One of my favorite quotes comes from retired Navy SEAL, Jocko Willink:
Discipline equals freedom
It’s simple and complicated at the same time. See, what makes this quote powerful is the infinite derivations:
Discipline equals wealth: Work hard, control your spending for a couple decades and boom!; you just may find yourself sitting on a golden nest egg.
Discipline equals happiness: Stay off your phone, go to bed early and be mindful. You’ll be better for it.
Discipline equals health: Exercise and don’t eat junk. Take care of your body.
Today, I’ll focus on that last one. Mr. Wow and I had a bet over who could lose the most weight. I lost. Not by much, but I lost:
What Happened?
Looking at the red line in the graph, I got off to a bad start. I started the bet at 168 and quickly ballooned to almost 173.
What happened? Vacation happened.
What little self-control I have around food is quickly lost when I’m on the road. In Maine, there was lobster. In New York, donuts and pizza. In Scotland, beer.
And it all goes back to self-control. I have healthy willpower in some aspects of my life. For example, I don’t slack off with exercise. Yesterday, I could barely walk up the stairs after my deadlift and squat routine. I also walked 26,911 steps.
But with food, I suck.
Halloween is hell. Candy. Everywhere.
So is Thanksgiving. I didn’t need to eat four pieces of pie along with that mountain of stuffing.
Where To Go From Here?
It’s not all bad. I now weigh 153, down 20 pounds from August. I’m still not at my optimum weight (somewhere in the high 140s), but I don’t have far to go. I no longer have hypertension.
But, I didn’t perform up to my potential. I’m disappointed and a little angry too. Not at Mr. WoW, but at myself. I could have done better. I should have done better.
One thing that helps is peer pressure. Mr. WoW and I are going to organize a second part of this challenge. It will probably be some kind of race. Maybe a 5K, 10K or half-marathon. Maybe in Portland or Southern California. We hope that some of you will join us. Stay tuned for more information.
Our freedom to operate and maneuver had increased substantially through disciplined procedures. Discipline equals freedom. –Jocko
Join the 10s who have signed up already!
Subscribing will improve your life in incredible ways*.
*Only if your life is pretty bad to begin with.
Rounding the FIRE bend says
November 29, 2017 at 9:38 amDon’t feel bad about losing 8.5% of your weight. You did great! It probably took you 15 years to put the pounds on, and you managed to get them off in a couple months. Keep going!
MrWow says
November 29, 2017 at 9:38 amGreat minds, I guess…
Well done friend! Well done!!! I can’t believe you’ve helped your blood pressure! That’s fantastic.
Don’t worry, I ate wayyy too much Turkey and everything else. It just tastes tooo good.
Who really lost here? I think it was great to have the competition to keep us honest. Fun, and I can’t wait for round 2!
MrWow recently posted…What Ever Happened With The Weight Loss Contest?
Mr. Tako says
November 30, 2017 at 3:54 amGreat job both of you guys! You both did excellent!
Discipline is everything!
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Mrs.Wow says
November 29, 2017 at 9:45 amI’m the same way when it comes to food and good beer. And then unfortunately, when the diet starts to tumble so do the workouts and exercising mentality. And vacations are just the worst when it comes to that. Let’s just say that Ecuador and Dallas took a toll on my diet/workouts and I still haven’t recovered. Might need round 2 to start so I have something to work towards.
Mrs.Wow recently posted…What Ever Happened With The Weight Loss Contest?
Mr. 1500 Days says
November 29, 2017 at 10:08 amRound 2!: Just sent an email to Mr. WoW. Portland on 3/31?
Round 3!!: Berkshire Hathaway 5k in May?
Mrs.Wow says
November 29, 2017 at 8:54 pmPortland!
Mrs.Wow recently posted…What Ever Happened With The Weight Loss Contest?
MarciaB says
December 1, 2017 at 4:39 pmPortland! There’s a nice group of Mustacheans there who do potlucks, we could make an event of it.
Mr. 1500 Days says
December 2, 2017 at 5:24 amThat sounds great!
Joe says
November 29, 2017 at 10:11 amGreat job! You don’t need to get mad. You did so well. I haven’t been able to lose weight at all. The discipline just isn’t there when it comes to food. At least, my weight is pretty stable.
Let me know if you come to Portland. 🙂
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Tawcan says
November 29, 2017 at 11:27 amStill very impressive result for the both of you. Congrats! Hmmm maybe I should join on this part 2 challenge.
Tawcan recently posted…How I became financially independent at age 32
Owen @ PlanEasy says
November 29, 2017 at 11:55 amGreat quote. It is odd that I enjoy a bit of discipline? Maybe its the engineer in me but I enjoy a little bit of efficiency and discipline in my life.
Great results on the weight loss challenge. I don’t think I could lose that much in just two months. Very impressive discipline!
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Mrs PoP says
November 29, 2017 at 12:15 pmDon’t beat yourself up too much – that’s some crazy progress! Unfortunately, I feel like the last couple months have been less than stellar for my eating habits, and on top of almost a year of not running, I have a lot of work to do if we’re going to have a foot race in January.
…
We are having a footrace in January, right? Since the Ecuador one never happened? =)
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wendy says
November 29, 2017 at 6:11 pmI’m with Mr. WoW…who really lost on this? You both set out to loose weight and you did… the slight ‘miss’ in your expectations of yourself will just fire you up for round 2!
Once you set your dates for a race and/or next goal, let us all know… if we can’t get to the races, maybe we can all virtually participate and do a similar workout or run wherever we are – strength and accountability in numbers!
Mike @ Balanced Dividends says
November 29, 2017 at 6:44 pmGreat progress. As some of the other comments reflected, don’t get too upset about making every goal or “winning” in the contest vs. Mr WoW.
And thanks for the continued motivation. I was about to have a beer, but it can wait until the weekend.
Mike @ Balanced Dividends recently posted…Just a Pet? Why We Spent $10,000 In 10 Days
Accidental Fire says
November 29, 2017 at 7:26 pmBut the pie was good, so there’s that.
Physician on FIRE says
November 29, 2017 at 7:28 pmI say congrats to the both of you! Losing twenty pounds at an advanced age is never easy.
Cheers!
-PoF
MrWow says
November 30, 2017 at 2:34 pmAdvanced age??? Speak for yourself!
Team CF says
November 30, 2017 at 1:32 amWhat’s your real soft spot, the food or the beer?
Mrs. Picky Pincher says
November 30, 2017 at 7:08 amHalloween is the one holiday that totally messes with any of my diet plans. I ate all the candy and we had to buy more for the children, Oh, the shame!
But I’ve had a lot of success by integrating more discipline in my life. For example, I could sleep in until 7:30 every day if I wanted to. Instead, I wake up at 5 am every day to work on my writing, work out, cook us a healthy breakfast, and clean the house. It was NOT easy waking up early and finding the motivation to do these things, but it’s made life much more enjoyable.
Mrs. Picky Pincher recently posted…Finding Balance with Outsourcing
Brian says
November 30, 2017 at 10:13 amKnock it off with the coulda, shoulda, woulda. The long term challenge will be to never need to lose 20lbs again. Halloween and Thanksgiving will be back, but if you cultivate discipline you will forever be free from having to climb the 20lb hill.
Mr. 1500 Days says
November 30, 2017 at 1:01 pm“cultivate discipline” Yep.
Conor says
November 30, 2017 at 11:00 amSeriously, a McDonald’s lobster roll in Maine?
Mr. 1500 Days says
November 30, 2017 at 1:00 pmI know, right? I tried multiple rolls and my verdict is that the McDonald’s one was pretty good. However, know that I also enjoy Taco Bell.
Zaxon says
November 30, 2017 at 1:34 pmI would just like to point out you are half the man i aim to be. Literally.
280 6’4″ 🙁
This is the worst i’ve ever been. I’ve lost ~80 pounds 3 times in my life but i never can manage to make it stick. I’d blame work stress but i know its motivation. And work is a convenient agent to blame.
Let me know your secret if you figure it out!
Mr. 1500 Days says
November 30, 2017 at 1:46 pmDude, work is a HUGE part of it. You only have so much willpower. If your work is stressful, it’s much harder to have discipline in other areas. Leaving my job was the best thing I ever did for my health.
Sharie says
November 30, 2017 at 8:26 pmMight I suggest a wonderful 5K / 10K / half marathon in Irvine, CA: PCRF Reach for the Cure on March 28, 2018 at Irvine Valley College.
PCRF = Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, a wonderful charity that donates the money it raises to doctors and scientists researching treatments specifically for pediatric cancers. It’s a family friendly event, a beautiful no hill course and there is even a kids 1K fun run!
#TeamAbigail
Mr. 1500 Days says
December 1, 2017 at 8:43 amOooh, Irvine! Tempting. And a great charity too.
We’re going to go where the cheap airfare takes us. Right now, we’re trying for Southern California or Portland. Stay tuned…
[HCF] says
December 1, 2017 at 12:58 amI think that both of you won by losing 😀 A great inspiration, 20 pounds is exactly how much I should lose. In my case, the food is not the bigger problem, but to find the time for the workout between my work and family time (which is consuming all my not-work time, thanks, gals…) I tried to stick to diets in the past, but lately, I am just focusing on healthy eating. However, reading about the monk beer diet (https://diaryofaparttimemonk.wordpress.com/) made me very curious. Maybe a good idea for a challenge just doesn’t think that my employer would appreciate it. 😀
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Mr. 1500 Days says
December 1, 2017 at 8:44 amMonk beer diet! I could get behind that as long as no monking is involved!
[HCF] says
December 1, 2017 at 4:33 pmWell, I guess when you just drink beer all day you get into the state of constant light drunkness, so maybe you will not become a real monk, but revelations (or hallucinations) could happen. 😀
Would happily try this once.
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Freedom40Plan says
December 1, 2017 at 5:20 amYou can’t feel bad about that kind of weight loss in such a short time. You did great and I’m sure you’ll now be in a great position to lose even more or maintain. Hope you’ve got some budget for new clothes! 🙂
Freedom40Plan recently posted…Sucking it Up a Little Longer on the Road to Financial Freedom
Mr. 1500 Days says
December 1, 2017 at 8:45 amHa, no new clothes yet, but maybe soon. At my worst, I was down to the very last hole on my favorite belt. I’m now down 3 holes. Woot!
Goran Duskic says
December 1, 2017 at 10:39 amI think that having accountability is almost the best way to lose weight and achieve most of the goals you set for yourself. Lesson learned, don’t go on a weight-loss contest before going on a vacation 😀
But, congrats to both of you. Don’t stop now!
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Biased About Money says
December 1, 2017 at 11:44 amI love Jocko’s podcast and books. His mantra discipline equals freedom has really helped me improved my life as well. Discipline really is the key to accomplishing your goals. Your motivation may go up and down, but discipline will keep your consistent. Good job losing the weight!