Sunday, January 22, 2012

Will power and why I don't like it

I had a bit of a rough week last week, grazing through food as if I might never eat again. Luckily it didn't show too much on the scale (I gained 0.2 for the week so I'm at 180.6 this week). I still wasn't happy about it, gave myself a thorough kicking while I was down, but ultimately it spurred me to think about the whole will power thing, which was where I was laying all blame.

The recipe for weight loss: eat less and move more. As annoying as this tiny platitude is, it is fundamentally true. Unfortunately, for a lot of people this means exercising will power. And we all know how hard that is. (If you don't have a clue, leave this blog immediately because you clearly don't need advice, encouragement, and commiseration relating to excessive weight and the desire to shed it. Oh, and stay out!)

But I have come to hate the very words "will power." How times faced with a cookie have I said "I have no will power," as I laughingly take one? How many times have I castigated myself for taking that cookie, finishing that oversized portion, or making that really poor food choice and blamed my lack of will power? (Yeah, I know; negative messages are not as successful as positive one, blah, blah, blah, but that's sort of the point, you know?) How many times have I wished I had someone else's (someone thinner's) will power while facing my greatest food weakness? Seems to me that will power is the problem here. And I don't mean the lack of it. I mean the connotation. It's somehow gotten all tangled up with a sense of failure, with negativity, and yes, with a lack.

So I am declaring that I am no longer going to worry about will power. I'm not going to give it another thought. It is dead to me. Instead I am going to try to empower myself. I have perseverence and determination. And anyone who doesn't think so has never seen me dig my heels in like the stubborn mule that I am. With these two tools, who needs will power? Onward to another week!

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