SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
The first few days of a diet are usually pretty easy, when you're powering through and wonder how you could ever be tempted by pizza in the first place. But, at around day 3 or 4 for me, maybe day 1 or day 20 for you, at some point, we end up tempted, to put it mildly. Pizza is great. But we say NO! because we are strong-willed and laser-focused.
But then, we have a crazy day at work, or we’re up all night working on a paper. Our brain is fried, we’re exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally, and we just want to shut down and vegetate. Are you strong-willed enough to always say no to tempting and comforting but ultimately unplanned for and counterproductive food at a moment like that? I know I'm not. We all have to make thousands of decisions every day, from what to wear to when to work out to which show in your Netflix queue to try and commit to next, to what to do about the fact that you know, you KNOW someone took a swipe of your peanut butter but your roommate’s door is closed and you don’t want to make a THING out of it but dammit that was the expensive stuff from Whole Foods and you aren’t sure what flaxseed is but it SOUNDS important, to should you be whitening your teeth? I mean they’re fine and no one has ever said anything but could they be WHITER STILL? ...After a full day of that, no one would blame you for not having the mental fortitude to say no to some pizza, even though you planned on something healthier.
But when was the last time you used that as an excuse to not brush your teeth? I mean, brushing your teeth is kinda boring, right? You have to walk ALL the way over there when you’re already all comfy in bed and really, what is missing one day going do? But you just do it without thinking, don't you? Because it’s a habit you’ve been practicing since you were a kid. It’s automatic. No decision to be made. What if your diet was like that? What if, every Sunday you completely stocked your house with healthy foods and wrote out a complete meal plan for the week? That works great for some people, but maybe you’re more like me and that’s just not something you are realistically going to do. Failing that, you could do what I do: have 5 to 10 go-to meals that are easy to prepare/buy and fit your calorie and macro needs. You wouldn’t HAVE to say no, you wouldn’t HAVE to make a decision, because Past You, that guy or gal who had their stuff together and was clear headed and thinking long term, already did the work for Present You, who just worked 12 hours and can’t form coherent sentences.
We have a finite amount of willpower. If you spend it all at work or at school or in the gym, of course you’re not going to have any left when it comes time to make decisions about your food choices. So take the decision-making out of it. Then you can save your willpower for those times that are less routine, like eating out with friends or traveling. The good news is, willpower, just like your stamina or your biceps, can be built up day by day, session by session. Don't wait to become some mythical Person With Lots of Willpower, whatever that looks like. I'm definitely not that person, but I've still had success by exercising willpower when I can, not giving up completely when I don't, and creating an environment conducive to success.
Me writing this article is in some ways laughable. Willpower has been my biggest personal struggle my entire life and that’s downplaying it. I’ve spent hundreds of unplanned hours browsing the web or reading comic books or playing video games instead of more productive endeavors. I’ve been procrastinating on starting this website for three years. Fear of failure, fear of success, procrastination: all old friends of mine. This is deeply embarrassing to admit to myself let alone publish, but hopefully it makes clear that if I can go from fat to fit, anyone can. I remember looking at natural athletes when I was out of shape and thinking that there was something inside them that that I just didn’t have. But it's not true. Anyone can do this. Set yourself up for success.