Do it, or not

Dieting is a lot like running, and both are similar to martial arts. I'm sure that other things can also be added to the list, but I'm going to stick to things I know.

To be successful, all of them require a long-term, sustained effort.

Let's say somebody is trying to lose weight. They come up with a food-control plan, and get rolling. They resist temptation, and stick to what they are doing and start to see results. They are pleased, and continue along.

Somewhere in their journey, they will fail to stick to the plan. It has to happen. They go out to eat with friends, and have something wonderful. Or, perhaps a holiday rolls around; like Thanksgiving or Christmas. Maybe they just can't walk past the ice cream freezer at the supermarket again without grabbing some.

Maybe they are not on a diet. They have themself running several times a week. The weather gets a little nasty, and it's just too hard to drag themself out onto the road. Maybe a vacation pops up, and for several weeks they are doing other things.

Maybe they are training in Jiu-Jitsu, and enjoying it greatly. Something gets them off the mat. Perhaps they are away on vacation, or they have an injury, or maybe some big sporting event is on TV.

The activity gets missed, for whatever reason. I'm sure you've known dieters who've had a setback, thrown up their hands, and quit the whole thing.

If too much running gets missed, it is physically hard to get rolling again. This can be very discouraging. Instead of wanting to run, they might find it harder than ever to get motivated.

Miss a Jiu-Jitsu class or two, and it's easy to let it become three.

The danger is for all of these things to expect perfection.

If you diet all week, and go for pizza on Friday that isn't a failure. Likely, in your pre-diet life you would have gone for pizza just the same. One day on your old diet with 6 days of calorie reduction is a successful weight reduction strategy.

Missing a sporting activity is just a break. Let it be nothing more. If you train 9 times in a row, and then miss one for no real reason, it's still 90% participation.

This is all predicated on the idea that you want to continue. It can also be an excuse to quit the diet, or to quit running or training. You've failed and might as well quit. Perhaps with dieting this is most tempting. You've failed, and quit, and instantly binge eat.

With training, the reward isn't so massive and immediate. It might just mean staying home to watch TV.

If you want to stop any of these activities, you don't need an excuse. Make a decision to do so. It's your right.

I think you should be honest with yourself. If you don't want to run, don't run. If you don't want to do Jiu-Jitsu, stay home. If you don't want to diet, have a sandwich. Either that, or chose to continue past the irregularity in your commitment.

This all seems very controlled. Do I ever have bad days? You betcha. Today we went out for breakfast for fun, and then went to a Chinese-buffet for supper. Although my day included an hour's run, I still suspect that I ate more than I burned. However, it was close. I expect tomorrow to be a full-on diet day again.

Do I ever not run? You betcha. Crappy weather kicks my butt when it comes to hitting the road. I can handle light to middling rain, and moderate cold, but not more than that. I also don't run on my super-busy Jiu-Jitsu days, but I could.

Do I ever miss Jiu-Jitsu training without a good reason?

Nope.