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The Myth of Willpower and Fat Loss
List of posts in For All My Big Dawgs
- For All My Big Dawgs: Series Introduction
- The Myth of Willpower and Fat Loss
- The Snowman Effect, Loose Skin, and Fat Loss
- Obese Men & Weight Training … Why The Fascination? Part I
- Obese Men & Weight Training … Why The Fascination? Part II
- Are You Fat Because You’re Lazy or …
- Obese Guys Please Stop Doing HIIT and Save Your Knees!
- Are You Really Addicted to Food?
- “Eat Less, Move More” Is Not A 50/50 Proposition
Alright Big Dawgs, let’s continue our little conversation shall we …
A week doesn’t go by that I don’t either read an email or have someone tell me in person:
Man, I wish that I had the willpower you have to lose so much weight and keep it off!
It’s really the weirdest thing to experience because I feel as if people are putting me on pedestal because they think I must possess some sort of He-Man willpower. Well, I hate to disappoint you guys, but I don’t.
I still deal with having to be mindful of the amount of food I’m eating and how calorie dense my selections are on a daily basis. But, my approach to getting and staying lean has evolved over the years I’ve been on my journey.
When I started my journey, my cravings were out of control. There were so many foods that were placed on the “Do Not Admit” list for my kitchen. My thinking was simple. I knew that if the so-called forbidden foods were in the house, I would eat them. So, I stopped buying them.
Don’t get me wrong, simply not buying the foods didn’t stop my cravings for them, but it was a conscious change in my behavior and a huge step for me. By looking in the mirror and being honest with myself about the calorie dense and nutrient sparse foods I didn’t need to have in the house, I started to exhibit ownership of my fat loss journey.
Look, I knew enough about what I needed to do to lose the fat, just like you do Big Man, but “mentally” I didn’t believe that I could do it, just as many of you don’t think that you can.
Hey, let’s cut the BS and get real about this shall we?
Many of you reading this don’t believe that you have what it takes to lose and keep the fat off. And, you are afraid of being a failure “once again” and having to face all those folks who were really in your corner and believed that this time you would keep the weight off and not yo-yo.
Your self-esteem is low and you feel like a prisoner in your own skin. No matter how you present yourself to be the happy and jolly guy to everyone else, you and I both know that it’s a mask that you’re wearing.
Well Big Dawg, it’s time you take off this emotional mask because it’s clouding your ability to think critically!
So, forget about willpower and let’s leave that to folks who go on hunger strikes. I’d rather you approach your journey from as logical a point of view as humanly possible. The less emotional you become about fat loss, the smoother and simpler your journey will be.
It doesn’t take willpower for you to say that you’re going to eat less (fill in the calorie dense, nutrient sparse food here) tomorrow than you ate today and follow through with it.
It takes clear thinking to understand that to lose fat you must create a calorie deficit, and this is best created by reducing the amount of calories you eat on a daily basis. If this done in a consistent manner, you will lose fat.
Strive to change your way of thinking fellas and forget about calling on the Powers of Greyskull for the willpower of He-Man …
(Next time, we’ll chat a little about the Snowman Effect in fat loss and a topic that I often get asked about: Loose Skin.)
Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts
April 29th, 2009 at 7:41 am
Awesome post! I am very interested in this “Snowman Effect” in Fat Loss.
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Muata Reply:
April 29th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Thanks for your comment Jason. Stay tuned because I think you guys will find the “snowman effect” post pretty interesting … or at least I hope you do
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April 29th, 2009 at 8:27 am
I HAVE THE POWER!!!
AMERICAN—-A MER I CAN
It has taken a while to adjust my thinking but you are correct, anyone can do this, anyone, if I can , anyone can.
100 pounds past “overweight” is mostly a mental issue for me.
Be insprired.
A Cowboy from Texas
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April 29th, 2009 at 8:36 am
I agree on staying logical, no matter how hard it is for people. Weight-loss operates on science.
But different people work differently, and a lot of people (especially right-brainers) need more than logic.
You can’t wish weight away – you need to have a stronger emotion than wish. You need to have a deep-seeded desire and not allow yourself to quit. You need to strongly believe that with every failure is the seed of a different success.
There’s credibility in doing things like saying “I will get to X% bodyfat by XX/YY/ZZ and I will feel great about it”, every single morning and every single night before bed. It puts the EXACT belief into your brain. Tricks like this can help the emotional ones out there… there’s more too but I’m not emotional so that’s all I have
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Muata Reply:
April 30th, 2009 at 6:00 am
Awesome advice Berto, and I can see that you and I both think a lot alike! I have a couple of motivational quotes that I read every time I’m in the bathroom! It really helps to keep you focused.
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April 29th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
If you don’t want to slip, stay out of slippery places. I know the limits to my willpower. At work I bring my lunch and small snack everyday. I don’t go near the local restaurant or the staff cafeteria. It maybe a little lonely but I have mt breaks and lunch by myself. I bring along a book and ipod to help past the time. I need to keep the temptation away – EVERYDAY – and it feels good heading back to my desk knowing I haven’t consumed a thousand empty calories on some crap food.
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Muata Reply:
April 30th, 2009 at 5:57 am
Keith you’re not the only one who carries their little brown bag lunch to work either. Since I’ve started my journey in 2003, one of the first major changes is that I bring my own lunch 99.8% of the time. You’re right; there’s no counting or wondering how many calories are in that cafeteria special ….
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May 1st, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Hi Muata, I count you as one of my primary inspirations on my fat loss journey. I am about a month and a half in and I am at 430 (from 462) I want to add that there is a certain will power or perseverance required I think. I think that we(big dawgs) will have days when we give into the cravings at the start especially but it is how you bounce back from that. I think your big dawg posts are awesome. It is a unique experience being this large in society, and you can relate to us guys trying/wanting to make the needed changes. Anyways, keep it up cause it is a wonderful thing that you are doing.
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Muata Reply:
May 4th, 2009 at 6:22 am
Vic thanks for much for writing in and CONGRATS on your fat loss so far!! I agree with you Vic that in the beginning a lot of it has to do with how you bounce back, notice I didn’t say get back on the wagon, and work on being consistent more times than not. I remember some weeks I would mark on a calendar when I was consistent with my nutrition plan and when I wasn’t. I would use red (bad day) and green (good day) Sharpies to mark on my desk calendar. After three weeks of doing this, you start to notice a trend. There are going to be weeks that you’ll see a sea of green days and few red days. Then, there are weeks that you think you’re calendar is bleeding LOL! The key is to simply work on being consistent 85-90% of the time, as your showing with your journey Vic …
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May 1st, 2009 at 7:48 pm
Vic 32 pounds in a month and a half, WOW!! Now that is inspiration. Maybe sharing some of your strategies with some of us might move some of us along.
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May 2nd, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Thx Keith. Honestly, I attribute it more to not eating the “crazy stuff” I used to just overdose on. I was big time into milkshakes and cake/pies and I mean big time. I dropped them completely along with regular soda. I mean it was a small thing that became a big thing. I try to walk/run the track a couple days a week and lift weights. Nothing to extreme.
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Muata Reply:
May 4th, 2009 at 6:29 am
Vic, what’s so funny is that by making such “small” changes to your routine, you’ve eliminated so many extra calories from your eating plan! Also, do me a favor and DON’T run!! Keep walking and if you want to change up a bit, power walk for certain portions of your walk, but no running my friend. You’re currently carrying too much excess weight for your knees and joints. Trust me when I say that you’ll lose fat no more faster running/jogging than you would by simply walking and keeping your calories in check – no matter what they told you on that latest infomercial.
Keep up the great work Vic …
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May 3rd, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Thanks for the inspiration Muata. I’m interested in hearing more about how to deal with the loose skin.
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Muata Reply:
May 4th, 2009 at 6:16 am
Thanks Patrick. For right now, I say focus on slow and steady fat loss, as well keeping your skin hydrated with a thick lotion or …. body butter. Yes, I use and love body butter!!
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May 4th, 2009 at 6:36 am
Muata—?Body Butter? Sounds like yer basting a turkey-LOL
Vic, great start, keep it up!!Keep looking forward not back. If ya eat something you crave once in a while don’t look back at it—just look straight ahead and you will get where you want to be.
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Muata Reply:
May 4th, 2009 at 7:03 am
I know . . . LOL!
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May 10th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Great post as usual Muata.
You do not need will power or perfection to lose weight. You need the 4 Ps:
Patience, Positive Thinking, Planning, and Perseverance.
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Muata Reply:
May 11th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
Thanks Kal …
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