What was your excuse before "getting serious"?

belles783

1. "This scale is obviously broken"... I would blame the scale! Thinking that it was probably wrong and I didn't weigh as much as I did...
2. "I can still fit in these same jeans" (that I would JAM myself into, not being able to breathe, seams stretched to maximum capacity, the poor button begging for its life...but they "fit") LOL
3."I'll start on Monday..." Then I would diet on Monday and that was it for the week, then start over on the following Monday, and every Monday after that...

fitpam90x

I was on the tennis team in my school so with all the workouts I ate anything I want and anything in sight.

BAD mistake. Also that I'm relatively young so things will regulate themselves.

hazellac

I have literally only just started this week to "get serious" - although until I've stuck with it for a month I won't consider myself serious .....

My excuses -

I enjoy food, it's one of lifes pleasures why deny myself?

I'm not overweight - whilst this is true I am extremely unfit which is my main reason for starting to exercise.

I have a toddler to look after so don't have time.

......................

So far I've just been doing 30 Day Shred for a few days and today I went running for the first time since I was in school (I'm 29 you do the math)! I've never been to a gym or done any kind of sports although I walk absolutely everywhere as I don't drive.

Oh and I'm NOT at a dieting stage YET. I've just been doing exercise, but after downloading this APP today and seeing how much hard work it takes to burn the calories I'm shovelling in is certainly making me rethink my attitude towards food.

feelin_gr_8

Time. Time. Time.

Money...sleep....but mostly time.

cbluna

"I'm hungry all the time, how can I possibly eat smaller portions??"

mariliak

Food is my best friend and it will always be there for me unlike boyfriends and so on .
I am really sexy and I can get any guy I want to so I dont need to lose weight .
I dont look as many kilos as I am . Which is true actually in my profile pick I weight 76 kg-167 lb which is a lot and I dont think i look that much ,
I exercise a lot .
I had bulimia and I should not diet anymore
I ruined my metabolism with my eating disorder eating a lot then dieting a lot then throwing up then not eating for 2 days at all .

lavaughan69

Oh, I forgot:

"My husband loves me just the way I am!"

haha...well guess what, he loves me WAY more often now! lol

quicklabs

"I don't have time....
....to cook healthy meals"
....to exercise"
....to care about how I look
....to take care of myself."

I quit my job and it was the best thing I ever did.

kokorae

No time. No energy. No gym. Too many things to do around the house. High construction season at work. Too many other volunteer responsibilities.

I'm done with those. Now the line that keeps replaying in my head is "You can have results or excuses, not both." Easy answer to that one!

bklynactivemama

This is a powerful thread.

I am currently in a state of mind that says "i'm not built that way" or "I can hide it really well"

I also workout everyday so I thought I "deserved" something great to eat. A treat is great every once in a while but definitely not every day!

Pangea250

That it didn't really matter. That one more huge plateful of food or bag of chips or box of cookies wouldn't make a bit of difference to the weight that I'd become.

I finally had to come to terms with the fact that, in a sense, that is true. And all it really means in the end is that losing weight isn't easy. It's a little at a time. Once I accepted that a little at a time is how it's gonna be and a little at a time is okay and that a little at a time adds up to a lot, I got serious.

tracypk

My husband still thinks I'm sexy so I must be fine.
I'm happy with myself.
My clothes aren't that tight.
I'm happier sitting on my butt than I would be moving around.
It takes time, baby steps...so I'll eat this cookie, drink this beer, be lazy today and make better choices tomorrow.

feelin_gr_8

1. I already have trouble sleeping and can't exercise until 9PM so I'll have more difficulty sleeping.

2. My hair will get messed up.

#2 too! "I already showered today"

stephanniehall

I alternate many different excuses. I'm great at telling myself why I don't have to work out/eat well at any given time.

My main one though is "I carry my weight well". So!! I shouldn't be carrying my weight at all!

Vastaesolitudines

I had some too...It's funny to see that our excuses are globally similar:

- "I wear it quite well."
- "I get compliments; my friends tell me I am not overweight, so I am not." (Friends are fabulous, but sometimes they make some mistakes being kind...Of course they would not tell me that I had put on weight: they're KIND)
- "I still have the muscles I gained when I was swimming when I was 12!"
- "I've always been fat, my mother kept repeating it all the time...So let it be this way, nothing will change anyways." (False: I was 58 kilos when I was 16. And yes, my mother already told me I was fat, although I had already reached 173cm.)
- "It's just UNFAIR, I don't want to deprive myself while others can eat all day long anything they like without getting fat! I love to eat too!"
- "By the way, I don't put on weight easily, I can eat that and that, etc."
- " I cannot exercise, I will be ridiculous and therefore it would not work since I am not good."
- " I was wrongly built, I would be ugly anyways."

I have a peculiar sensation writing down all these excuses that used to be in my own mouth, and in a certain way, convinced me: it's a very weird blend of self-pride and lack of confidence...Because of course, it did not work so well. Mirrors are cruel, and it not possible to avoid seeing, one day, what you've done, what you've become. I had some breakdowns when I was trembling in front of my reflection, ceaselessly uttering "What happened? What have I done? It can't be me."
"Getting serious" was also a way of reconciliation with my image. I don't hate my current body anymore, even if the mirror did not become kinder towards me. I am a "work in progress".

kelciebananas

My excuse was my genetics. I can eat trash and not exercise and still top out at 125 lbs at 5'5" tall. It sounds lucky, but I don't think it is. It's a huge demotivator. Eventually I got tired of feeling lazy and stagnant and getting winded every time I had to take stairs.

jtarmom

For me, it was always "it's <fill in the blank's> birthday party this weekend, so after that"..... or "I don't have time" or "I don't look like I weight THAT much"

conniemaxwell5

Here are a few of my excuses that I held on to for years before telling myself I really needed to get serious about getting healthy. They are all true, but just as devastating to my health:

- I don't really LOOK like I weigh what I do

- My blood pressure is normal and always has been. It will stay that way

- Good health and longevity runs in my family even though some are overweight. It's no big deal.

- It could be worse


What are some of your excuses?

I don't have time after work for working out - I now get up at 4 am and do it before work.
I can't afford to eat healthy - my food bill is actually lower now than it was before.
I can't - I now know that I can!

BlueBombers

I'm too tired and I don't have time.

loghynsmama

That I didn't have enough time or energy. I'm a full-time working, single mom. Now I realize that those two things are more reasons to get healthier instead of excuses not to be able to do it.

brittryan1017

That I didn't look THAT bad.
That I would just gain it all back.
That it would be too difficult.
That it would be pointless because I've never known anything other than being fat.

This exactly! Especially the last one. I think that one is the most terrifying reason.

LBNOakland

Same as stated- I don't LOOK like I weigh 200 pounds. I always hid weight well being so tall. The fat had more room! LOL

Also
-I have 4 kids & a job, I don't have the time
-I'm not THAT bad, compared to my family
-I don't have the energy

That's me!! Well, not the tall part!! But ALL of the rest!!
ALSO -
- I couldn't possibly lift weights
- I have never been an athlete
- It runs in my family. Look at all of my relatives.
- I don't eat when I am depressed so look how happy I am!!
- I don't have time to cook 2 meals so I eat what the family eats
I could HONESTLY go on and on! I have done this for many, many moons!!

linny9

I really don't eat that much, I'm not really heavy and also its too cold out, its too hot out, my feet hurts, I'll start tomorrow, my 80 year old Mom says, " honey, you don't need to lose weight, you are just big enough to look good", excuse after excuse, I had to get it in my head and my heart what I needed to do and low and behold I've lost 13 pounds. Yea me !!

DVaughan1975

-The scale at the doctor's office is always 5 to 10 lbs heavier
-I got really good at sucking in my stomach before I looked in the mirror
-what am I doing wrong? I do zumba, run? Oh....maybe it's my diet.
-I just must not be able to lose weight

This is what I said to myself over and over again. Then I looked at a pic taken of me and my husband on Thanksgiving and realized that something wasn't quite right. Well....my scale really WAS broken so turns out the doctor's scale was right! I weighed 140 lbs. And at 5'3 that didn't work for me. So I got on here and once I really got serious I realized it wasn't the scale that was broken.

trisH_7183

I love to cook

I collect cook books

I like to eat out & eat good food.

Maybe next wk I'll cut back

etc,etc,etc,just one excuse after another

ThatRyanPerson

Depression was my excuse before I started "getting serious." For almost an entire year straight, all I did was sleep. The only time I was awake was to feed myself and do shower/bathroom things.

Now that I'm out of my funk and finally happy with life with a job I love, I've started eating a lot better. The diet started around 2 months ago and about 2 weeks ago I started walking again. I was at ~302 pounds when I started the diet. Today when I weighed myself for the first time in 2 months, I learned that I've lost lot of weight so that just adds to the confidence.

If anyone here has depression, try not to let it get you down as much as it did me. It can really ruin your life if you let it take control.

hileeery

I was SOOOO lazy!

Crisred

Let's see:
1. I don't look THAT bad, yet.
2. I'm not the exercise type.
3. I have a bad knee
4. I have too many taste buds getting in the way of a diet.
5. I'm not the heaviest in my circle.
6. More important things to worry about.
7. Life is worth living... and eating tasty stuff!
8. My husband is a chef.
9. I'm not genetically predisposed to look like Barbie, so why try?
10. Plump is cute?

These days I've modified the excuses to:
1. Indeed, I look worse in pictures than I do in my head.
2. Exercise is a way of life, doesn't matter if you're GOOD at it.
3. Knee surgery is amazing!
4. Taste buds are evil, but what I do eat is delish!
5. I'm not the lightest either! But comparisons are a downer.
6. Health is a very important thing to worry about.
7. LIfe is worth living.... and eating tasty stuff, in MODERATION.
8. Chefs cook health food too, dumbass.
9. Who would want to look like Barbie anyway? I just want to look better.
10. Fit is gorgeous!

iplayoutside19

Wow this thread is pretty powerful. Almost everything typed here, sans depression, are ways I rationalized being overweight in my head prior to August 2009. I was resigned to being the jolly fatman because that's the way it was.

Now, while I'll there are more fit times than others what I really fear is falling back into that mental state. Instead I'm always looking for the next challenge.

ashandstuff

Depression/Anxiety. It’s no excuse since exercise really improves both the symptoms of both illnesses, but it’s much easier to say “I will exercise today” than it is to actually motivate to do ANYTHING when the symptoms are bad enough. But once I got it in my head and reallllllly tried to get motivated, it all fell into place quickly!