It’s been 7 days since my last Give Up To Gain update on Monsters vs Me. This week was really tough. I think I’ve realized what I like most about chips…. the convenience. I’ve made a healthy switch from late night chips, to late night cucumber. Both taste amazing in my books, but I don’t have to prepare and cut up the chips. We grab that bag of delicious chips because all we have to do is open them and they are instantly amazing. Preparing a healthy snack takes 5 minutes. Yes… 5 minutes… This is what our lazy society avoids. It’s really crazy to think and that I’ve never noticed it as much as I have now.

I use to avoid the 5 minute prep time, yet I would feel terrible for an hour after eating a bag of chips. Coming from someone who did well in Math, I’m surprised it took me this long to figure out how much time I was losing with chips.

This weeks struggles:

1. Monday Curling

On Monday, my Dad brought me out to try curling. It was fun but wayyyy harder than they make it look on TV. Growing up with a hockey background, I have thought I had amazing balance but watching these guys, ranging in age anywhere from 30 – 85, slide on one foot like it was nothing was quite impressive. I only fell once, but the point of this struggle was afterwards. I guess curling etiquette is to join the other team for a drink after the game and hang out. The winning team buys the losing team their first drink and you sit and have a great time. I was stoked. A sport where your competition is your friend, there’s no winners or losers and you drink at the end. All sounded amazing until we got to the table…. Every table at the club had a giant bowl of chips on it. Ok, so I just don’t eat them right? Well this was like going to some of my Italian friends houses and not eating a 10-course snack that their mother was cooking. You know she will force it on you and you think it’s rude to say no. As nervous as I was to turn down these gentlemen, I politely explained how I have gave up chips for the month and they respected it. Although I’m sure I’ll be known as the guy who didn’t eat those delicious and mouth watering dill pickle chips. Oh well.

I found it was more tough to refuse a gesture by the club and other members but sometimes when you want to reach a goal so badly, just remember….. you can’t please everyone.

2. 7/11

I was heading out to a shoot this week and needed to stop for gas. While getting gas I got encountered a massive hunger pain and needed food instantly. I would just buy something inside the gas station while paying for my gas. Have you ever really stopped and looked inside a gas station? Its junk food everywhere and mainly chips. My choices pretty much were chips or the 3-month old hot dogs that were slowly spinning on a bright stainless steel warming tray. Again, this goes back to the idea of convenience and living in such a lazy society. So how did I attack this hunger pain? I took an extra 5 minutes out of my day and stopped over at Subway and got a delicious sandwich. (Sidenote: Apparently Subway took over McDonalds as the largest restaurant chain in the world last week. Kudos to them!) I tend to always get to shoots early. My biggest pet peeve is being late. Being punctual rides huge with me and allows me to take that extra 5-minutes to stop for a sub. Remember, its the small things that add up. 5 minutes here and there can equal a life time.

“If you have a goal in life that takes a lot of energy, that requires a lot of work, that incurs a great deal of interest and that is a challenge to you, you will always look forward to waking up to see what the new day brings.” – Susan Polis Schultz

So many of my friends have joined me with Give Up To Gain and I have met so many new people through Monsters vs Me who have also joined in. All of you rule so hard and I’m super excited to be doing this along side you.

If you are unsure what this is all about, click here to read the first post: Giving Up To Gain: March 2011 Video Post – What I give up.

Also, you can follow my weekly progress on Twitter at twitter.com/jayperryMvM and if you are also doing Give Up To Gain, I would love to follow along with you as well. Put the hashtag #gutg in your twitter updates and I”ll be sure to follow and ReTweet it.

I hope you all have an amazing weekend.

Never give up, unless it’s for gain