As I get closer to my goal I find I have less to say on the subject of losing weight. This makes, of course, for a sparsely populated blog. But I don’t mind that if you don’t. (And you don’t, trust me. The diet blogs that are updated daily consist either of people bemoaning their setbacks, or giving diet tips that consist of “Carry around water with you so you can sip it throughout the day.”)
I’m pretty much at the point now where I don’t eat foods in amounts that would cause me to gain weight. I’ll eat everything. Carrot sticks. French fries. Whatever. I’ll eat lots of carrot sticks. But I won’t eat a lot of french fries. That’s pretty much what I do. If I’m in a situation, like a party or a barbecue or something where there isn’t a lot of “healthy” food to eat, then I’ll just eat a small portion of what is there. Simple enough, yes? Okay, but how do you get to that point? Well, I’ve written a lot about self-discipline, and a lot of it is just practice. Go into a situation where you would normally overindulge and instead eat less than a normal person would eat there. Do this a couple of times, and soon you will realize that you can do it all the time.
Part of it is self talk. I don’t mean that in some kind of hippy meaning. And I don’t mean it in the sense of daily affirmations. The idea behind daily affirmations is sound. I’m sure it does make you feel better about yourself on some level. But as you stare in the mirror and say, “I am a worthwhile human being. I am smart, funny, and attractive. I deserve love. I will receive a life of abundance.” What you’re also doing is saying, “I’m the type of person who has to tell myself stuff in the mirror that I don’t believe is true. If I thought it was true, I wouldn’t need to tell myself it in the mirror. I’d just believe it.” So in that sense I think affirmations are fairly useless.
The self talk I’m talking about is this: We all have those things in life that we don’t want to do, but we know we should do (or thing we do want to do that we know we shouldn’t). You say to yourself, “I want to eat that cheesesteak.” But another part of your brain says, “I don’t want to eat that cheesesteak.” The part of your brain that says, “I want the cheesesteak,” is the same part of your brain that says, “I want to sleep until noon. I want to fuck this hot stranger. I want to fart in this crowded elevator.” It’s all animal. But there’s another part of your brain that has wants too, and these wants are in direct opposition to the animal. This part of the brain is the real you. Or at least it’s a step more evolved than the animal brain. You need to find a way to disassociate yourself from the animal part. I’ve found the easiest way to do this is to make a concerted effort to think differently. Instead of thinking, “I want that cheesesteak,” think, “It wants that cheesesteak.” I found that just taking the second to think about whatever is tempting me in this way is enough to allow me not to succumb to it. I feel completely in control.
So always think “It” when you think about doing the things you know you shouldn’t.
IT wants that cheesesteak.
IT want that cigarette.
IT wants some cocaine.
IT wants to take creepy pictures of little girls at the playground.
IT wants to set fire to that church.
This works with whatever you struggle with. Yes, it’s just a mental game, but that’s all everything is. The clear-thinking, rational, sober part of you is the I. Anything you know you shouldn’t do gets the It treatment. The “It” part of your brain is the lion. You are the lion tamer.
Start growing your mustache.
