Why I broke down and cried yesterday morning : (
The Set-Up
So my parents came in last night. I love it when Mom and Dad come in and visit. The kids get tons of attention by Grandma and Grandpa and they’re kind of out of our hair. Is that selfish? Probably. Another reason I like it when my parents come into town is my mom normally cooks breakfast in the morning. Super awesome right? Normally…yes.
This morning was different though, sad sigh. This morning I trained three people and I trained alongside one of them. Needless to say I was super hungry. And as you know, I’m on this Four-Week Holiday Dash. Which means that I have a deadline to lose at least 15 lb before Thanksgiving. Currently I’m only about 7 lb away. I also have chosen to post on Facebook every anytime I put food into my mouth and consume it. That gives me some extra accountability. Additionally, I’m only allowing myself three indulgences a week that I schedule for the week before. Which was stupid because I should have realized my mom and dad were coming into town. But whatever, live and learn. Anyway that’s the context on why I cried…
What made me cry
As I was saying, I just got done with a really hard workout. I go inside to have a shower and what do you think I see? I see a pile of scrambled eggs and some sausages. Awesome right? You’re right it was, it was absolutely delicious and I loved eating the eggs and sausage. And I had no problem posting that on social media :-).
So what made me cry? I’ll tell you what made me stinking cry! My mom also made homemade cinnamon rolls with frosting. And not the cheap crap frosting that you buy at some random grocery store. She made homemade, cream cheese, frosting! Basically, crack cocaine of the sugar industry. My endorphins and dopamine levels were going crazy because I wanted a stinking cinnamon roll so bad I could have done almost done anything for it. My willpower honestly was gone. So I ate my eggs and sausage and cried : (.
What’s the point?
The point is, the chances of me breaking down and having a cinnamon roll were greatly reduced because I had three things going for me. I had three tactics I used (and you can use them too) to make sure that I stay on track, regardless of my lack of willpower.
The first tactic is social media. I knew I would have to post the cinnamon rolls (yes, it would have been plural : ) on social media. I won’t lie, that part kind of made me upset and, yeah, I thought about eating the cinnamon rolls and just not posting it, but I didn’t and I won’t. I stayed true and committed to my goal. I am going to post everything I eat until Thanksgiving. The good news is that immediately took eating the cinnamon roll option away. So I had two options. I could eat it and post it, or I could look at it and not have to post it. The funny thing is I ended up posting a picture to show how awesome it was, but I didn’t eat any :-). Point is, because I had that extra accountability and I didn’t partake, I saved myself about 700 to 1000 calories…easy.
The second tactic is making a meal plan. I scheduled myself three indulgences over the course of a week. That means on Sunday, I sit down and I write down what I’m going to have, when I’m going to have it, and where I’m going to have it. I’ve three indulgences this week for Saturday afternoon, and Sunday afternoon and dinner. Now, if I would have remembered my mom was coming into town I would have planned an indulgence for when she was here. Because my mom is a killer cook and/or they take us out and spoil us at some restaurant. Anyway that ship has sailed. The point is, since I already have a plan, I have something to stick with regardless of what pops in and out. I know what I’m going to have, when I’m going to have it, so that allows me to be brainless and just stick to the plan.
The third tactic is set a deadline. This deadline is not moving. I’ve told everyone about my deadline, it’s Thanksgiving day. I need to be at least 213 lbs by Thanksgiving. I don’t want to fail, I don’t want to look silly and I don’t want to let you all down. Therefore, I chose to stay true to my goal of losing at least 15 lbs and didn’t consume a single sticking cinnamon roll. Deadlines work like that! Especially if you stick to them and you don’t move them. Plus, deadlines are one of the easiest things to create, however there also the easiest things to move if things don’t go perfectly as you deem fit. If you make a deadline you have to stick to it, you have to honor it, and treat it like it’s homework like back in the day at school. Treat it like a huge project that’s going to make you an extra $40,000 $50,000 in a year. If you have that kind of mindset, I promise you, you will meet your deadline.
Anyway, those are the three tactics I use and the reason I cried is because I didn’t get to have any cinnamon rolls. But by Thanksgiving time, I’m going to be 213 or less and I’m going to enjoy and thoroughly love Thanksgiving. I hope that you can say the same and have a great holiday season. And like I said yesterday, the easiest way to have a great holiday season is just maintain your weight. Don’t try to be like me, unless you’re super driven and you really want it, or you’re kind of crazy : )
Regardless, whatever you choose to do go be awesome! If you need any help contact me.
KELLEN LAKE – How can I help you be more awesome?
PS – If you want to try a free private personal training session let me know : )
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