What are your excuses?

jprewitt1

We all have them. We all use them. What are/have been your excuses for your weight gain throughout your life?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and personal accountability goes out the window with me sometimes. It's easy to say, "Well I had a bad day at work and I'm stressed so it isn't a big deal if I eat another couple slices of pizza." I'm a huge stress eater, but that's the thing. That is an excuse. I am identifying my own excuses so I can realize when I'm doing it and move on from it.

So, hi everyone. I'm a stress eater, and I'm not going to use that as an excuse anymore.

seltzermint555

Stress is one I still struggle with for sure.

I think one thing that kept me obese for so long (20+ years of my life) was not understanding calories and how they work. Like a lot of people, I accepted the habits of my family and friends as "normal eating" and didn't really know what I was consuming at all...I would get on a health kick occasionally and eat a lot less and exercise and naturally I was super super hungry and I didn't understand that those days when you work out, help someone move, and paint entire rooms of your house, those ARE the days you can eat half a pizza or a gravy smothered chicken fried steak...not the day that you sat around watching Netflix.

So basically I had the mistaken idea that it didn't really matter what I ate, I was just the size I was "supposed to be". Wrong.

Rdsgoal16

I ate too much, too fast, and not enough quality foods. It was all me......

Mini_Medic

My excuses usually included not knowing how to cook well, the convenience of drive thru's, social events and taking advantage of free food. I have learned that portion size is key and I can always take half home for lunch the next day. I replace my food choices with lighter options when fast food is unavoidable. I also do intermittent fasting which helps me to remember that I don't need to eat something every few hours and going without food every once in awhile is ok. Also separating my emotional connection to food and not eating something just because it is offered for free at a party (I feel guilt for being wasteful) or just because it's a special dish my mom made.

puffbrat

I'm an emotional eater. I eat a lot of junk when stressed and use that an excuse even when I recognize I'm doing it. I also eat when tired or bored. I am learning to recognize these patterns and try to ask myself "am I actually hungry or am I just bored/tired/stressed".

I also tried blaming my husband for the 20+ pounds I gained after we moved in together. He loves dessert as much as I do, is really good baker, and can't go more than 2 days without eating dessert. I have trouble avoiding sweets, especially when they are homemade and it was easy to blame him for keeping them in the house. But I have stopped doing that and recognized that he is not responsible for my lack of self-control.

malibu927

Short answer: eating more and moving less
Long answer: being the child of obese parents who taught me little about portion control and nutrition. Combined with stress and cycles of depression throughout my 20s and into my 30s, as well as a muscular problem in my legs when I was younger which led me to doing very little exercise, I had a lot to take control over.

cwolfman13

I never really made excuses for gaining weight. I gained my weight after I graduated college at 30 and took a desk job at an accounting firm. Prior to that I was very active and then became pretty sedentary but my eating habits remained the same...I was well aware that that was the problem...but at the time, I didn't really care.

deluxmary2000

My go-to excuse whenever it gets tough is that I'm not THAT overweight, and my doctor says I'm healthy, and I look pretty darn good. Except then I see pictures of myself and realize I really don't look all that great. Cameras don't lie.

strong_curves

I never really made any excuses, I knew I was just being lazy.

dubird

My excuses weren't for gaining weight, they were for avoiding losing it.

WendyLaubach

"I never really made any excuses, I knew I was just being lazy." Ditto.

Shanel0916

Never really made excuses for gaining weight as I have been overweight all my life. My excuse for not losing weight was always lack of motivation and the willpower to not eat sweets (and junk). Back in August 2015 I decided I would no longer make any excuses for not losing weight and by September I had had enough! Feels awesome to be on track for something I have always wanted.

Alidecker

It's all on me, I have always admitted it. My problems are social eating and boredom eating.

angelamy1977

Well I've definitely been the "excuse maker" lol. My problem is... my weight creeps up and before I know it it's there. So when my pants start getting tighter I say ' oh well it's just right now - I've been eating bad but i'll get back to being better"...but I don't. Then I can't wear the pants anymore and have to go buy new ones I think that having a family/child has for sure been a crutch as to why I eat fast food more often and why I buy and then proceed to eat the "goodies" in the house. And not enough time is ALWAYS an excuse for me. I KNOW these are all excuses and I know that they are my fault- however they are still excuses ;-)

Lounmoun

I think I was more in denial and feeling like my weight just didn't matter. I wasn't eating whole pans of brownies or bags of chips so I was okay- never occured to me how many calories were in a whole sleeve of plain saltine crackers or that extra helping at dinner though. I wouldn't log food so I didn't have to know what calories I should be eating and how much I was. I didn't weigh myself for long periods. I wore stretchy clothes because they were comfortable. I didn't take or look at pictures of myself. I ignored pain and lack of fitness until I couldn't walk a couple of blocks.

jprewitt1

angelamy1977 wrote: »

And not enough time is ALWAYS an excuse for me.

Another big one for me. Always justifying that there isn't enough time to make a homecooked (and healthy) meal. Or there isn't enough time to go for that evening walk/gym. Definitely right there with you.

jprewitt1

Lounmoun wrote: »

I ignored pain and lack of fitness until I couldn't walk a couple of blocks.

That was one of the primary motivators for me as well. I realized I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs at work without getting out of breath and having to go slowly because my knees hurt too much if I went fast. I suddenly realized how out of my mind I had to be to live that way and made a conscious choice to change. Good for you for finding it out as well.

callsitlikeiseeit

i didnt have excuses. i was just too lazy to do anything about it (and knew it)

Asher_Ethan

Hahaha when I was working my desk job my excuse was "I have no time for exercise so I can't lose weight," then when I stayed at home my excuse was, "ugh I'm around food all the time so I can't lose weight," hahaha I'm so annoying.

jmgj27

Portion sizes and alcohol were the killers for me. I always eat well and don't eat any junk food so justify my eating habits that way. But...if you eat twice what you should, even if healthy, homemade food, and then wash it down with a bottle of wine, what do you expect really? I wouldn't say stress or emotion have a big effect on me but I do get a strong sense of how 'unfair' it is that I can't eat what I want and be slim and that I have to do a ton more exercise than most people to stay slim when I get there but c'est la vie and I just need to suck it up and move away from the wine!

Gerbsxyng412

I had excuses for everything... I am too tired... I am too fat.. I am too busy... I am too out of shape to start... I don't care...healthy food is too $$$$ the list goes on and on