It is not easy to maintain the willpower to follow through

Sometimes it’s very difficult to summon the willpower I was talking about yesterday. One day it’s easy. You only need the enough amount of rage or courage to start. It can make you win a race or climb a mountain. But continuing with the same determination day after day it is a really difficult task. Rage or courage is not enough. You need a very powerful reason.

I remember the day I decided to quit smoking. It was many years ago. A friend of mine had died of lung cancer. Some people advised me to do it gradually, but I decided to go cold turkey. I didn’t know how many days it was going to last my strength, but I had decided to fight one day at a time. And sometimes it turned to be an hour at a time struggle. But day after day, and specially night after night (the first ones full of nightmares and night terrors) I have continued a nonsmoker for thirty years.

Luckily, if you decide to control your weight, you don’t need to stop eating. You will have to eat probably the same volume of food, but in this case, adequate and real food. You have to change your nutrition pattern and your habits. If you don’t live alone, you will have to talk it with the rest of the people that use the same kitchen. The reason is that you have to clean your pantry and your refrigerator and throw away everything not considered real food.

Exercise reinforces willpower and determination

These days I am trying to lose three pounds in order to prepare myself for Christmas. I do not want to be worried during that time. I have intensified the exercise, and I have slightly reduced foods as bread, sweet desserts and wine or beer. Nevertheless, I continue eating a lot, but more salads, vegetables, and grilled fish and meat.

Last Sunday, I went to walk to the mountain. I did about ten miles from sea level to six hundred feet and back, all together. I spent two hours and a half and felt extremely happy.

When I was finishing my walk, I found a friend sitting at a terrace. I stopped a while to talk to her. Suddenly, a waiter brought her a banana split, and then she invited me to share it. It was extremely tempting, both the ice cream and her company. Nevertheless, I was tired, hungry and thirsty, and I knew that I needed something different. First of all, taking a warm shower and then, the meal I had left prepared in the refrigerator. I thought that if I accepted the invitation, I was going to ruin the effort of the day. Then all I had done was going to be useless. The sugar and the fat would rush into my bloodstream at high speed, stopping the calories burnt.

Later, I thought the exercise had produced two positive effects on me. The first one was the proper physical activity and its beneficial consequences. The second one, a reinforcement of the motivation to maintain and continue the diet.

To succeed in any project one need two main key factors: goals and willpower. Objectives mean planning to do something, in a certain way and within a determined period. Nevertheless, without moral strength and determination, any good intention that implies effort will not be accomplished.

Do something as you watch tv.

A few days ago, a friend of mine told me that she had a problem. When she was watching television and only during that time, she was compelled to go frequently to the fridge to pick something. Even being fruit, or nuts, the calories intake was in excess. Nevertheless, she did not feel that desire when she was working at the computer (she works at home). And her kitchen is at the same distance from her office or even closer than from the TV room.

I told her that the problem was that she had associated TV watching with eating something, as it happens in the cinemas with the pop corn. Recently, I heard somebody answering a street poll about a considerable reduction on the cinemas tickets. He said that the problem persisted, as the popcorn was still very high! We have written several times about this unhealthy practice, and its relation with obesity and many other disorders.

Coming back to my friend’s problem, I recommended her to change the leisure habits, always connecting relax to food. Another reason could be that the TV program could not be interesting enough, and she became bored.

I recommended her to take the phone or tablet to the TV room, and when she had a thought of going to the kitchen, picked the device she used to complement her desktop and check the mail, filter the tasks or just surf. Once the TV program had attracted her attention again, she could put the gadget aside.

You can do the same with a magazine, a newspaper, a Rubik cube or a crossword. Some time ago, many ladies used to do knitting with excellent results.

A Rubik cube can help.

Buy a pedometer.

Decades ago, children used to play in the streets, walked to school and at weekends, they used to escape to areas where they could climb hills or mountains. They made an average of ten miles walking or running a day. Nowadays, a lot of these children are healthy senior citizens and have a life expectancy of around 90 years.



Today, those habits have change. The walking/running distance of the youngest has been reduced by 90%. They spend hours and hours in front of a TV set, computer monitor or attending classes.

On top of that, the food habits have also dramatically changed. This is something that we have talked about many times.

This deadly combination is giving raise to obesity and severe health problems. Our children will be their lives shortened by 20 years.

If you are an adult, you must know that you should walk at least 10,000 steps a day (of which 6,000 at an intense pace), providing you do not practice any aerobic sport or do a non aerobic type of exercise.

For that, you should buy a pedometer, set it, put it in your pocket and control your daily activity. If the device has a gps system, you can follow it in Google. It will be an excellent drive to do exercise and you would be able to share it with your friends!

Do not forget, 10,000 steps of which 6,000 briskly.