Being resistant to temptations will make you stronger, more resilient and unstoppable. I’m a prime example of it and I want to share with you why you should consider it.

This past weekend I was tested. Truly tested in the sense of how resistant I would be towards a temptation.

About a year ago I finally made the executive decision that enough was enough. After 20+ years of being inactive and not taking my health and nutrition more seriously, I decided that it was time to change that.

So, I signed up for the gym. Again! Then I simply started to make attempts to attend on a regular basis. You see, my previous failure was in the fact that I would sign up for a gym, attend for a short period of time and then simply quit. Usually after a couple of months and then end up stuck with unnecessary gym fees for some time. Until I finally would come to my senses and realize that I was wasting money by not attending.

A year later now and I am at around a 95% attendance where I work out three days a week. Still not quite where I want to be but at least it’s a step in the right direction.

In addition to my gym attendance, I started intermittent fasting about 6 months ago. It’s probably one of the craziest things I’ve ever decided to do. I mean the thought of not eating breakfast was not appealing whatsoever. After all, I’m also an Eastern European who grew up earring 5-course meals.

How in the hell was I going to skip breakfast and still manage to survive?

That’s just it though. I told myself that it was impossible. Before I even tried it I already decided that it was impossible. It was easier that way. Then again a lot of things in my life seemed that way.

After 6+ months of intermittent fasting and now a permanent solution for me I lost 25 lbs. the lowest weight at 200 lbs that I’ve been in over 20+ years. Even as I type this out it seems so surreal to acknowledge that I accomplished this. But, it’s definitely possible and I made it possible.

Now let me tell you what happened this weekend. It was quite an eye-opening experience.

I went out to lunch with my family and my wife’s on a Saturday. Those are typically my refeed days. Meaning that I eating more than 2,000 calories per day, once a week. It’s a part of my intermittent fasting approach.

Although since the last couple of days prior to Saturday I was a couple of hundred calories over my 2,000 calories daily mark I decided to skip my refeed day.

The place where we went for lunch was an Italian joint. One of my faves actually. Not so much about the lack of healthy menu selection though because it was nothing but pasta. Pasta isn’t low on calories. Not a good fit for my daily 2,000 calorie quota. So, what happened? I ended up eating a lunch that was a little over 2,000 calories. Now that wasn’t good either.

On top of it all, not only did I have a lunch that contained over 2,000 calories but I also ate 3 donuts, totally impulsively which brought up my grand total to almost 2,400 calories. So much for skipping refeed day and sticking to my 2,000 calorie daily mark.

…BUT, I wanted to eat more yet had to resist because I was already over my 2,000 daily calorie allotment.

This is the part where the real substance of the article comes into the mix.

Resistance!

You have to resist the temptations in order to become stronger, more resilient and unstoppable. That is actually a whole lot easier said than done though.

From an emotional standpoint, I wanted to eat more. Everything inside of me was pushing me to snack or eat more food to fill in that void. It was extremely irresistible and truth be told I almost gave in. Instead, I decided to cut my losses and decided to drink water for the rest of the evening until I decided to go to bed. This is an excellent alternative to curb cravings and especially for my unique situation.

Let me talk about the psychological experience of this and how it fits into this entire story.

If you can’t resist more food, due to emotional temptations, how are you ever going to become the best version of yourself? How are you ever going to become stronger, more resilient, and unstoppable?

You see, this is the fine line between winners and losers. The simplest of things that can make the biggest impact for the long term. I’ve already lost over 25 lbs on intermittent fasting. I struggled for almost a month and a half after the holidays by remaining stagnant with my weight because I kep dancing around in the same circle. I’d stick to 2,000 calories per day routine for one week and then the following I’d be back on the emotionally eating food train.

I wasn’t about to sacrifice everything that I had worked for so hard simply because I emotionally I wanted to give in to eating more than what I was supposed to. That’s giving up. Throwing in the towel.

The reason why most people never become the best versions of themselves is that they give in to temptations. They give in emotionally into the things that aren’t good for them. The simplest of things. They confine to the mediocrity of society and it’s simply easier to follow the rest of the herd than to stand out.

Do you want to be the best version of yourself?

Do you want to conquer your fears?

Do you want to be able to dominate in areas you otherwise would hesitate in?

Resist the temptations.