Wednesday, June 17, 2009

My list of excuses!

So... I have met lots of gals in different stages of life who ask for guidance in weight loss. Some are willing to admit that they have a lot of excuses while others are only willing to validate all of their excuses I only had one good excuse left and yesterday, I was reminded that it was not only invalid... but NOT a good excuse. I thought that for fun I would list my many excuses because I think they are the same excuses that others struggle with, so in no particular order here is a list of all the reasons I was fat for 10 years with a few confessions along the way!!

- I can't take time away from my kids to exercise.
- It's too expensive to eat healthy.
- I go to the gym EVERYDAY but the weight just won't come off.
- My grandma told me I will always be fat so I should deal with it.
- My husband is OKAY with my bigger body.
- It's baby weight. Even 2 or three years after my second was born people would actually give me this excuse if I complained about my weight.
- Stress. Yes... we use and validate this excuse all the time but the truth is... we CHOOSE to be stressed!!
- Life is just too busy!
- I'm not comfortable being thin. (Bizarre right?) I think that we get to a point in our lives where we are in a rut. Maybe we feel under appreciated by everyone around us and we fear that with some confidence and a thinner frame people might see the value in is! For a long time I was afraid that if I were thin, I would be more susceptible to temptation and less trustworthy in life. I ALWAYS knew that I was a good/fun person... and wondered if I were good looking too... how would that change me.
- It's not worth it. When I was working at the hospital I actually had this amazing Dr. tell me that being thin wasn't worth the effort, because it is a lifetime of eating right and exercising OR inevitably regaining the weight.
- I did really good for a week and nothing happened!!
- But I've TRIED over and over!
- I am meant to be fat.
- I'm not THAT big!
- I just don't eat enough!
- I will do it someday... when my kids are all in school.
- A gym membership is too expensive.
AND ON AND ON AND ON!!!

I guess the bottom line here is that... you can tell yourself over and over and over that cows lay eggs. To the point that you could absolutely believe it. But when it all comes down to it... you're wrong and lying to yourself only makes you a fool.

Confessions.
I got asked how far along I was several times a week. In fact, in December my 5 year old niece asked me if I had a baby in my tummy. I told her "no" that I had just had a baby (even though he was 6 months old at the time) to which she replied..." hmmm.. well... do you have ANOTHER baby in your tummy?" I honestly was so used to this question that I would respond "I'm not pregnant, just fat!" with a funny little chuckle. I stopped being offended and worked very hard to not let people be embarrassed for asking because I KNEW that I looked pregnant. CASE IN POINT:

In hiding: I didn't eat TONS of bad stuff.. mostly I just ate until my sides felt like they were gonna bust, BUT when I did eat something really bad I would hide. I can think of several times that I ate those yummy ice cream cone "drumstick" thingies while locked in my bedroom. I can think of a couple of times where I ate 2-4 of them in one sitting.

I never ate breakfast! This was actually an excuse I used! LIKE FOR REALS.... I'm fat and I only eat 2 [huge] meals a day. My body just must not want to let go of this weight! I was ALWAYS told that breakfast was oober important but just didn't buy it. Now I make sure to eat AS SOON AS I WAKE UP!!

I was afraid to be someone else. I was totally comfortable with who I was and afraid that I might become someone I didn't know or like. Another odd thing... but.. the truth is, I don't feel much different. I've learned alot about my limits and that there really aren't any. I am stronger that way... but I'm still totally me! :o)

Any excuses I left out? Feel free to leave me your list of excuses!! LOL!! If not here, just make a list for yourself. But writing them down is admitting that you are full of them and just a reiteration that YOU can be successful in losing weight if you stop trying and start doing! ;o)


P.S. The only excuse I had left was about my treadmill. That's right... I wrote a whole entry about how the rain is cramping my style, all the while, I had a treadmill downstairs. In the past, the belt has been sliding which would result in a sudden jolt when the belt hit the side of the treadmill and ME falling on my face! My hubby worked on it and was sure he had fixed it... but I didn't believe him! My hubby is a handsome man if I do say so myself and is VERY lean. He has ran on it a couple of times and he runs much faster than I do and the belt DOES NOT slide. I just chalked this up to the fact that he weighs less than my goal weight! Here's a pic of me hiding behind him! Anyway... I finally ran on it yesterday because my run was once again foiled by the rain and umm... I ran between 6.5 and 7 mph for 3.5 miles and it didn't slip ONCE!! OY!!! So there goes that excuse. I'm relieved.. .but annoyed. I can't believe I've wasted 2 years with that treadmill and never ran on it!

8 comments:

Elise said...

We all have excuses. It's good to see them written down, because they become more real - and foolish. When you say them out loud they sound a lot dumber than in your head! Glad to know you can run - even with the rain! Here's to some good sunshine for some great runs!

Melissa Davis said...

amen.

stageoflife said...

I came across you blog today. I thought your honesty was very refreshing. By the way - it was your mention about the stages of life that triggered my google alert and sent me to your blog.

If you should ever be interested in sharing any wisdom, thoughts, experiences or just plain tales of the weird from your stage(s) of life, we would love it. I think people could benefit from your point of view.

Please reach out to me if you're interested.

Take care,

Eric
CEO/Founder
Stage of Life.com

Nicholette said...

I love this post. Very eye opening. I can think of one excuse of mine right away.. . ."I'm not THAT fat" (am I?) I'll have to sit down and do this same project and really open up and be truthful with myself. I've always enjoyed your honesty and straightforwardness on you blog.

Vicki said...

I LOVE to eat -- I will admit it... and I do the same thing... hiding to eat things I know I shouldn't.... partly bc I don't want to share... but mostly bc I am embarrassed about how much I like to eat. Totally agree that admitting is definitely a needed step.

Anonymous said...

Yep, I could have written every one of those excuses!

Hey, at least you're on that treadmill now and your body will thank you.

Journo June aka MamaBear said...

So glad you overcame your excuses. Your progress photos are amazing. You've done an incredible job since January! It took me about 4 years to lose 50 pounds! ;-)
Path to Health

Michael said...

I use the eating right is to too expensive excuse.LOL like it is so cheap to eat at fast food all the time .