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If you want to start dieting, quit smoking or limit drinking- it's best that you avoid fast food, cigarettes and alcohol. New research reveals more evidence that temptation is a huge obstacle for accomplishing goals.

A new study reveals that people have a limited amount of self-control that decreases when used to cope with stress, temptation and other challenges to willpower.

Previous studies reveal that people cannot control themselves when the strength of an impulse exceeds the capacity to regulate it.

A new neuroimaging study reveals that dieters overeat when parts of their brain that balance impulsive behavior and self-control become disrupted, decreasing their ability to resist temptation.

The latest findings provide insight into brain mechanisms involved in obesity, substance abuse and other health problems associated with impulsiveness.

That latest study involved 31 women who were chronic dieters. Participants were first asked to complete an attention-control task that did or did not deplete their self-control. Afterwards, they went under functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while viewing images of high-calorie appetizing food.

The findings revealed that "depleted" participants exhibited greater activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, an area of the brain related to food rewards. Researchers note that they also had reduced connectivity between this area and the inferior frontal gyrus, a region implicated in self-control.

Researchers said the latest finding suggest that mental depletion decreases a person's ability to engage in self-control by reducing connectivity between parts of the brain involved in cognitive control and those that represent rewards. The loss of connectivity then decreases a person's ability to resist temptations.

Researchers said the next step is to look at whether people can strengthen their self-control by routinely resisting minor temptations.

The findings are published in the journal Psychological Science.