I had an incredible feat of willpower last night.
My wife wanted me to pickup dinner for us on my home from work last night. She wanted me to stop at Ye Ole Fashioned, a local burger joint with big, juicy burgers, thick french fries, Blue Bell ice cream, etc. It’s been a favorite of ours for years. Being the husband I am, I couldn’t say no to my loving wife two weeks away from our 5-year anniversary.
So, I went to Ye Ole Fashioned.
Let me set the scene for you. I’ve been at work all day, tired, exhausted, ready to go home and relax. My wife calls me at the office shortly before 4 to tell me she wants some Ye Ole Fashioned — that sounds delicious. I told myself that I had been a good boy all week, progressing well, I deserve a treat. It won’t hurt, I’ll just earn most of it back at the gym tonight.
That was my mindset until I left work, at least.
As I drove to the restaurant I struggled with whether or not I should order something for myself. I have had good gains all week, my muscles are coming along nicely, and I’ve had a perfect balance of burning/consuming calories. On the other hand, I was tired, hungry, and I deserved to splurge. I argued with myself from the time I got into my car at work to literally the counter at Ye Ole Fashioned on what I should do. At the last second, after I was done ordering for my wife, I was asked if “that was all I wanted to order today?”
I said yes.
While I thought I would feel remorse for not ordering anything for myself, I felt none. Zero. I immediately had a sense of empowerment wash over me. Boy, it felt good. I had said no to food. Not just any food, but my favorite food. I was standing in the lion’s den ordering food, taking in all the familiar sights, sounds, and smells that came with all my favorite food.
And I was able to walk away.
After waiting a few minutes for my wife’s food to cook I left and went to Chipotle. It was out of the way, but the drive was worth it. I ordered a fajita bowl, around 620 calories, and enjoyed my dinner without guilt. I knew that I wasn’t negating any of the work I had done, only fueling it with 40 plus grams of protein! Dinner was soon to be followed by a great workout at the gym last night. It was a great workout because I wasn’t trying to earn anything back or undo something I had done earlier, I was just moving forward.
I was just moving forward.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
I absolutely, positively love that feeling.
Just say no.
temptation will happen, your friends and loved ones will put you in situations where your willpower will be tested to the limit. Getting through moments like those can separate those who can maintain weightloss from those doomed to fail. Congrats for getting through it!
Congrats!!!! That is so hard to do. My weakness is Taco Bell (yes I know it’s not “real” mexican food) and man is it bad for you…. so far it’s been 4 months since I’ve had any, yay me! I’m sure I’ll have it again at some point in my life but for now I’m working on eating healthier.
Inspiring. I love those moments…I’m pushing for more of them. Thanks for sharing it…
Kudos Kudos. And so well written i felt like i was standing in line with you, do write that book won’t you.
Absolutely inspiring Tyler – loved reading this.
The key here is you not only made a healthier choice, but you made one based upon what your goals are and the knowledge of what your caloric expenditures had been all week. Knowledge is power in this situation. For you to reach your goal, you need to keep on track and you did it. Congratulations.
Ditto on that! That’s great you were able to do that. Thanks for the inspiration!
First of all….congatu-frickin-lations on your behaviour changes and weight loss. It is one of the hardest things to do (change behaviour). Keep up the self-talk and celebrations…with the clients I work with, many have lapsed and relapsed after great successes.
Well done!!!!!!
K
To know me Tyler is to know that “Moving Forward” is the epitome of my journey. I say it on a daily basis. It doesn’t matter what we do as long as the choices we are making are moving us forward and not keeping us back.
If we can honestly say that, then we’re all going to be fine on this journey.
Damn proud of you sir.
Damn proud.
Great story, and great job. You are in exactly the right mindset, from my point of view. Consistently being able to stand up for yourself, and feel good about it, leads to long-term results! That’s what you’ve demonstrated for a long time.
I don’t comment much; but today just have to applaud.
Been following your blog for awhile now. You’re doing EVERYTHING right! But in this post, you just relate the discovery of a huge piece of the puzzle:
“Just moving forward”.
Hope other trainers have told you this!
PS. I think somewhere in your blog, mention was made of experts (dieticians, doctors, etc) who find fault with your program.
Tell them to shove it!
I see sub-200 pounds soon :-)
Wow, that is awesome. So proud of you! I am totally NOT there yet, but someday soon!
Great post! I too am at that point to where I can just say NO and op for something healthier but still not feel deprived.Awesome!
Heck. Yes.
Dude, Chipotle is the only fast food place I’m able to eat at quasi-regularly just because while I know it’s not the best tasting food out there (and being from Oakland, CA, Lord knows we have so much better Mexican choices) but because it’s just so frickin’ easy to modify to suit my needs!
Steak salad, no dressing, a little bit of black beans, pico de gallo and hot salsa, that’s it! No cheese, no cream cheese, no guacamole. Easy way to get a hot meal inside me and not feel guilty.
Right on! You rock and are a inspiration to all of who splurge to much! I splurged today at a picnic – here I was knowing I was doing great this past week and said, hey I didn’t cook any of this or help set it up – I can relax! And relax is what I did. You make me realize that temptation is something I can overcome.
Congrats Tyler. I use to weigh 296 and now weigh 183ish. I know what youve been through.
Recently my mother bought nutella. It is one of my favorite foods. At nearly 200 calories, 15g of fat, and no protein for a mere 2 tbsp, it is worse then peanut butter. No healthy fats either. 20 servings in a jar. I’ve now stared at that nutella countless times, but have not had one taste of it. It has been there a week.
Just moving forward.
If you are exercising on a regular basis I would completely recommend taking Oxyelite Pro from USP labs. I started taking it about 20 days ago when I was at 188ish lbs. It has helped me lose weight after I plateaued, when I should not have been. I eat between 1800 and 2k cals a day (ate 2500 the other day — was just too hungry) and burn 800+ at the gym 6 days a week. It is a stimulant, and may be “cheating” in some peoples eyes. However, I have lost 108 lbs without it. My personality has changed. I am using it as merely a tool to further myself. I know I could do without it. Just a helpful suggestion.
Congrats sir.
This is one of your most powerful posts. Really. Well written and so inspiring. Thank you. Keep on moving forward.
Great job! I find myself in these situations a lot with two kids, a working wife and not enough time. Feels like I’m always being asked to pick something up and sometimes I’m good and sometimes I’m not.