Zack Vayda and his Worst Enemy

I had a good conversation with a close friend of mine via text over the last couple days (Isn't that weird, a single conversation can last days through texting?). He gained a bit of weight going into college (who didn't?) and now, as a senior in college, he's getting back to exercising to get back to where he wants to be. For both of us, exercising isn't necessarily the hard part. Well, it can still be hard, but the more difficult thing is matching our eating habits with our exercise. 

I love food. I love bacon cheeseburgers, I love BBQ chicken pizza, I love loaded nachos, I love tacos and burritos, I love Chinese food, I love fried chicken and I hate that I can't eat all of it whenever I want. I've also gotten really good at giving myself reasons to eat the food I want.

"I exercised today, so I essentially already burned off this meal."

"I didn't exercise today, so I might as well eat since today is a fail anyway and I can do better tomorrow."

"I wasn't planning on eating, but my roommate is eating so I can too."

"I'm busy, so I need to make sure I eat to give me the energy."

"I'm bored, so I might as well eat."

For a relatively logical guy, I'm incredibly illogical about food. I've also slowly (and painfully) come to the conclusion that this is an addiction. And not like a "Christmas" addiction or a "Longaberger" addiction, but like a real addiction. I'm talking about the kind that if left unrestricted could actually kill me. 

I know just how bad it is because I've let to go unfettered before. Two years ago at this time, I was 40 pounds heavier and dangerously unhappy. I didn't fit into my clothes, I ran out of breath walking up a flight of stairs, even bending over to tie my shoes restricted my oxygen intake. Not only that, but it affected my mood. I was lazy, nothing seemed exciting, very few of my thoughts were positive and I had no motivation to change those habits, which was the scariest part.

In a way, I'm happy that I had let myself go like that, because now I know exactly what I'm working so hard to prevent. It's a great motivator. 

Something I wish someone had told me when I got myself back on track is that it never gets easy. It might get easier, but it'll never be easy. I think it's important to know that because you can go into it knowing it's going to take work. That way I don't get blindsided when it's still harder than I was thinking/hoping. 

It never gets easy, so you need to arm yourself with every weapon you have to fight against this kind of an addiction. I'll list my weapons below, in case anyone needs some for their own defense. They're nothing new; you've heard them all before. But here they are anyway:

For those that once let themselves go, remember what you're fighting to prevent.

Meal prep for the work week. It's harder to eat junk when there's already food for you in the fridge.

Do whatever it takes to just get yourself to the gym. If you get there and only do half your workout, who cares? Getting there is easily half the battle. 

Forget everyone else. The only person that knows what you need is you. And maybe your gym instructor.

Most importantly, find someone to hold you accountable. I think this works best with someone who is also trying to improve so that you're growing together.