LTL -- Wednesday, 10/26/16

beachwoman2006

Everyone says it, but just how do you do it? How do you take the guidelines of the WW program and turn them into a lifestyle you can live every day...from now on? That is what we are here to explore. Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion. Newbie? Join in! Veteran? Join in! Your thoughts may be just what someone else needs to hear.

Today's Topic: Willpower versus Wantpower

I often see people posting about how they have no "willpower" when it comes to food or that they've lost their willpower.

The simple definition of willpower (from Mr. Webster) is "the ability to control yourself : strong determination that allows you to do something difficult (such as to lose weight or quit smoking)". The full definition is "energetic determination".

So which is it for you? Your ability to control yourself or energetic determination? Or is it just that your "Wantpower" is greater than your willpower?

spospo1

For me, "Wantpower" gets me started and "Willpower" keeps me going. "Willpower" is harder to maintain on a consistant basis.

leeless511

I think I have the willpower. I rarely say I lost it, as in forever. I usually do a slow migration off the program/my good habits. Once I hit a certain level of not doing what I normally do, I typically have the willpower to get back on track, once I recognize what is going on. I'm sure there is something out there that could crush my willpower, but I have not seen it yet, thankfully.

goldenfrisbee

Jim shared this yesterday:

"I find that NOT doing the right thing one day makes it easier to not do it again the next day. Bad habits are formed just like GOOD HABITS by doing them EVERY DARN DAY!
So just remember whatever you do it's easier if you do it every day. Good or Bad."

I would call what Jim wrote, energetic determination. That is where I need to be every morning. That is not where I am at right now. I've strung together a bunch of no decision days after having company stay with us for a week. And a no decision day ends up being an over-consuming day.

misterhub

Willpower. I know am able to overcome negative options and select positive options. I have done it before, quite successfully. For me, I have to admit that making the wrong decision is a conscious decision not to make the right decision. I am strong enough to make the right decision and carry it through to the end. I have no excuses.

podkey

I haven't had a super strong "I want to diet" or "I want to lose weight" because of XYZ. More of a creeping recognition that I was way too fat and my weight went up to the point of being just over the border into being medically obese. My Dr didn't harp at me that I would die soon and really almost never mentioned my weight unless I brought it up.

It is true that I need to be persistent and not get into the habit of the "effits" especially those that accompany an indulgent episode during the day. It can be true that the gift of the "effits" is akin to the gift of a pregnant cat i.e. the gift that keeps on giving so to speak.

Staring down the devîl as in "I wont', I won't, I won't" while facing that hot gooey pizza, hot fudge sundae, or whatever isn't the best approach for me.

OK weird that I am I also look at the results of the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment and some follow-up studies of delayed gratification. Turns out kids (and adults too) do better if they can take their minds elsewhere rather than just daring myself "not to do it".Unlike kids I don't put my hands over my eyes or pretend that that oreo cookie is merely a stuffed animal while stroking it. Sometimes that means changing my own environment by not bringing the "trigger" into the house. Sometimes it meant walking around that corridor of the mall where they have the fumes of cinnabons in the air when I was feeling vulnerable.
Often looking at menus ahead of time gives my brain the chance to go in a better direction as part of that too.


My biggest "effit" this last week was attending a second special catered meal in SoCal. Ate a bit too much at the first catered sit-down affair but really OK. The second one unbeknownst to me was a "buffet" with several scattered tables of tasty choices. It was quite different from the single line where I peruse first, and had custom made to order salads tossed in front of me with tasty dressing already added in, salmon with a "salsa"-ish topping, beef tenderloin, pan grilled zucchini and of course a whole table of dessert choices. At least I didn't sample all the desserts but I did have 3 different ones. I also completely avoided the custom stuffed potato table altogether but wasn't really that much in the potato mood so some good choices. It was a bit hard to keep track of various folks I wanted to talk to, and circulate to the various "stations" for food and drink. We did have our own designated table at least. Oddly others at the table ate less than me portion wise and choices. I acting a bit like the kid lost in a candy farm.

DW can eat just 3 chips out of a small bag and put it back or eat 3 bites off her plate and leave the rest but thats not me. I do best with the right portions on my plate and not having triggers front and center.

Rachel0778

I pre-plan so that willpower is rarely a factor. I cook everything on Sunday and pre-portion my meals so that I know what's on the menu for the week.

That being said, sometimes food situations come up outside of that plan and then I play the "is it worth it game". When it is worth it, I go over calories, log it, and move on. If it isn't worth it, I pass.

I also agree with @podkey that portioning out things in advance lead to the best success for me and checking the menu ahead of time leads to much better decisions when I'm dining out.

myallforjcbill

I am not a big believer in willpower. I find over time it may be big on will but eventually loses power. I think wantpower can also apply to had badly do you want to be healthy, to be thinner etc.

podkey

As suggested "willpower" may be more about diversion than strength.

imastar2

For me I think want power vs will power is a fine line. For example I the want to lose weight normally over powers the will power. The I want to lose weight is what got me started on the program. The will power came forward when I discovered that I needed to restrain from eating fried chicken on a regular basis. So now I need the want power to kick back in and get back on track to lose weight.

I stayed on track really well till the WW boards went away and darn if I didn't begin to fudge a little and then more till whoa! I've put on about 20 plus lbs. I have more to say on this subject but for now gotta run.

lilybbbbb

For me, it's managing the Wantpower before it becomes an effit, I suppose.

Yesterday, I had just arrived back at my desk with my lovely nutrient-packed vegan salad... when my "other" team invited me to join them for lunch at Qdoba. It was a good opportunity to get to know a couple of people, so I put my salad away and went with them. I got two vegetarian tacos on corn tortillas and figured I'd have the salad for dinner.

Well, Tuesday is also farmer's market day and the day I get chicken on weekly special at Fresh Market, so I went to both places. Well, wouldn't you know that Fresh Market also had their Dinner for Four for $20 as BURGERS this week, and my sister had just called talking about how SHE was having burgers for dinner...
so, I decided I was having a burger for dinner. I used my farmer's market tomatoes and also the Caesar salad that came as part of the meal, but didn't get into the tots or use the extra cheese slices that were also included...
So I logged everything, and still came in at my calorie count for the day.

I was really happy to have an example of where I completely changed my plans last minute for both meals, but remained committed to the important part. I enjoyed every bite of my burger, as well as the Bell's Oatsmobile I drank with it.

And I ate the salad for lunch today

88olds

Less I rely on willpower the better. Usually people talking about willpower are all about will and little about the power.

Thing about WW is/was it was a few things to do. Really for me it was go to the meeting and keep the journal. Quickly found if I was going to keep the journal, my life was easier if I had a plan. If I was going to all this trouble, I wanted to lose weight. If I wanted to lose, I should eat within my points.

So really all I needed was enough willpower for the meeting (5min from home btw) and the journal. As long as I stuck with those, the rest took care of itself.

minimyzeme

It's certainly not energetic determination, at least not most of the time. It's more the ability to control myself--most of the time. My experience so far is the game can be 'won' with some self-control. There's no bonus points for energetic determination that I can see. Maybe you get to the finish line first. But once it sets in there is no damn finish line, I need something sustainable.

I can engage the self control because I want the rewards. Not the accolades or the trinkets so much but the benefits that come with less weight. I also think I needed to know I could do it; that I could have and adhere to a structure that could take me from where I was to where I wanted to be. Ironically enough, that benefit came before I lost any weight. Just starting a program and working it for a week or two made me feel better. Surprise, that one!

gadgetgirlIL

I find willpower overrated. There is a finite quantity of it then decisional fatigue kicks in.

As for wantpower, I certainly wanted to be a normal weight for nearly all my life, but that didn't seem to provide enough motivation to really get me going. Rather the catalyst for my last 2 major weight losses were wanting to NOT be in a particular predicament. In 2001, it was watching my normal weight father struggle with basic activities of daily living after hip surgery. The hip surgery was a success but the anesthesia made his demetia flare up and he wouldn't work with the physical therapists and ended up bedridden for several months. I knew that at 304 pounds I was going to be in a really bad place if something like that happened to me. He got into an in patient rehab and I finally got back to the fitness center. The exercise habit got restarted months before I tackled my food intake.

In 2011, it was a very painful right knee that was impairing my ability to do my job. I was turning 50 but felt like I was 80. That is when I joined WW at Work as I didn't want to live out the rest of my years feeling so old and decrepit.