Impulse decisions
What is more important to you — your ideal fitness level or a hot fudge sundae? Which do you want more?
What is more important to you — being lean, fit and strong, or shutting your eyes again after the alarm goes off in the morning? Which do you want more?
So often we are faced with the challenge of an immediate desire vs. an ultimate desire.
Our ultimate desires are our long-term goals — be healthy, be fit, get ripped, see a 6 pack, jump higher, run farther, live longer, have more energy, see our grandkids grow up, etc.
Our immediate desires are entirely different — eat that dessert, sleep in, watch TV, veg out, supersize the fries, have a few beers, raid the cupboard, etc.
When asked what’s important to us, we always say it’s those ultimate desires — our long term goals. And yet all too often we sacrifice those ultimate desires to satisfy our immediate desires. We cave in to our cravings!!!! How foolish!
Have you ever heard the Bible story about Jacob and Esau? Esau was in line to inherit all the blessings of a first-born son (called the “birthright”) as the oldest son of Isaac. But what did he do? He gave it all up for a bowl of soup! He came in from the field hungry, and his little brother Jacob had a bowl of stew, and when Esau asked for it, Jacob said, “Sure, if you’ll give me your birthright”. Esau sacrificed everything for a bowl of stew! What an idiot! Right??
Yet we do it every day too! We eat that dessert, knowing we are giving up our “birthright” so to speak, one bowl of stew at a time. We skip that workout, and act just like Esau. Why is it so easy for us to see the foolishness in others and yet not see it in ourselves.
Why are we so quick to sacrifice what we really want in order to satisfy an impulse? Why is the life of most Americans dictated by impulse cravings? I believe it’s because we’ve lost our ability to discipline ourselves. We’ve lost the ability to tell ourselves NO!
Write down what’s important to you. Do it today! And name those things your ultimate desires. They can be related to your health, your family relationships, your career, your walk with God, your service to the community, your legacy. Write them down. And then realize that every day you will be faced with immediate desires (bowls of stew) that you will be tempted to give all that other stuff up for. Will you be like Esau and cave in? Or will you stay true to your ultimate desires? You can’t have both. Satisfying the immediate desires almost always makes it either harder or impossible to have your ultimate desires.
Here’s a trick that I’ve learned == Flip the desires. Let’s say your ultimate desire is to lose 43 pounds in 90 days (like I did in round 1). Whenever you are faced with an immediate desire, like that hot fudge sundae, flip it with your ultimate desire (losing the weight). Ask yourself, which would I rather have, that hot fudge sundae or to be 43 lbs lighter, RIGHT NOW! The hard thing about ultimate goals is they don’t happen fast, and they seem far off so they get overshadowed by an immediate desire, even if that immediate desire is much smaller than the ultimate desire. If giving up that sundae would make you lose 43 lbs immediately, would you give it up? SURE! But when you are sitting there, staring at it, inhaling that aroma, all of a sudden your mind starts playing all sorts of dirty tricks on you (“it’s only XXX calories, you can burn it off with a little extra cardio, you’ll get back on track tomorrow, etc”). It’s just like Esau and the dumb bowl of stew!!!
Don’t listen to your cravings. Don’t give in to impulses! Make yourself a promise that if you didn’t plan ahead to do something, you won’t do it in the heat of the moment. Do I have a cheat meal occasionally? Yes, I do. But I plan for it. I know that on Thursday night I am going out with my wife, and I will allow myself ________ (fill in the blank). That’s very different than being at the store, seeing that bag of cookies, and caving in and buying it and eating half the bag. That tells your cravings that they are in charge. Instead, tell your cravings that YOU are in charge. You make the decisions on YOUR terms, not based on an impulse.
My rule of thumb == ANYTIME you have an impulse to do something that you didn’t already plan ahead to do (skip a workout, cut a workout short, eat ______, etc). the answer has to be an automatic NO! Never let the impulses win or they will only get stronger. And impulses NEVER get you to your goals.
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That picture is funny to me. I had a dream I ate a Boston cream donut with chocolate frosting on top then another and I could not stop, must have ate a whole dozen when the alarm went off I was pissed off at myself and had to see if it was real or not.
Hey Coach so i remember seeing your response to a comment in one of your old articles saying that if you eat unhealthy food like maybe pizza that you dont consider it cheating if it doesnt get you over your calorie intake. Did i read that right? what are your thoughts.
Billy, if you have the budgets I wouldn't say it is a cheat. It may not be a typical meal, but if you don't go over in any budget that will be best. I have had pizza, I just limit it and make sure it fits. I didn't have any of that kind of stuff for 180 days though and I was around 6% BF. If you aren't at your goal, I would wait. It can be hard to mentally go back to your regular diet when you add pizza on a Friday. Can be a stumbling stone.
Ok i tracked it , half of my gold protein is 12 grams and i would need a 1 and a half of a large banana to get 47 to 12 which is about 4 to 1 right?
That's it Billy. You could stick to one banana and a half scoop. Close is good.
are there any other alternatives? Im sure you know coach todd and he did a video about taking whey protien with some creatine and a banana would be the closest option to getting the same nutrition as R&R.
Billy, I know a lot of people do the banana and whey. Track it and see if you can get close to the 4:1 ratio. Probably a large banana and half a scoop of whey would do it.
what are some good recovery drinks other then the p90x recovery drink?
Billy, I haven't really used many. Endurox R4 is very similar with a 4:1 carbs to protein ratio. It has some glutamine but no creatine. You'll notice it's price is about the same as R&R at $45... it's more if you coach.
Hey Coach i was wondering if one slice of whole wheat bread with 1tbsp of peanut butter and 1.5 scoop of whey protein a good breakfast after my workout?
Billy that is probably pretty balanced with protein/carbs/fat. Use a recovery drink right after your workout and then have this breakfast 45-60 minutes later. That would work well!
Great article Wayne! I hope you don't mind because I used this parable in my own writing to promote the idea of saving before spending! This timeless parable is applicable across all areas of our lives. Thank you for sharing it with us. -T
Hey Coach. How are you doing ? I am in Barcelona for a week for vacation. You are catholic christian, right ? I went to a very old and popular church here and took pictures because I thought you might like them, want me to email them ?? Also, there was an article that you wrote that had a list of sentences that people told you "just take a small bite", "your packs are asymmetrical", "will you keep workingout forever?" I really liked it but cannot find it, can you link me to it please ? Last thing, I never got the X2 shirts I ordered, see if you can check on them.
Khaled - I am a Christian! Sure send them over. That article is Negative People (http://teamripped.com/negative-people). Hopefully you don't have too many around you. I will check on your shirt and get back to you.
Hey coach I twisted my ankle yesterday so ill be down for a few days. Presently, I'm on the energy booster plan. During the days i am down should I switch to the fat shredder plan?
Hey Justin, don't change up the diet. Keep working out! Just don't do plyo or jumping. You should still be able to do all the lift workouts I would assume, along with stretching and yoga.
sorry coach i meant "energy booster" you used for Round 2
Yes Justin, the energy booster would be the best way to go (at least for the first month or so) at your maintenance calorie level (which should be more than you are at now). And if you feel you need it, then bump up to the endurance maximizer if you aren't building muscle at the rate you want on the energy booster.
Hey coach, i finally completed my first FULL round of p90x, and I am now around about 5% body fat. I ran a calorie deficit slightly lower than the traditional fat shredder diet of 1900. My eating plan consisted of the same percentages but 1450 calories minus the R/R formula (so more like 1650). I got great results. Increased muscle and shredded body fat. My goal this second time around is to achieve more of your end of Round 2 results. Should i follow the endurance maximizer? The reason i ask is because you mentioned that for round 2 you wanted to shed the last little bit of body fat. I feel I have lost my desired boyfat, and i want to continue to gain muscle without sacrificing my 29 inch waist. lol
Great article Coach! Really puts things in perspective!
I to have been an Esau, from time to time. It's like the Bible also says at Jeremiah 17:9 "The HEART is more Treacherous than anything eles and is desparte. Who can know it?" So with that said, more offen that not the heart is the seed of motovation and must be kept in check for everything at alltimes, even food!!!!! Thanks for the great illustration.....
Great Article! I am currently struggling with this. I am 30 days in, and have lost 29 pounds..On the recovery week, I slept in a few days..now I am all messed up and cant get my lazy butt out of bed! This offers a different perspective..I am going to try this for sure!!!
Nail on the head coach. When u truly and honestly devote yourself to your "ultimate desires" as u say, the food somehow seems less appealing. I failed with nutrition with most of my first round because of everything u listed in this article. I'm a chef and I cook alot of pastry also and the temptation was a butt whooping. I thought that if I did extra(adding kenpo to every resistance day) tht it wouldn't matter that I was dumping chocolate in every orifice...I was Esau. When I finally began to be honest with myself and admit that I wasn't gonna achieve what I had started out to do with my results, I had to rearrange my fitness platform. What really got to me tho, is that I realized I pretty much wasted an opportunity to get ripped. I went through so much hell and pushing play for more than 90 days and although I got strong, nimble, and explosive, because my nutrition wasn't the platform from which my fitness stood upon, I didn't loose the body fat percentages which is what I was going for. Seeing that caused an immediate reaction to step the "bleep" up and start being honest with myself. It's been 22 days so far and I don't know if it's just me, but I have just lost the desire for instant gratification. The food just doesnt look or taste so good knowing that it's keeping me from my long term goal of turning a fat kid to an elite athilete. This transition came seamless but if u think about it, it took me 90 days of failing to get to this point so like everyone has said here its not easy at all!!! But it's aricles like this and the constant mentoring from coach Wayne along with the information provided by this website that increases the slow pace of long term goals. Everyday I remind myself that promises are easy to make, but hard to keep!!! Thx coach, and team ripped!!! BROUGHT!!!
I read somewhere that the more disciplined we are in life, the more happiness we will have. Thank you for the motivating post Coach Wayne, you are a great example of this.
mmmmm, donuts (Homer Simpson voice). Timely article coach, saved me from a cheat last night. I said to myself "what's more important ...". I'm hoping that the longer I stick to my diet that it becomes habitual and the temptations are not that strong anymore. Coach, I struggle with night cravings, did you ever have this battle? I mean before I became aware of eating right I would drive to Taco Bell or eat a bowl of cereal before bed! I usually have a cup of hot tea or chug some water to curb this and then get to sleep. Do you know or have any tricks?
Hey Bmack, I used to eat junk food late at night while watching TV. Now I simply cut it off after dinner with one exception - a scoop of whey in water. I'm totally used to that now, but it's just a matter of breaking the bad habit. After you make good choices for a few weeks without caving into that impulse, the impulse starts to go away.
Hey Coach Wayne, I have a random question regarding Shakeology and whey protein. The Scoops that come with them have a line a little above the middle of them,(usually where the handle is). Are you supposed to fill the scoop up all the way to the top or up to that line. Every time I make my self a shake i wonder that. I have been filling it to the top so far.
Yes Andres, fill it to the top. In fact, let it heap up a bit over the top. If you level the top off smooth, you will be getting just under a serving (I find when I weigh mine on my food scale that a level scoop is about 42 grams and a true serving is 48 grams).
Ok so I should stop when my total carb hits 75g (30%) even though I still have excess calories left?
Ideally Vee, yes! You don't really have "excess calories left" because your Kashi cereal actually has more calories than you are counting (as I explained before). Google it to learn more about this (type "why kashi carbs and calories not match" to learn more about this).
Hey coach I have a question about carbs. I eat food high in fiber like kashi go lean and quest bars and my total carbs are usually over 30% on a 1000kcal fat shredder (I'm 5' abt 110)... Even though I hit my protein (125g) and fat (22g)intake i still have a few hundred calories left to consume and my total carbs are almost 40%! That puts me on an average of 45p/45c/10f a day which isn't the 'fat shredder' diet.. What should I do? The fibrious carbs doesn't have calories but they add up to my total carb intake and make my %s high towards carbs
Hey Vee, what you are noticing is a mislabelling of the carbs by cereal makers. All foods that have fiber should still count those carbs as calories, but the FDA has made the exception that on labels some of these manufacturers can allow for fiber to not be counted in their calorie total. For instance, if you add up the carbs in your Kashi Go Lean, it adds up to more calories than what the cereal says on the label. It says a serving is 140 cals because it's not including the fiber. In reality, that serving of GoLean is about 180 cals. It's usually only cereal makers that do this little trick. If you look at other things, like Quaker oats (or anything else really), they DO count fiber as calories (which they really should).
Hey coach, will you be alerting everyone the next time the bowflex dumbbells go on sale? And do you have any idea of when?
Hey Justin, I don't know when they will go on sale again, but yes, I always alert everyone when they do (on here, and on our FB teamripped page).
Great article......I'm struggling with motivation right now.....picture of donuts makes me want to go eat a donut. I'm dissapointed in myself!!!!
hey coach wayne quick q.starting the p90x all over after 3 weeks of good diet and then binging.! i want to do the fat shredder diet and am pretty vascular as it is. i weigh 172 pouns at 5-11 how many carbs do u recommend sincre i will be eating 1500 calories and am getting more than 170 protein a day?pleases help is 100 alright?more or less?thnkx
Hey Jonathan, if you are doing the fat shredder, I assume it is because you are looking to drop some body fat? If so, I have guidelines based on height in the "dialing it in" section, so check that out. You should stick to that until you get your body fat where you want it. http://teamripped.com/dialing-it-in
Great post Coach. I had fallend into being lead by my impulses so this article was so in need. I plan to use the techniques you offered and push towards my ultimate goes from this day forward. THANKS !
Coach - This is a VERY important and oh so true post. EVERYTHING comes down to making a choice. If you make the right choices consistently you will get what you are looking to achieve, if not, as my daughter says "You get what you get". Coach - YOU represent what it means to make all the right choices and I on the other hand have been the poster boy for the other side of the coin until a few weeks ago. A huge THANKS to you for motivating so many people to make the right choices. Have a great day.
Great post coach. Impulse cravings and quitting have the same outcome. They are very hard habits to break once you start, but it can be done, and it's not as bad as you think. Bring it!!!!!!!!!!! P.S Right now I'm resisting an urge for a hot fudge sundae....LOL
Thanks for the link and the info -- there's so much great advice on this site it can be hard to find all of it! Should I assume it's OK to do the strength work as well on the alternating days when I'm not planning to do extra cardio?
Yes Patrick, that's fine to do strength workouts on alternating days as long as you are giving the major muscle groups the 48 hours of rest between working them out.
Hey Coach, good stuff here. Avoiding temptations on weekends like this past one is a tough thing for a lot of people, but when you're really dialed in, it's amazing how easy it is to turn down things that would have been must-haves before. On a different topic, I'm just starting my third week of Insanity (did my second fit test today). I'm feeling pretty good in terms of my energy, and my nutrition is largely on-point. Do you think adding a second workout in the evening (jogging or light cardio one day; a bit of lifting/calisthenics the next) would hurt at all? Do I risk "over-doing it" or jeopardizing my body's ability to recover adequately from the Insanity workouts?
Hey Patrick, you can do extra cardio as long as you have the time and the energy to do it. For more, see the final paragraph in this article = http://teamripped.com/rest-and-recovery Hope that helps!
Another great article, Coach. Imo, one of your best ones. I just wish you had posted it on Friday! I had a bit a of a bad weekend (1st one in a long time), but am back on track now. I guess we all stumble, but thanks for the motivation to stay the course!
Great article Coach, I already used your strategy today, and it really works
I have to admit, I did everything wrong and nothing right as far as my fitness goes this past weekend. But that was a concious decision. I knew exactly what I was doing and chose to do it anyway. Now I am making a concious decision to reverse that thinking and get back on track for my ultimate goals. I have slacked too much lately on nutrition even though I have hit the workouts like a man possessed and now it is back to food focus. Thanks for the encouragement and notes. Hugh
I love you "Rule of Thumb" Coach.... PERFECTLY said!
again, great article to help keep us motivated.
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Good article Coach. For me, I do need to say no and discipline myself more often. It takes awhile to make a habit, so it will take some time to break one as well. I see how weighing out the pros and cons can really help put things in perspective though. Instant gratification is all about a temporary change that will not benefit me in the long run. Keeping my eye focused further down the road will make my life more meaningful in the end, but I must be patient. Thanks again for the article Coach!
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