cjohnson728

...and if we're not willing to do what it takes, we stay in the pit.

Eventually we just get tired of being there. I like what you said about wanting things with minimal effort, skypilot77. I think that's what I was trying to say yesterday and couldn't figure out how to put it.

It is so empowering to know that we have the choices, control, and power to make things different. Excuses are all about what is being done to us; we are all at risk of slipping into that, as opposed to what we can do to change things. Even one small change is a step forward.

I think there should be a thread with our most ridiculous excuses for not doing what we know we should do. Putting it down in black and white would certainly show how bogus we sound when we kid ourselves. I know I have had some real winners . Like the sweat rash one...who wants to exercise with a rash?! But...I know I gotta put on the big girl panties (literally and figuratively) and get on the treadmill.

I am sorry if this comes across as preachy or "superior." It really motivates me to practice what I preach if I put it down in a public forum and become accountable for it. No offense to anyone. We are all at different places on this journey and I respect everyone for trying.

DLGKate

Wow, what an inspiration, thanks for telling your story and giving advice You look amazing

SerenityCat

You are right and people really do need to hear it, cold and truthfully. As someone else pointed out, this society anymore is all about everything easy and they do not like to hear that they need to take personal responsibility for their OWN actions. You cannot blame the fast food industry for you being fat. They didn't make you go there, YOU chose to go there.

My excuses were:

Laziness: "I don't want to cook and have to do the dishes...waah."
Denial: Didn't have a scale in the house for a long time until I got the WiiFit. I stepped on that thing and nearly dropped over from a heart attack at the number on the screen. "WHA?!?! When?!!" My clothing size did go up one size so I thought I was fine.

Once that all came to my awareness, then I had rebellion as my excuse. "Oh who cares! Like all of these other people are perfect?! So I gained some weight, whatever!"

Truth is, I hated it. I've never been a fat person but here I was, a fat ass. I struggled with that for awhile; dealing with the fact that I am now a fat person. Then I had to do some serious thinking about my family's medical history. Stroke, heart disease....er...yah, maybe I should care enough about myself to change that. I still don't have to care what anyone thinks but I do have to care what I THINK. Once I realized that, I decided it was time to do something about it.

Only been a week, lost 4 pounds but it's 4 pounds in the right direction.

You're right: We are the ones who put that food in our mouths, we are the ones who have to work that off and stop trying to fool ourselves that it's not our fault. Of course it's our fault. Who elses fault would it be?

01gt4.6

skypilot, it looks like we see it the same way.

Cassie, for the rash, get some body glide. It's dry like deordorant but prevent the chaffing/ rash. See now that excuse is no good.


DLGKate, thanks so much. I'm glad I could help.


SerenityCat, I've never used a wii fit but heard great things about it. 4 pounds in 1 week!!! Great job!

SerenityCat

Exactly. You are so right about that. If we actually write down what we say to ourselves, we start to see what we are really saying. And yes, absolute respect for anyone who is trying and also in agreement with, "even a small change is a change". Maybe you won't do everything, absolutely from the start but a small change is a step in the right direction. After that step, you take another and then another and then another. The only way to get there is to start the walk.

cjohnson728

Thanks for the tip. I toughed it out this time but sure would like to be more comfortable from here on out!

4 pounds in one week IS awesome...great start. That's what comes from being honest with yourself.

I gotta say, this thread came at the right time. I am sort of in a plateau right now..at my goal but wanting to get in better physical shape...and stopping and making excuses would be easy. Instead I'm looking at how to change things up. It's frustrating to be stuck but where I am is completely my responsibility.

01gt4.6

Cassie, I use to get it really bad. I was 5.5 miles into a walk when it hit me one day and had to walk back 5.5 miles with the rash. I swore never again!

almeeker

I don't know that my issues with obesity are so much about "excuses" as they are about deep denial and ignorance. Truthfully I feed my family and myself a fairly healthy diet, I cook everyday and grow an insane 2 acre veggie garden every summer. So every meal (and I do mean EVERY) around here contains either fresh or fresh frozen veggies or fruit. We make our own jam, from an extremely low sugar recipe. And we pretty much only eat very lean farm fresh meat that is hormone free. We keep a fruit bowl in the middle of the kitchen, and have had nothing but whole grain bread in this house for years. We also have a gym membership, and for the past 6-7 years I've faithfully gotten to the gym at least once a week and more often then not twice, and when I go I'm not messing around I'm dripping sweat and pushing it to the limit. I'm also not big boned, as much as I would like to have that as an excuse, I'm tiny boned and have always known it. I'm also not a couch potato, I play with my kids and run them around to all the stuff kids get into these days. Most of my days are spent on my feet and on the go, so it's not a laziness issue either.

My obesity I truly believe stems from flat out not really ever keeping track of what I've eaten, and consequently overeating most of the time. Not necessarily overeating by a lot, but enough to regularly gain a pound or two here and there. I've also realized since joining this website that the diet I naturally gravitate towards is protein deficient. I've probably rarely if ever gotten a sufficient amount of protein on any given day, and conversely kept my system flooded with waayyy too many carbs, which my body has been converting into insulation and cushioning devices. Which basically spells out the ignorance portion of my obesity.

Yes I've known for some time that I'm a fat girl. But I'm really an upbeat sort of person, so you know what? I just decided at some point that no matter what size I am - I like me. I'm fat, so that means there is just more of me to love. Viola' the "denial" portion of my obesity.

But recently I started to feel exhausted all the time, I would get up out of bed tired. And that's when I knew it was well past time to do something about it, because "tired" flat out is NOT ME! So now I log my intake and my burn and make sure the burn is higher. I workout EVERYDAY, sometimes at home, sometimes at the gym, because clearly 30 minutes, 3X a week was not enough for me. And now I'm getting my groove back. I've lost 57 pounds, and have every intention of losing another 67.

So although I know for a fact that you have pegged many many people with your list, I personally could not really relate to it.

01gt4.6

almeeker, one thing that I've learned, and still struggle with from time to time is to eat until you are not hungry. Sometimes I eat until I'm full, which is not the same.

It sounds like you figured out what you need to do and are doing it! Great job on the nice loss thus far!!!

jmead821

And like many others, I prefer the bluntness. I know I have only myself to blame for this. I agree with you about tracking your progress with photos. I took my "before" photo this weekend and can I say I really hate looking at it. I do look like that in my mind...however, the reality is I DO look like that. I'm new to this site but I will be looking for your posts in the future. Congrats on your progress!!!