Guess what I did this morning?

Well I slept from 9pm to 9am, got up slammed some UCAN and aminos, did a ton of foam rolling & stretching & glute activation, took Nala on a 15 minute walk, THEN…. I ran 6 miles!!!!!

I did stop every mile to stretch out my hip and back so as well as decrease the stress on my back, but I don’t care because it was a huge confidence booster for the turkey day 10K next week!  Post run I foam rolled some more, especially my calves and lower back.

and of course drank a salted mocha smoothie... yummmy!

which I made with beef protein & a whole banana this time around, it was delicious!  Now even though I’ve got tons of exercise in pup is hitting a new level of whininess so it’s time to go to the dog park, but first I wanted to share with you this thought…

Can Willpower Unlimited?

So the other day I was researching topics for my Healthy Living Challenges group at the gym.  Since the holidays are coming up I was looking for something holiday related but not actually “how to avoid the bulge”… it’s not quite time for that yet… not yet….

Anyway, I came across this article which I can’t stop talking about to people.  A few takeaways:

• willpower can be drained by totally unrelated tasks (avoiding cake and not yelling at someone about socks on the floor)
• willpower (no matter what the topic) & emotional sensitivity can and will be affected by blood sugar balance (think going to the store hungry)
• habits put willpower on auto-pilot
• you can build up your willpower just like you can build fitness
• mindset could be the most important piece of it all—> view it as limited and you will have limited amounts, view it as infinite and you will have infinite amounts!

Probably the most important part is making healthy habits that put willpower on autopilot.  Creating lasting change is amount make habits that you can fall back on when times get rough, busy, or simply unmotivated.  It’s one of the most important focus areas of working with my clients, creating lasting behavior change.  If behavior change isn’t created, then all the nutrition and fitness knowledge in the world won’t help.  That’s why I recently wrote up my personal 3P’s Guide to Successful Healthy Living exclusively for my Hungry Hobby blog subscribers.  Make sure you subscribe if you haven’t yet got your copy!

Question of the day:

Do you view willpower as finite or unlimited?

I definitely think I view it as unlimited, but that being said I have found times where I realize I’m drained and don’t even know it.  Like when I work a 13 hour shift and I’m fine all day long, then I get home and everything seems to come unraveled.  I think what I’m trying to say is I tell myself willpower is infinite and I can handle anything, but I think that gets me into trouble sometimes taking on more than can I handle.  

What are your tips for improving willpower?