The Other Six Days of the Week

So this is where I fail. I am great at being 90% and do the other 10% so badly that the 90% doesn’t stand a chance.

I eat well all day just to crash in the evening and eat those chocolate chips I said no to 50 times earlier in the day.

I bump up my workout and can’t seem to help but scarf that monster cookie after my run.

Just because I did a weight workout and can tolerate a few more carbs – does that really mean I should eat 17 sushi rolls?

So clearly food is my issue but sometimes when that gets bad I move to alcohol or caffeine so that’s cool. We have a tendency to think that it’s all about choice and “will power.” That if you f*ck it up, it’s because you’re weak.

Turns out that’s not exactly the case. Will power functions like a muscle. It will fatigue. It needs rest and rejuvenation. That’s why I say “no” in the morning but “I’ll have another” in the evening. It’s something called decision fatigue if you want to nerd up on it a bit.

But here’s the deal – if you’re stressed out, good luck. You’re going into the fight tired. If you have a candy dish/pack of cigarettes/fast food adjacent office/beer in the fridge – that sh*t is gonna happen.

One bit of advice I like is to make as many decisions in advance as possible. Decide your workouts for the week at the beginning of the week, not the day of. I’m most consistent with the workouts that I schedule to meet friends for in part because in my mind it’s already a done deal. Working out with a personal trainer of course means it’s scheduled and someone is expecting you so that’s a great thing to put in place.

Here’s the other way I like to use this (and don’t do enough). Make some absolute decisions. Like, “I don’t eat carbs,” “I’m not drinking for 30 days,” or “I will not work past 5:30 pm.” Deciding whether or not I can have a cookie and how many is a ton of decision making and it will go poorly at the end of the day. A yes/no decision is faster and clearer and it’s 100% clear when you’re in violation.

Dumb it down and make that will power muscle into a marathoner. Slower and steadier so you’ve got a little something left at mile 26.

If you're looking at me in this pic you're missing the sweet bootylicious point