Working out is the easy part, I think. I make time for it. I put my heart into it. But really, other than finding time in my schedule, I really only have to make that “decision” 3-5 times per week. Sure that’s 3-5 opportunities to say no, but it’s also a relatively small number of times you really need to say yes. So, in that way, it seems somewhat easy to me.
Diet. That’s a decision you make a thousand times a day. I love healthy eating. I feel great when I eat good, clean, whole foods. But I also really love junk food. Processed foods taste good. That’s literally their only job. (It certainly isn’t nutrition, that’s for sure.) And I’m a sucker for it. So as much as I love to eat healthy, whole, clean foods, I am also always balancing that with the cravings for shit food. I have to decide constantly not to eat the candy in the office candy bowl. Not to reach for the creamy chowder at lunch. Not to eat the salty greasy fries at dinner.
For the most part I’m getting really great at this. I don’t crave the crap food nearly as much as I used to. Once your body detoxes off that stuff, much like drugs or other addictive substances, it gets easier and you end up wanting and craving the healthy stuff. I feel the difference in my body when I give it what it wants. I can absolutely tell the difference during my workouts.
I think there’s some credit we need to give ourselves when it comes to eating healthy and really committing to it. Diet is around 80% of the weight loss, while exercise makes up the remainder. I suck at math and even I can tell how important this is. That certainly doesn’t make it any easier. So you know, just cut yourself some slack but don’t slack off. You are making a thousand decisions per day to do better and be better, but don’t hate on yourself or let one bad decision turn into a thousand if you screw up a little. Because ultimately, you have a thousand chances to get it right and redeem yourself.