Cost/Benefit analysis

Since I referred, in a comment, to Cost - Benefit analysis as a motivational tool, I better do a bit of a post on the subject.

Cost can also be taken as a disadvantage. Doing it both was refers to looking at both doing and not doing, which provides a 2x2 matrix. In addition, we need to look at short term (st) and long term (lt) effects, and also altruistic (o) verses self interest (s).  Long term should be weighted higher for weight control items, as is often the case for any decision.

For this example lets consider overeating to be anything beyond 3 moderate meals each day and eating sugar, processed foods, acellular carbohydrates, grains, omega 6 oils, anything containing exorphins, endocannabinoids, hormones or other flavour enhancers.

Consider Overeating
Benefit	Cost Disadvantage
relief of urge to eat (st)s	Obesity (lt)s
	High blood pressure, medication (lt)s
	High blood glucose, medication (lt)s
	Diabetes, insulin, foot amputation, blindness (lt)s
	Slow painful death (worse than death) (lt)s
	death (lt)s
$ (st)o - junk food companies	$  (st,lt) s
Not Overeating
Benefit	Cost  Disadvantage
Health (lt)s	Learning about food, motivation, learning about controlling cravings and urges, learning in general about life, philosophical sorting of my beliefs and discarding bad beliefs, replacing with better concepts.
save $, praise self for not overeating (st)s	help put junk food companies out of business (lt)o
	Do I care about junk food companies? NO.

This is crude, but enough to give the idea. Sometimes we need to hit ourselves with a big stick. But what do I know.