It’s almost halfway through March…. how’s that New Year’s Resolution going?
Oh, you’ve fallen off of the wagon and never got back on? So has most of America. Many of us think it’s a lack of discipline that fuels the short comings. I would argue that is partially true. While yes, it may be an extreme struggle for some and easier for others, there may be more to story.
The ones where discipline come easy, may be doing a better job of setting themselves up for success….
You see, will power is finite, and will diminish with stress. Let’s walk through a typical day:
You wake up late and have nothing planned for breakfast. Now you’re stuck getting something from McDonald’s or eating the bowl of cereal you had in the cupboard. You drive to work, and traffic is especially horrible. You’re stressed out at work all day, and by lunch time, you have opted for something sugary rather than the salad you planned on going out and buying. Now you drive home in horrible traffic again, you’re running late, and you decide that it’d be easier just to order a pizza…
The day is now over and you’ve had a horrible nutrition day. Now you feel extremely guilty about it. Sound familiar?
The reason why that happened is because you failed to plan. You have to understand that those things are going to happen. If you had healthy breakfast foods like boiled eggs ready in the fridge, you’ve got something quick and easy. Also, not having the cereal in the house would help you as well. If it’s an option you’ll choose it. Removing that option, makes you plan. You can insert your ‘boiled eggs in the morning are disgusting,’ etc excuse right here, BUT if you do it, the next time you want to hit snooze on your alarm, you’ll remember the boiled eggs and roll out of bed. BTW if you hate boiled eggs, scrambled eggs take around 4 minutes to make (close to the same amount of time it takes to pour milk into a bowl of cereal).
You see, having bad things available as options will make it easier for you to settle on those options. Your will power is controlled by stress. The more stress you have the less will power you will have, so it’s important to remove the temptations. Alcoholics don’t hang out in bars. If you don’t have candy in the house you can’t eat it. Having good options in the house will help you be more successful. On Sunday, before you go to the grocery store sit down and plan out your meals. Buy only those groceries and set yourself up for success by controlling the variables you can control.
This is how most people are successful. I don’t have cookies sitting on my counter. If I did, I’d eat them. Make it easy on yourself and see how it goes.
3-20-2014 WOD
Strength:
Front Squat
Met Con:
Level 3/ Level 2
Muscle Ups x 3
Dead hang Chin ups x 5
250 meter row
5 rounds for time
Level 1
Ring dips x 5
Dead hang chin ups x 5
250 meter row
5 rounds for time
)
