Willpower points

Goals from last week:

1. Track all my food.
2. Get back on the workout train
3. Lots of fruits, vegetables, and protein.
4. Take it one day at a time.

It took me a few more days after setting these goals to actually get in the swing of things, but this past week has been pretty great. Lots of good fruits and vegetables, except for that one day I drove out of my way to get strawberries from Whole Foods, and then two days later they were moldy. Worst day ever. Also, first world problems. "But I paid 4.99 for these strawberries?! My life is ruined!"

eheheheheh

This week, it's been pretty easy to stay on track. Doing yoga, lifting some weights, I went on a really long walk with a friend, and I've been eating really well. 

Why has this week been so much easier than other weeks? What is motivation? Where does it come from? How do I get more of it? Why is it that some days I think, "I don't want to work out" and then I say "Don't be a pansy, get out there! You can do it!" and other days I think "I don't want to work out" and then I say "Right?! Go get that block of cheese and start gnawing, stat, much better way to spend your time IMO."

They say willpower and motivation are finite resources ("they" being Pinterest, obviously). You have to let it build back up so you don't blow through it all too fast and then eat a block of cheese. I think Tough Mudder blew through my willpower like it was nothin. It really has been hell trying to get motivated since then, so I'm glad that I finally got my mojo back.

How you keep that mojo going? I read this article on Nerd Fitness about motivation and willpower, and I love it. I love Nerd Fitness because they frame everything in a video-game, level up context, so as a nerd I can totally relate. They also have cute lego pictures:

Darth Vader would be the worst fitness trainer. "98.... *kchhhhh-whhhhhah* 99..... *kchhhhh-whhhhhah* 100"

Essentially, they frame willpower in the context of points. You get a certain amount of points, and if you use up too many too fast, your willpower tank is running on empty.

• The more willpower we use up on certain tasks, the less we’ll have to go around for other tasks.
• The more difficult the habit to change, the more willpower is used, and the less we’ll have to spend elsewhere.
• If we try to do too many changes at one, our willpower gets depleted faster and we’re more likely to give up sooner. (source)

Also, this:

"How about this study on number memorization? [side note: it's a pretty fascinating article, go read] Students were split into two groups: One was tasked with memorizing a two digit number, and the other tasked with memorizing a seven digit number.  Afterward, both groups were encouraged to walk down the hall to grab a snack, either fruit or a piece of cake.  Those students tasked with memorizing seven digits were TWICE as likely to pick cake over fruit than the students who had to memorize only two numbers."

So no wonder when I have a difficult work week, I'm more tempted to bag my Friday workout and eat cookies instead of fruit.

I get you, kid. I get you.

And when I decide to jump back into working out hardcore, eating perfectly healthy, drinking lots of water, getting enough sleep, cleaning the whole apartment, etc etc etc, I always want to go full throttle - I'm motivated!! Let's do EVERYTHING while I'm motivated! Hurry before it runs out and I go rogue on that cheese! When in reality, maybe that full throttle approach is actually depleting my willpower points faster than I can build them back up, and making things backfire eventually.

Interesting to think about. At the very least, knowing this might help me not feel as guilty about eating a block of cheese, right? It's all good, guys. I'm just replenishing my willpower points.