We humans can come up with plenty of excuses why we are not more active. We’re too young; too old, too busy, too tired, or you are already in pretty good shape – for your age. But really, these excuses are pretty flimsy you must agree. There is no excuse not to exercise unless you happen to be paralyzed from the neck down.
So, the next time you find a reason (excuse) to wiggle out of an exercise session; don’t ask yourself “Who has time?” Instead ask yourself “Who doesn’t want to feel and look better?” Or “If I don’t take care of my health, who else is going to?”
Our habits are the things we do most of the time, usually without thinking about them too much. As many as 90 per cent of the thoughts we will have today are the same or similar thoughts that we had yesterday. We are such creatures of habit that we like to do what is convenient and familiar because we believe that is the best and easiest way to do things.
The same applies to the things we should do but we don’t. We make a habit out of not doing them. We don’t plan so we never move forward towards our goal. For example, we may be aware that we need to lose a few (or a lot) pounds but when the time comes for the exercise session we make excuses like “I’m too tired, don’t feel like it”, or “There’s too much going on right now”. You now have yourself a habit of making excuses.
We even say things like “I don’t like to exercise”, or ‘It’s not for me”. But guess what? People who successfully reach their fitness/weight loss goals don’t necessarily like to exercise and eat healthy either. These excuses are nothing more than a safe place to hide to help you avoid having to take action.
Exercise is not-negotiable
If you make the choice to remain overweight and unfit you will have to suffer the repercussions of that. Lack of energy to live life fully, feeling and looking not so good, at risk of dozens of serious diseases somewhere down the track and the biggest negative aspect of all – having to live life in a feel-bad body that you hate.
Would it not be easier to go to the gym twice a week and do a proper strength training exercise program to boost your metabolism and begin to burn more fuel (calories) each day? Instead of eating whatever, whenever which has caused you to become and stay overweight would it not be easier to prepare ahead and eat 4-6 small meals each with a portion of quality protein so you can further boost your metabolism?
This is the type of eating that will keep you feeling full and satisfied so you can wean yourself off processed high sugar/fat foods full of unhealthy chemicals that cause you to crave even more unhealthy foods. Those are the habits that will keep you stuck forever in an unhealthy overweight body if you allow them to.
Many people wait for that magical thing called ‘motivation’ to come along. That thought, that desire, that feeling, that something that will drive us to exercise and get us moving. But where does this ‘something’ come from? Where do we find it?
Get motivated to exercise
The problem with motivation is that many of us believe that it is something that just comes to us. That we suddenly wake up with it in place and ready to head out the door to an exercise session. But rather than believe in this fantasy myth, maybe be need to face up to the fact that motivation is something we create for ourselves, not something that we wait for and just comes along and finds us.
We need to work on creating higher motivation levels at the same time as we improve our exercise and eating habits. The difference between people who do reach their goals and those that do not is the willingness to do what is necessary to make it happen.
Be willing to make a plan and stick to it, be willing to make promises to yourself and stick to them, be willing to get off the couch and get going, be willing to get yourself back in the kitchen cooking natural food from scratch and be willing to get started right now, today, to change your habits so they include exercise and healthy eating.
You have it all inside you, so be your own coach and get yourself going.
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