I’ve been thinking lately about how I can improve myself, or, more accurately, what the barriers are to my growing at a higher rate. Interestingly enough, all indications point to a single source — self-control. I’ve thought for a while now that this was the case, but this article really laid it down for me. It’s true; it’s undeniable.

When I look at things I’d like to improve, they all hinge on my ability to tolerate mediocrity. And I suck at it. I have not succeded in life because I’m dedicated to success and am able to make sacrifices; I’ve done well because I’m pretty good at what I enjoy doing, and those things happen to be marketable. It’s luck, really.

To get to “the next level” I need to be able to grind. That’s what “regular” successful people do — they grind away at mandatory, tedious tasks until a goal is reached. Example? Diet. I am losing years off of my life because I can’t stand shopping and cooking. So instead I eat whatever’s within 6 feet of me when hunger calls.

Another example? College. Successful people grind away at often boring classes until they have a degree. I, on the other hand, started performing extremely poorly as soon as I figured out I loved computers. I couldn’t do the boring stuff anymore; I had found my obsession.

That’s lame.

I’m essentially not in control. I’m just really good at taking advantage of my abilities. If I didn’t have any abilities I’d be screwed because I am not good at grinding.

Exercise is another one. I don’t go to the gym often because I hate having to drive over there. It’s tedious. Not partaking of beneficial activities because they are boring is dumb. Really dumb. I really wish I could stop…not doing these things.

So what’s the answer? How can I get “into” these things. Shopping, driving to the gym, cooking a meal, etc. I desperately need the answer here. I know I can force myself to do these things once I get into the proper environment, but I need to be able to do them everywhere. The proper enviornment won’t always be there.

What’s the solution here? Is this teachable? I know the answer; I just want to know what you guys think…

So I’m starting the Shangri-La diet today.

For those not in the know, it’s getting a lot of buzz lately, mostly because it’s supposed to be so easy and yield such great results. Who doesn’t want that, right?

Well, I finished the book yesterday and I have a couple of observations. First off, it’s not a diet to me. Meaning, it’s not a way to eat, per say.

To me, it’s little more than an interesting physiological technique for reducing one’s desire to eat. In short, it’s an appetite suppresant.

Lifestyle, not Tricks

In my view, this system is good for only one type of person — the person who wants to do a “real” diet but lacks the willpower to do so. When I say “real” diet, what I really mean is a lifestyle change when it comes to eating and excercising.

To put it another way, this Shangri-La system should be used as a tool to help one do the right thing — not be considered the right thing itself. Anyone who makes that mistake is going to get slapped back to reality sooner rather than later.

I find it interesting and useful for two reasons. First, I think that being overweight is all about lifestyle. And I think that changing one’s lifestyle while heavy is very difficult. Often times a boost at the beginning is very beneficial, and I think this system can serve as that boost. It’s a vicious cycle being fat — too tired to excercise so why not just sit on the couch. Since I’m on the couch I might as well eat. Since I just ate I might as well take a nap. Wow, nice life.

I find that the lack of energy is the most damaging symptom of being overweight; it’s the one that leads to the other bad habits. As such, I think a quick boost of energy resulting from some fast weight loss (then leading to motivation to do a couple workouts and/or eat more healthy), will lead to a good amount of positive momentum. That momentum can then be translated into actually living right, i.e. eating smaller meals, eating healthier meals, working out more, etc.

In short, I see this system as nothing more than an interesting catalyst toward a proper diet — not a diet in and of itself.

My Approach

So anyway, here’s what I’m going to do:

1. Sugar water (3Tbs/1 Liter of Water) twice a day.
2. Make a serious effort to reduce portion size. Not limit what I eat, just how much.
3. Head to my brand new grocery store and stock up on some healthy frozen dinners (do they make those?), as well as some fruit and vegetable snacks.
4. Try and get out and walk for half an hour at least every other night.
5. Head to the gym at least once a week. That’s not much, but it’s way more than usual.

Basically, I’m going to make some minor changes that I think I can sustain. Not major changes that are impossible to stick to, just minor ones that don’t take a huge amount of effort. I don’t think this is going to result in that much weight loss, but I think it’ll be enjoyable to see what it does do.

So, starting now, I weigh 250lbs (6’1”). It’s the 15th of May. I’ll keep you updated.

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Update 1 (05.20.06) Things not going well. I can’t stand drinking that sweet water; it’s very strange. Not giving up yet, but I almost feel as if I can simply control my portion size and other eating habits without the need for this appetite trick. We’ll see, though. Heading to New York for the week. Will check in soon.

Well, I made another trip to the bookstore yesterday. I picked up another Moleskine notebook and a few new security books. As I was walking out I experienced an all too familar feeling — the frustration of realizing that I hadn’t read the other four books I bought last time I was there.

This really has to stop.

I need to spend less time gathering scattered nuggets of information online and more time taking in the condensed, high-quality information within the books I’ve purchased. The benefit per unit of time is infinitely higher.

In fact, I bought the new notebook specifically for this. I want to spend roughly four to five hours a week just reading and taking notes in my Moleskine. Later, in a separate phase, I’ll transfer the content from my notebook to the /study/books page here on the site.

So yeah, that’s the plan. If I can combine this with my semi-regular workouts and a new eating culture I’ll be in like Flynn.

I just discovered an organic/health food store here in town and I’m all about becoming a member, buying most of my groceries from there, switching to their vitamins, and just generally eliminating all the crap I eat. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time anyway; finding this store just gives me some psychological ammunition with which to approach the task.

There’s a problem though. I don’t buy groceries. I don’t cook my own meals. I eat out just about every single meal of every single day. And when I don’t, it’s because I’ve made myself a sandwich from plastic wrapped, highly-preserved, horomone-injected meat products — topped off with a diet soda full of god knows what. It’s quite sad.

I know my body and mind are functioning at like 60% of their potential as a result of this, and I know what to do to fix it. The problem is that I’m a geek. I like to spend time doing things that are mentally stimulating: reading books, reading RSS feeds, blogging, chatting with friends, gaming, etc. I quite simply don’t feel I have time to “work” at preparing meals. I’d honestly pay someone to do it if it was cheap enough.

Anyway, that’s the problem and I don’t know how to fix it. I usually have quite a number of things on my plate between work and personal development, and when I’m hungry I just want to get un-hungry. Like, fast. The idea of me going home and preparing a meal that will take time and may not even taste as good is a major turnoff for me.

So, what am I to do? Has anyone come up with a way to break out of this horribly destructive cycle?