HEALTH Even the weak can
Would you like to lose a few pounds? There are lots of things I’d like to do.
RICHARD BERCUSON
Nearly all are unaffordable for the average schmo like me. Good thing I don’t sit around ruminating on missed opportunities. For instance, it takes a certain discipline
to save monthly for a major trip a year from now. Fewer calorie-laden coffee shop treats would be a good start. Fewer restaurant meals, too, or at least wiser and cheaper choices when I go. That way, I’d spend less and probably
trim a few pounds. So by now you’re thinking
I’m talking about weight loss. No. I’m talking about self-discipline and how weak-minded people like me can overcome it. Yes, I am weak.
This past summer, my wife and I went to not one but two rib fests. At the second, the restaurant served up what they called a full rack of ribs. They
weren’t very big. The good news was that
my wife and I shared a plate.
See? Cheaper already. The bad news: There
wasn’t that much to eat, so we each had a scrumptious cheesecake
for dessert. Estimated caloric intake = 5,600 each (an approximation, rounded to the nearest thousand). More evidence of my weakness. A couple of years ago, a cousin lost about 40 pounds by cutting out
8 BOUNDER MAGAZINE overcome
all breads and starches after 12 pm each day. She’s younger, and metabolism has a lot to do with it. Still, she stuck with her plan and shed the weight even sooner than she’d expected. Motivated by slower-than-usual running
times, I figured I needed to shed about 8–10 lbs. So I tried my cousin’s approach – for about three weeks. I might have lost a pound. A lot of what I might have trimmed was likely negated by my daily breakfast that included a bowl of cereal with sliced banana and a chaser of two yummy croissants. It didn’t dawn on me that pre-loading the carbs was counter-productive. Soup, fruit and yogurt at lunch left me hungry. I cheated. Just a little at first. A small chocolate chip cookie here; a few crackers there, ‘til finally the post-noon carb-free approach withered on the vine. I just couldn’t stick to it. The problem was that I hadn’t yet
developed the self-discipline to create a new habit. There were plenty of old ones, few of them healthy. Chocolate chip cookies are one. If they’re present, I will eat one. Or two. Same with certain potato chips. Please keep them away from me. Since there’s always research on
something, which explains why PhDs exist, I discovered how long it takes to create a new habit. On average, it’s 66 days. This is according to a 2009 study in the European Journal of Social Psychology, one of my regular readings next to tattered old issues of Mad magazine. I just didn’t give the time needed to
my attempt at altering my food intake to trim down a bit. I would have had to have gone two months with less cereal, only one croissant, no chocolate chip cookies, and certainly no potato chips. Did I have the self-discipline to do this?
I’m not sure. I’ve been a long time runner, a habit that began I don’t know when. It’s at the point where I’m guilt-ridden if I go even continued on page 23
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