Moments of Bravado: Week Ending 11.02.08

I read a post somewhere last month in which Jillian Michaels, of Biggest Loser fame, gave some tips for losing weight. The thing that stood out for me the most was what she said about willpower:

Losing weight is not about willpower - it's about moments of bravado, like the
moment when you ask your waiter to take the bread away from the table right
away.

I quickly printed that quote out and taped it to the top of my computer monitor at work. I read it every day, several times a day. It really did speak to me on the most basic level. Willpower is usually seen as this thing we have or we don't have and that viewpoint can really affect our success or failure in shedding the pounds. So what if it isn't willpower that we need, but it is really moments of bravado to spur us on in times we are most challenged or want to go to the next level?

This past week I had a few moments of bravado that I want to share:

• On Halloween Friday I was horrified when I turned around and noticed a big bag of candy on my desk. This sweet, little package was courtesy of HR. Now the sentiment was nice, but the reality of what that little bag of goodness could do to me was quite ghastly. So, I promptly threw it over the cube wall to my co-worker (knocking over her tea cup in the process) and told her to take it home to her husband and son. She quite graciously forgave my moment of craziness and relieved me of the many calories and grams of sugar that my body does not need and I really don't want at this point.



• On Saturday I thought I would experiment a little bit. I normally take the bus while running errands and slip in pockets of walking throughout the day. However, this Saturday I determined that if my destination was 3 miles away and under that I would walk instead. It was a giant success. I clocked in at walking 8.26 miles by the end of the day. What did this tell me? My fitness level is through the roof and I can do anything I set my mind too.

In both of these situations I wasn't bracing myself to resist temptation or attempt something I've never done before. I chose at those moments to take the brave action instead of the easy one. And these moments of bravado brought me out of last week healthier and fitter than when I entered it.

So ask yourself, what moments of bravado have you undertaken? What action did you take to ensure your success in reaching your goal?