The code word for getting to sit in the front seat

Are we crazy?! Seriously. Are we out of our #$#%^#* minds?!?!

Of course, we're not.

I'm extremely close with my sister. Her and I have been through a lot together including our parents getting divorced when I was 4 years old and she was 9.

Somebody please cue the violins!

No. I don't want the violins to start playing. All I'm saying is because of that we're very close.

We still fought a lot.

All sorts of typical things like who'd get to sit in the front seat of the car. And then to remedy the problem we created a word and whoever said it first - only once it was established that we were leaving - would be the victor.

The word was 'light bulb.'

But then we'd fight over what it meant to be leaving. Did you have to see the car? Did my mom have to have the keys in her hand? The fights we'd get into about when it was the right time to actually yell, "LIGHT BULB!" were heated!

I think even my sister would agree that I did give her the front seat many times even though I said it first. I can see how sitting in the back seat as a teenager while your younger bro is loungin' in the front seat is worth fighting for.

And then one day, a wise person sat us down, and said something to the both of us, I never forgot.

"Life is crazy out there. It's hard enough. Be good to each other. Take care of each other. Love one another."

(There's a chance I didn't quote that exactly.)

I took that to heart, though. There's enough bullcrap we all deal with. Why make our home life any harder than it has to be.

And believe me, I know some of us might have a very challenging home life. But I do believe that trying to take care of the relationships that mean something to us is a good move. Whether it's with our family or friends or even clients.

Life is hard enough!

"This is beautiful Adam. Really. Just wonderful. But what the heck does this have to do with weight loss?!?!"

First off, losing weight isn't a one dimensional thing. That's why I want to give myself tiny little paper cuts all over my body and take a bath in vinegar when I read health tips like, "Eat more vegetables. Exercise regularly. Cut out the sugar!"

Um, yea. We all know this.

Everything in our life affects our diet and exercise. The crazier life gets, the more unhealthy we eat. That's why I write and research and talk about all sorts of different topics.

Anyway...

Back to us being crazy. As I sat down to write this, I immediately thought of what I shared above: making our home lives as easy as possible because this world is freakin' nuts.

But what I'm really getting at is this: Why in the world would we have ANY temptations in our home?

Losing weight and changing our behaviors is hard enough. Why make it any harder than it has to be?

My definition of a temptation is this. Anything that causes us to think with our irrational and short term mind.

Clearly we know, say, cookies aren't healthy for us. When we're all pumped up, we rationally promise to ourselves, "No cookies!" We're committing to ourselves with our long term mind.

But when we get home after a long day, and there's a package (

Remember: We can't feel deprived if we're not tempted.

That's why whenever someone gives me anything that's tempting food wise, I give it away like it's a ticking time bomb.

I will say it again: Losing weight and changing our behaviors is hard enough. Why make it any harder than it has to be?

Why not at least try to control our own environment?

I'll tell you why.

Hint: It's the same reason why people who lose weight keep their bigger clothes.

Email me back. Would love to hear your thoughts.

In the meantime, "LIGHT BULB!"

-Adam