Oh ya we all have them and most of us have had them for just about everything. What is funny is most of the excuses we come up with are to convince ourselves that something we are doing or not doing is acceptable.
“My house is a wreck because I work so much and I am never there.” “I just don’t have time to exercise.” “It is too expensive to heat healthy.” “I really don’t eat that bad” “I am not losing weight because I don’t eat enough and my stores everything” “My weight falls in the ‘overweight’ category because muscle weighs more than fat” “I am big-boned” I could go on and on in fact I could possibly be known as the queen of excuses. The worst part of it all is that we believe them! It is time to put them to the test and really call us out. I am sure you are nodding recognizing some of the same excuses you have used a time or two or you are relating to some of your own. Everyone does it (another general excuse).
So I challenge you and myself to put your excuses to the test and then put them to rest. I will go through a few of mine for example. First the excuse that my house is a mess, while I do work a lot trying to get my business off the ground I really can’t say that I work that much more than the average American. So why is it others manage to keep their house in an orderly fashion? Priority that is why, I have not placed it high enough on my scale of priorities instead I convince myself that I am overworked and I should sit and relax. And wouldn’t you know it instantly I am EXHAUSTED. So what is my plan? I am going to allot one hour each day for house work until I am caught up and then 30 minutes each day to maintain it with a deep clean on the weekends. That is doable right?
Next is the exercise, “I just don’t have time” Wow this excuse works for about everything. Lucky for me this one is not a huge issue for me, I do operate a fitness center. But I too occasionally slip into an exercise rut, it has not always been my case and I still have to make a conscious effort. I am only human. What works best for me is that I ENJOY it. Its an hour that is for me and believe me that is a treat when you have 2 small children. Do I always get that hour? Unfortunately no. So now what? Well I teach aerobics classes so that makes it a job and not just a luxury…people are counting on me. Also, exercise incorporates so many things its not all jumping jacks and sit-ups but it does require movement. My kids love to go on a bike ride or a walk…one thing about kids they love to move! I know right now half of you are reading this building excuse on top of excuse as to why this is not working for you. Remember we are putting the excuses to rest. Plan of action: find some movement that is a treat for you. If you have trouble come see me at Your Life Fitness! (Had to slip a plug in there you know you expected it) Ok on with the excuses…
The next series of excuses kind of fall into the same category for me: being overweight. This has been an issue for me my whole life so believe me I have some pretty great excuses. It’s my parents fault. 8-) Just kidding. My best is current excuse is “I exercise a lot (4-6 times a week) so I am sure I am not eating enough calories to fuel my body in my active lifestyle and it is storing everything.” The is such a good one because it has a lot of truth in it. How many of you are fitting this into your life right now? STOP IT! Let me break down the “truths” I do exercise 4-6 times a week and I also spend a lot of time doing bookwork and planning on the computer (and then relaxing instead of housework) I tested this with the walking club “Steps to a better You” if you missed this watch for it next summer. We wore pedometers to track our steps all day long. The daily target is 10,000 steps per day. Trust me I don’t move as much as I thought. Granted some movements just don’t track. Look how easy I slipped in another excuse! So I don’t move as much as I thought… Next “truth”: I don’t eat enough. That is true except I missed the key words. I don’t eat enough of the right things. Just the other day I started using a food and activity tracker online. I had been using one but it was categorizing an estimated calorie count between good, ok and bad. Problem is I was the one categorizing and estimating the calories. So I started using www.fitday.com and so far I love it. I don’t necessarily like the realization but great program. I can log the actual food and portions that I am eating and also my daily activities even the hour of housekeeping that I will be doing. The program then analyzes my diet and shows graphs of the different nutrients that my body needs vs what I am eating. I was well aware that I could be eating better I just didn’t realize just how bad it was because I have been making excuses and believing them. Plan of action is to keep tracking, change what I am eating and to take you all with me for accountability. This is my favorite thing about the program…you can share with others. Just like on Facebook you can friend other users. You can control what information is public and who is able to see it. You can also keep a journal and leave messages for your friends. How is that for accountability? So if you would like to take this journey with me find me on www.fitday.com my username is mscordell. I would love some company and I don’t have any friends yet. I will also be keeping a journal for the next 12 weeks and I will make that public to my friends as well.
Excuses keep us on this vicious circle. I am going to be more real with myself after all I am the one and only that is truly affected by my excuses. The saying “You are only cheating yourself” is oh so true!
Join me in putting the excuses to the test and then to rest. Be my friend and take this journey with me at www.fitday.com or follow my journal also on Facebook at Your Life Fitness and The Good Life Café. Let the journey begin!
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