Comments on: Willpower is Overrated

By: Katie Taylor

Katie Taylor — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:18:23 +0000

Hear, hear!! Very well said, Jennette. I came back to visit your blog because you were such a help and inspiration when I lost 125 pounds a few years back. At the time, I had a very uncomplicated life – I worked 30 hours a week with no outside responsibilities of any kind. I had plenty of time and energy to cultivate an environment conducive to weight loss (tidy, well-stocked kitchen, hours and hours free to exercise, a work commute I could easily make by bike, and even more easily add miles and hills to for extra fitness that fit neatly into my day. I stayed thin for about a year, at which point I left my job of seven years and simultaneously started running a 501(c)3 and working as a freelancer to support myself (the non-profit didn’t pay). The entire structure of my life fell apart – I found myself constantly having to disrupt my usual activities to meet some deadline or put out some fire. I worked all night more and more frequently and got sick more and more often (culminating in 6 months last year of going down sick again and again and again). I have endured more stress than I ever even thought possible before and…not surprisingly…I regained all that weight, with about 50 pounds’ interest. I don’t think anyone could look at my life and accuse me of having no willpower. I have a will of iron, and the success of my two businesses shows that clearly. I don’t know if it will be possible for me to do what I did again, back when my life was so much less complicated, but I am going to try. Very, very glad to have your blog to look back on for help. Also looking forward to reading the book (congrats on that!).

By: Jaimie

Jaimie — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:42:04 +0000

I found you through a link on comcast of your Today show appearance. I’ve been reading your book and now going through your archives and you’re truly amazing! So inspirational! And a fantastic writer! This is the first comment I’ve made because I so agree with and relate to this entry. It does take a lot of time to cook healthy food and exercise. I’m married, work full time and have 2 small children. I’m determined to make it work though. I can’t keep using them as an excuse forever to not get healthy and lose weight. Thanks so much for sharing your story with the world! You’re awesome!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 18:03:53 +0000

I’m a new reader to your blog and this post happened to catch my eye. I’ve posted about willpower in my February 2007 archives called “The Dirty Liarmouth” if you want to read it sometime.

By: hopefulloser

hopefulloser — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 08:51:18 +0000

This is one of my favorite posts! I think you HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD!!!

I have nothing to add but “same here” :-)

By: kathryn

kathryn — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 04:57:02 +0000

I’m so with you on this. To me, willpower is like you have the stuff you want dangled in front of you and you have to be strong all the time and say no. How much easier is it to put the stuff you want out of sight and forget about it!

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 03:23:40 +0000

I think you have a very good point there: a corollary to what I’ve read (I think on Stumptuous.com) about the maximum distance a gym should be from home or work, if you’re going to keep going – twelve minutes. (Which may be an exaggeration, but does make the point that if it’s easy to do once, you’ve a better chance of keeping on with it.)

“I do not have to care for anyone else” – I think that is a very important point, too. My boyfriend just moved in with me, and even though we are living in my parents’ house, so I don’t have to do very much shopping, cleaning etc, nonetheless I feel I have less time to exercise (and to blog – well, it helps with motivation!) Not that I want to spend less time with him… but you know what I mean…