See also stash in Bayonne^ff^#2-1173 #unexpected

Metaphor — as a teacher I accept that a troublemaker pupil is joining my class, so I make ample preparations to limit his impact on the class. However, in a new school, I get lots and lots of troublemakers coming into my classes, without prior preparation. Once a while I could win a battled and “control” a single troublemaker, but my success rate in each case is somewhere between 50% and 80%, so with more troublemakers in my class, I would lose many battles ever week.

• Hit by Expected enticing foods a few times a week as in Bayonne, I win 80% of the time. The other times I have controlled indulgence.
• Hit by UnExpected enticing foods on a daily basis, I win 20% of the time. The number of lost battles is now 5x

— worth it? With the 10x hazard rate, I can easily win only 20% of the battles (no precise criteria) but I may need to win 90% to hit my BMI target. That may require undue deprivation[1], superhuman self-discipline, lots of raw veg ! If the effort is always a superhuman effort and requires that much sacrifice and willpower, then the effort is unsustainable, and not worth it. I told the MS colleague in the 750Seventh pantry “Not exactly self-discipline per se.” He was surprised and puzzled.

[1] deprivation? Food should be a joy at least some of the times.
eg: Availability of alcohol creates a struggle in the recovering alcoholic, possibly torture. However, ultimately, you could get over it and live with the availability, rather than get tortured by it year in year out. libido|alcoholism illustrates the availability/attraction situation that is fundamental to human existence.

My BMI improvement comes at a (mostly non-monetary) cost, but the cost should not exceed a limit and become self-torture.

similar eg: To be sustainable, yoga should be rewarding not a torture. My fwd bend in Sec 1 was a torture, unsustainable and unrewarding. Superhuman self-discipline is still insufficient in the long run.

similar eg: “Skating practice should be enjoyable and rewarding, not dreadful.” See skater: verbal abuse as motivation