I’ve been thinking about willpower lately. I’m trying to understand more about how I can sometimes easily talk myself into eating copious amounts peanut butter straight from the jar. And other times I can easily leave it alone.
This weekend has been a little more difficult than the past four because it’s the first weekend we didn’t take a food holiday.
I can list reason after reason why I should stick to eating healthy foods and a specific number of calories. I feel great, my clothes fit better, my confidence and self-esteem improve, I have more energy, my skin seems to look better, I sleep better, my mood improves, etc……
So why is it so difficult to eat well all the time?
Is it the flavor of the sugary food, the texture of the high fat food, or the perceived comforting feeling the high calorie food gives you? Could it be the media? The constant barrage of advertisements depicting high fat, high sugar, high calorie, processed food immediately followed by another barrage healthy foods all being consumed (in both cases) by seemingly healthy, beautiful, and happy people.
It’s incredibly frustrating and confusing for people like me who’ve spent years trying to figure it all out, let alone someone who is just beginning to try to understand.
As a teen I remember adults describing losing weight as something that takes willpower. And heavy people just didn’t have the willpower to do it.
Now that I’m an adult I realize that it’s a little more complicated than just possessing the will to lose weight or maintain a healthy lifestyle.
It’s HARD (at first)! It takes an incredible amount of brain power when it comes to diet planning, workout planning, goal setting, set-back recovery planning, workout and meal scheduling, etc…….
It’s certainly not impossible. But it’s not only a matter of deciding to make a change and then following through with “willpower”.
We all have a number of things in our lives vying for the top spots in the list of our priorities. It seems like we all have fantastic “willpower” when it comes to taking care of our top priorities (children, husbands, wives, jobs, finances, homes). But, when it comes to our health it seems like, after tending to the most important priorities, our “willpower” tanks are bordering on empty.
Here’s to a new week and making our health the priority that gets, at the very least, the rest of what’s left over in our willpower tanks!
A chart of my weight for July 27th to August 2nd. (Starting weight for the week = 147.2 lbs. , Final weight = 148.7 lbs.)
A chart of my body fat for July 27th to August 2nd. (Starting body fat % for the week = 34.1% , Final body fat % = 33.0%)
A chart of my BMI for July 27th to August 2nd. (Starting BMI for the week = 25.5, Final BMI =25.5 )
A chart of my overall calories burned, miles traveled, floors climbed, and steps taken for July 27th to August 2nd.
Click on the following link for a complete list of the food I ate and calorie totals.
WHAT I ATE {July 27th-August 2nd}
A chart of my weight for June 29th to August 2nd. (Starting weight for the {first 4 weeks} = 152.8 lbs. , Final weight = 148.7 lbs.)
A chart of my body fat for June 29th to August 2nd. (Starting body fat % for the {first 4 weeks} = 33.4% , Final body fat % = 33.0%)
A chart of my BMI for June 29th to August 2nd. (Starting BMI for the {first 4 weeks} = 25.5, Final BMI = 25.5)
A chart of my overall calories burned, miles traveled, floors climbed, and steps taken for June 29th to August 2nd {first 4 weeks}.
Hope you have a healthy week!