words twitter:description: Use the words 'I don't' instead of 'I can't' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45a7fa6c273e66ee/6987ef040b72e37a586e1f7e/83540138-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=750&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Research Says You Can Beat Your Cravings With These Two Words by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker May 13, 2015 4:01 AM UTC  Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker May 13, 2015 4:01 AM UTC When deciding whether to eat something that isn’t necessarily nutritious, use the words “I don’t” instead of “I can’t.” You’re 8 times more likely to be successful. Via [LA Times](http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/21/health/la-he-cravings-20120721): --- > “” --- **Join over 185,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/can-you-beat-cravings-with-two-little-words/)**_._** Related posts: [15 research based secrets to bulletproof willpower](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/15-research-based-secrets-to-bulletproof-will) [To increase willpower should you focus on greater self-control or greater self-compassion?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/to-increase-willpower-should-you-focus-on-gre) [When it’s too hard to quit a bad habit, what’s a trick to regaining control?](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/when-its-too-hard-to-quit-a-bad-habit-whats-a) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3852415/beat-cravings-two-words/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3852415/beat-cravings-two-words/"},"headline":"Research Says You Can Beat Your Cravings With These Two Words","datePublished":"2015-05-13T04:01:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:25:04.876Z","description":"When deciding whether to eat something that isn’t necessarily nutritious, use the words “I don’t” instead of “I can’t.” You’re 8 times more likely to...","url":"https://time.com/3852415/beat-cravings-two-words/","keywords":["Psychology"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45a7fa6c273e66ee/6987ef040b72e37a586e1f7e/83540138-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45a7fa6c273e66ee/6987ef040b72e37a586e1f7e/83540138-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"word-bubble","caption":"word-bubble","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3852415/beat-cravings-two-words/","name":"Research Says You Can Beat Your Cravings With These Two Words"}}]}] ```