No Days Off! Do It Every Day! by Joan Kent, PhD
“I don’t stop when I’m tired. I only stop when I’m done.”
It surprised me that the above quotation came from Marilyn Monroe. How many times have we heard those words in connection with athletics?
In the training and weight loss program I taught for 14 years, participants sometimes wished for a day off, or more. When they’d tell the strength-training coach, his reply was annoyed: “There are no days off! This is it – the way you eat, the way you train – all the time.”
Men can say things like that more easily than women. Regardless, I appreciated him for saying it and agreed with him.
One participant asked me if she could stop logging her food on the weekends. She just wanted a break from logging, she said. Maybe she really believed it.
It seemed obvious, though, that days off would encourage bad habits. I imagined her stopping the log on Friday morning, eating junk Friday through Sunday, and re-starting her log sometime Monday. Or even Tuesday.
Mostly I pictured her discovery that she wasn’t losing weight. We’d have no record of her weekend binges.
I told her I couldn’t stop her from doing that but wouldn’t approve it. How could I help her fail and tell others our program didn’t work?
In December, I read an article for entrepreneurs on finishing a great business year. The only way to finish the year strong, he said, was to understand that there would “never be a day that will not require dedication, discipline, perseverance, accountability, and the need to execute relentlessly.”
Well, that article was written about business, but it applies to fitness, athletics, and weight loss. We know success depends on consistent and persistent action, not on temporary changes till the pounds are lost.
Dan Millman comes to mind: “There are no ordinary moments.”
Isn’t that what wishing for a day off is – a wish for moments that simply don’t count? No repercussions, when we can do what we shouldn’t but not suffer the consequences?
I’ve wanted those moments, too. When the alarm wakes me at some ridiculous hour to go train, or when I was flat-out tired of writing my dissertation.
We’ve probably all wished for ordinary moments. Here’s the proverb I like best in this context:
“When climbing a mountain, give up a thousand times. Just keep your feet moving.”
That one works. Mentally, we can go in any direction – discouraged, negative, foolish, absurd – but never let it affect our behavior or change our action plan.
Some of us this January may already be struggling with a motivation slow-down. Instead of trying to “recharge the battery” over and over, why not just keep your feet moving, no matter what?
And how about a final quote, this one from G.K. Chesterton?
“I do not believe in a fate that falls on men however they act, but I do believe in a fate that falls on them unless they act.”
Why stay locked in health problems when you can get moving in the right direction now? How about a clear plan so you can get results quickly and easily? Just visit www.LastResortNutrition.com and grab your free Empowered Eating Consult. Discover how easy keeping your feet moving can be!
Brought to you by Dr. Joan Kent, best-selling author of Stronger Than Sugar: 7 Simple Steps to Defeat Sugar Addiction, Lift Your Mood, and Transform Your Health.
