Strong enough to resist?

Ugh. I'm sure we've all written or said something that we wish we could take back. "Are you strong enough to resist?" Ridiculous. All too often in the fitness/nutrition industry, there is an emphasis on willpower... and the lack of often leads to the notion that we are weak. I happen to think we are just human. And I am also a big believer in the the mantra, "Life is short!"

Friday night, I was lucky enough to sit across from Mark Sisson at the Weber Grill downtown. We had several Paleo temptations that night, and willpower was being tested! Before I left for dinner, my mom reminded me of the pretzel rolls that Weber serves... Ugh, test #1. But, I passed. With the Paleo guru is sitting across from me, the pressure was on! My husband, was a quick thinker and quickly swallowed one while Mark left the table to take a phone call.(Not sure he tasted it. :))It was quite comical, as I looked around to see most of the other trainers avoiding the pretzel rolls as well... knowing that we were all envious of Jarrod for "sneaking" one! Dinner was easy, but then it came time for dessert.... key lime cheesecake... my favorite! And I went with the mantra, "Life is short!" I asked Mark if he ever did dessert and he said the he does, occasionally, but not in this type of crowd. I get it. He was on display this weekend, he was selling his diet, he was selling the image. We do that all the time.

I have always been really good about eating "healthfully" when we are out and about. However, around 10:00 when it's getting close to bedtime, Jarrod and I would usually have our ice cream. It was our splurge. I always looked forward to this time of the day because it was the few minutes that we had to ourselves, where we could actually have a conversation without interruptions of "Mom, can I?"and "Dad, can you help me?" I had the mentality that I had earned it. But really, was I truly rewarding myself? Possibly... but only short term.

I think it's really important to allow yourself the occasional treats. Mark Sisson operates on an 80/20 rule, where 80% of the time, you eat right... 20% you can go off the "diet." It's something I encourage my clients to do so... because if we are constantly making ourselves resist the temptations, we are setting ourselves up for failure when we are eventually going to cave. (Today, we went to the Strawberry Festival for BREAKFAST and it was wonderful!)