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Me on Willpower

[ 16 ] 06/18/2009 |

People will sometimes tell me that I have amazing willpower. (Forget that you read about all of the carrot cake I ate over the weekend, k?  Thanks.)  You want to know a secret?  It’s not true.  In fact, I almost believe that willpower doesn’t exist.

If you place any one of my favorite foods in front of me, immediately a little angel pops onto my left shoulder, and a little devil pops onto my right shoulder.  The angel is “Skinny Me”, of course, and she’s saying,  April, you KNOW you don’t want to eat that!  The devil, strangely enough, resembles Weird Al Yankovic and is screaming EAT IT! into my ear.

And 85% of the time, Weird Al wins.

However,  what I do have is discipline.  I have learned to compromise with myself.  For example, if someone brings cupcakes into the office, and I haven’t had any other “treats” that week but still I still want to be good, I will take a cupcake, cut it in half, and throw the other half in the trash.

Also, I’ve learned that if I want something extra, fine, I have the something extra, but I also know I HAVE to get my work out in and, if possible, do a little extra working out.

Because we all know by now that there is no secret to weight loss.  No matter how you do it, weight loss is calories in versus calories out.  One pound equals 3500 calories.  So in the end, you have to ask yourself  is eating that the whole 2000 calorie dinner at <enter your favorite restaurant here> worth it?  Is not working out because you’re tired worth it?

I know that each and every one of you has the strength within you to have the same discipline that I do.  You have it in you to go to your favorite restaurant but to ask for the dressing on the side,  grilled veggies instead of the loaded baked potato, and to actually, *gasp*, turn down the bread.  Trust me, I love me some fresh baked buttered rolls, and as much as it pains me to do so, I just don’t eat them often.  Because to me, “nothing tastes as good as thin feels”.  (This is my favorite quotation, by the way.)

Now is the time!  I challenge each and every one of you to dig deep, make good choices and kick it into high gear!  We are a strong group of people ,and together, we are going to kick ass in our weight loss journeys!  And to me?  Well, THAT’S willpower.

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Category: MIND IT

About april: I'm a brand new cyclist! In just a few short months, the sport has reminded me that it's all about the journey, and I need to enjoy the ride. I live with my two dogs and two birds, and love to spoil my nephew. Oh yeah, and I'm 32. View author profile.

  • http://swanvalleytammi.blogspot.com ValleyGirl

    That's my favourite weight-loss quote, too! Will-power or self-discipline ~ whatever you want to call it ~ certainly doesn't come naturally and many of us like to use “not having it” as an excuse. It's not. Because no one just HAS it; it's something we develop through a lot of HARD WORK! Keep up the GREAT HARD WORK, April!

  • http://www.smartstrongsexy.blogspot.com/ Brooke

    i had cheesecake last night – but it was completely worth running for 40 minutes yesterday afternoon and only having a small ham sandwich for dinner.

    my “willpower” comes from an empty pocketbook. if i don't take extra money to the grocery store i can't buy snack food. if i don't buy snack food i can't eat it.

  • http://bacardimama.blogspot.com/ Nancy

    Nothing tastes as good as thin feels. Wow, I'm printing that and putting it on my fridge. I had never heard that before. Thanks for some extra inspiration this morning.

  • Christine R

    Thank you for the inspiration, April! (and the quote) It is so true- we can have the treats we love as long as we compensate for them.

  • http://slimmerfancypants.blogspot.com/ Nancy Sabina

    Thank you. That was just the reminder I need.

  • http://ann-shesgonnablow.blogspot.com/ Ann G

    Thanks for inspiring me…I'm going out to Chili's tonight with a friend and I have already decided that it's not worth it to eat a bunch of food….just chips and salsa and some strawberry lemonade!! Then home to work out….No DESSERT!! Who needs those extra calories, right??
    I had enough extra calories the other day when I ate half an angel food cake!! UGH!

    “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels!” LOVE IT!! I'm gonna borrow that quote if that's ok with you….

  • http://www.whooosthatgirl.com Lissa_ShrinkingJeans

    Great post! I am loving my choices this week and it does feel good! ;o)

  • Christy_TheSisterhood

    I heard that wonderful quote when I joined WW the first time around. It's SO true, but sometimes I forget.

    We're on vacation, at the beach, with all kinds of food at my fingertips, but after the past week of bad choices and then starving to make up for it, I've decided that it's just not worth it.

    Nothing tastes as good as thin feels. Nothing tastes as good as thin feels. Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.

    Thanks for reminding me. I really needed it!

  • http://swanvalleytammi.blogspot.com/ LaughingLady (ValleyGirl)

    That's my favourite weight-loss quote, too! Will-power or self-discipline ~ whatever you want to call it ~ certainly doesn't come naturally and many of us like to use “not having it” as an excuse. It's not. Because no one just HAS it; it's something we develop through a lot of HARD WORK! Keep up the GREAT HARD WORK, April!

  • http://www.smartstrongsexy.blogspot.com/ Brooke

    i had cheesecake last night – but it was completely worth running for 40 minutes yesterday afternoon and only having a small ham sandwich for dinner.

    my “willpower” comes from an empty pocketbook. if i don't take extra money to the grocery store i can't buy snack food. if i don't buy snack food i can't eat it.

  • http://bacardimama.blogspot.com/ Nancy

    Nothing tastes as good as thin feels. Wow, I'm printing that and putting it on my fridge. I had never heard that before. Thanks for some extra inspiration this morning.

  • Christine R

    Thank you for the inspiration, April! (and the quote) It is so true- we can have the treats we love as long as we compensate for them.

  • http://slimmerfancypants.blogspot.com/ Nancy Sabina

    Thank you. That was just the reminder I need.

  • http://ann-shesgonnablow.blogspot.com/ Ann G

    Thanks for inspiring me…I'm going out to Chili's tonight with a friend and I have already decided that it's not worth it to eat a bunch of food….just chips and salsa and some strawberry lemonade!! Then home to work out….No DESSERT!! Who needs those extra calories, right??
    I had enough extra calories the other day when I ate half an angel food cake!! UGH!

    “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels!” LOVE IT!! I'm gonna borrow that quote if that's ok with you….

  • http://www.whooosthatgirl.com Lissa_ShrinkingJeans

    Great post! I am loving my choices this week and it does feel good! ;o)

  • http://christy.shrinkingjeans.net Christy_TheSistherhood

    I heard that wonderful quote when I joined WW the first time around. It's SO true, but sometimes I forget.

    We're on vacation, at the beach, with all kinds of food at my fingertips, but after the past week of bad choices and then starving to make up for it, I've decided that it's just not worth it.

    Nothing tastes as good as thin feels. Nothing tastes as good as thin feels. Nothing tastes as good as thin feels.

    Thanks for reminding me. I really needed it!