21
Aug 12
So this may come off as a bit of a rant… but it needs to happen. I get very annoyed by excuse after excuse I hear from people. If you’re not interested in training with me because of your own personal reasons – I am not offended in the least. However, when I hear any of the excuses I’m about to mention… it really just makes me want to give whomever’s head I’m talking to a good shake.
“I eat junk food because I have to keep it out of the house for the kids.”
Really? I’ve never actually heard of someone getting reported for child abuse because they didn’t feed their children junk. In fact, I personally think its child abuse to stuff your kid’s faces with nutrient poor, empty calories. Yes, everyone deserves a treat from time to time – both you AND your kids. However, it should be just that. A treat. Meaning you don’t have it all the time.
“Healthy eating is too expensive.”
You’re right; donuts and candy are definitely cheaper than fruits and veggies. However, medication is pretty pricey. And a hospital bill is more expensive than all of those things put together. So , I guess if you’re not concerned with your health now, you can continue eating crap, but don’t kid yourself – it will eventually catch up to you. But if you’re not too keen on the meds and the hospital bills, you could save yourself the hassle altogether and just buy some health food. Easy as that.
“I eat healthy.”
Well, that’s odd. Because if you actually were eating as healthy as you claim to be, you wouldn’t have weight to lose…
You’re eating too much junk food and you know it. At the very least, you’re eating too many calories, even if it’s too many ‘healthy’ carbs. To eliminate junk, you need to change your environment. All those company meetings where there’s junk food, and all those wing nights with friends, and all those other social gatherings that involve food? Those are detrimental. I’m all for being social, but it’s a bad idea to be social with food around. Chances are the food you eat isn’t healthy and you overeat. Food isn’t meant to entertain you, so don’t let it. If you have the self-control to go out with friends, or coworkers, or whoever else, and watch them eat nachos, or wings, or garlic bread or whatever…then by all means, go out and enjoy the company of others. However, I know how difficult that can be. That’s why I find it helpful to eat BEFORE going out. Yeah, yeah, I know, that’s what your mom used to yell at you for when you were little; “Don’t eat that, you’re going to ruin your appetite!” but unlike when you were little, it’s a good thing now. If you fuel your body with nutritious food before going to a social gathering, chances are you’ll be less likely to slip up and eat junk.
“Healthy food tastes bad.”
That’s what spices and herbs are for. NEXT!
“I eat small portions, but I can’t lose any weight!”
Well my friend, I saw you checked into three different restaurants on Facebook last week. Did you know that portions at restaurants are 2-3 times the amount of food you should be eating in one sitting? Even if you eat only a small amount of the food placed in front of you (which is very hard to do, and I’m betting you won’t) I bet whatever delicious restaurant meal you’re eating is stocked with calories. “But I cook at home and STILL can’t lose any weight!” you might say. In this case, I would tell you to count the calories you eat in the next 3 or 4 days. You would be amazed how you could be consuming THOUSANDS more than you’re aware of.
“I’m tired.”
Drink a cup of coffee, and go to bed earlier tonight. We both know you didn’t need to watch 5 episodes of Friends last night. NEXT!
“I don’t have time.”
Here’s the thing. I’m sure you watch at least a couple TV shows a week. Everyone does – and that’s fine. Let’s say for example, you watch 2 hours of TV a week, which is even less than the average person. Invest in a PVR and record them. Being able to fast forward through the commercials will cut down your total watching time from 120 minutes to approximately 72 minutes. That leaves you with 48 minutes leftover. That is PLENTY of time to knock out a workout. No excuse there.
“I’m not in good enough shape to go to the gym.”
Well that’s just a vicious circle. You don’t work out because you think you’re too fat to go to the gym… but if you never go to the gym, you’ll never lose weight. And if you never lose weight, you won’t want to go to the gym because you’ll feel uncomfortable being overweight… see how this is never ending? You have to start somewhere. How about training at home using THIS. It’s a body weight workout program that will get you started.
“I’m too old to work out.”
Well first of all, you’re not getting any younger. RIGHT NOW is the youngest you’re ever going to be for the rest of your life. I have clients in their 60’s that run circles around 20 or 30 year olds. So stop making excuses. By the way, I’m 49 years old myself and it hasn’t occurred to me that I should start to slow down my training.
Okay, my rant is done. I’m sure you could come up with a million other excuses, but I hope you realize that for every excuse you make, I could counter it with why it’s invalid. Now quit making excuses.
Do you have 14 days that you can commit to yourself? You can lose 5-8 lbs easily. Get started HERE with my Virtual Fat Furnace.
Incoming fat loss search terms:
- healthy food
- no excuse
My passion is teaching people how to work fitness into their daily lifestyle in order to improve their quality of life. Let’s work together to help you reach your fitness goals!
That was awesome Shawna. I hear the same things around my clients and my family, around healthy eating. I am quickly making my home a gluten free, dairy free, GMO free and refined anything free environment. It’s been hard since I can’t stop anyone from making habitual, unhealthy choices when they are out in the real world but I’m hoping my voice will ring in their ears every time they pick up groceries.
We’re doing the right thing, one lesson at a time.
Keep it up
Rayna
P.S. I’d love to see your new place too. Let me know when you’re free to socialize – only healthy snacks I promise. 🙂
Yeah, you tell ’em Shawna! Roar! 🙂
Yeah, I’m a trainer too and I hear it all. The one I really do hate is I don’t have time. That is just a line of crap. I tell you it has made me so discouraged lately because I really want to help people with their fitness and nutrition….I have a strong backgound in both….it’s hard for 1 person to reach out to many in my current situation. My next goal is to get on board with using the internet to reach out to a broader community. Any suggestions on how to get started?
Have a great healthy day!
Whenever I hear the “I don’t have time” excuse, I like to point out that if the president of the U.S. can find time to exercise, I think we all can. And as you say, if you have time to watch TV, you have time to exercise!
🙂 So true!
Agreed!
Diane,
I enjoy helping a wider audience via the internet. Getting a mentor/coach is very helpful. Consider Craig Ballantyne or Bedros Keuilian, they have helped me help others.
Rayna,
Good to hear from you! I know you do your best to walk the walk and you provide healthy choices in your house. You set a positive example. I”d love to see you Sept 14th, I’ll be having a get together with fellow campers. I’ll keep you in the loop, hope you can come by.
LOVE IT!!!!! so many people take the easy way out and use these excuses all the time. No one who is fit ever said it was easy! You have to want it and you have to just make it a priority that is very high on your list, if not the number one thing to do for yourself and your family.
Just get out there!
Judy: You’re one to walk the walk, so proud of you and how you set a positive fitness example for those around you 🙂
[…] Did you catch my rant? It’s about ‘no excuses’ concerning common sense fitness and fat loss issues. Avoid this post if you’re easily insulted, or check it out here. […]
First time to this site, LOVE IT – I work from home, and have lost almost 50 lbs this year. I ran out of excuses for staying overweight you see 😉
[…] Did you catch my rant? It’s about ‘no excuses’ concerning common sense fitness and fat loss issues. Avoid this post if you’re easily insulted, or check it out here. […]
Keep going Juli! Congrats and all the best to you. Let me know how I can help.
Do you mind if I quote a few of your posts
as long as I provide credit and sources back to your site? My blog is in the exact same area of
interest as yours and my visitors would really benefit from a lot of the
information you provide here. Please let me know if this alright
with you. Many thanks!
Feel free to quote me and thank you for linking back to my blog.