When it comes to losing weight, we can pull out a page of excuses longer than our weekend to-do list, for example, “The time is not right for me to change my lifestyle” or “The time is not right to deal with my weight and my diet. clothes” for this or that reason.
Intellectually, we know all the reasons why we should jump on the weight loss bandwagon: “our cholesterol is too high,” “we can’t stand our looks,” or “we’re always tired.” And oh yes, we would like to live to see our grandchildren.
However, emotionally, we just don’t want to do it. So we make excuses for not even getting started. That way, we don’t have to do the hard work.
Often what we think of as excuses are actually removable obstacles. Apologies are artificial; as soon as one is removed, another and another and another takes its place. However, the obstacles are solvable. The key is to find the solution that is acceptable to you; otherwise, you won’t be working on it for long. Really, this is the time to change our lifestyle.
With that in mind, here are some expert excuse busters; Solid, easy-to-follow solutions that will dismantle the fences and eradicate the excuses.
apologies #1
The diet doesn’t work for me. That is true and not just for you. It is true for everyone. Research proves what we instinctively know (very little of the weight lost on the diet program is kept long term). That is why you have to focus on changing your lifestyle.
apology hunters
(a) Integrate exercise and healthy eating into daily life. Don’t view them as activities you’ll engage in until you lose the weight, after which you’re back to your “normal life.”
(b) Stop seeing weight loss as something that is imposed on you. It must be something you have to want to do for yourself.
(c) See your doctor: In a study that looked at what motivated people to start losing weight, their doctor was found to be a strong trigger; telling them their weight was making them sick or refusing to perform surgery unless they lose weight.
(d) Focus on the positive: I like sex more! In a research study of about 32 overweight people, more than half said their sex lives improved after losing weight. They thought more about sex, had sex more often, or both because they felt better about their body image.
apologies #2
My metabolism is too slow – No matter how low your metabolism is, there is always something you can do to speed it up and forget about slowing down your metabolism simply due to age.
Some research results indicate that most women gain about a pound a year in their 30s and 40s, not because they’ve slowed down (eating more and moving less). The fewer muscles we have, the slower our metabolism will be. And we have to work harder as we get older to maintain the necessary muscles.
apology hunters
(a) Lift weights: Weight-bearing exercise builds muscle and burns up to 25 percent more calories throughout the day, even when you’re sleeping.
(b) Eat often: No, not fast food! Eating protein frequently can keep your metabolism going. Every time you eat, your metabolism speeds up. In fact, about 15 percent of the calories consumed are quickly spent in the process of digesting food.
(c) Push past the set point: The irony here is that as we lose weight, our metabolism actually slows down, making it harder for us to lose more weight. Increasing the intensity of your exercise or the amount of time spent in that way, or changing the type of exercise you do to challenge your body, can give you a boost.
Apologies #3
I can’t afford to join a gym: SO NO! They are expensive, noisy, and some are filled with too many too skinny women in thin sportswear.
apology hunters
(A) Exercising at home: A study, in Florida, of 49 women weighing an average of 170 pounds showed that women who exercised at home lost more weight and kept it off better than those who joined a group exercise program. exercises, like an aerobic does, is even worse when there are no “nutritional tips” that many gyms don’t offer. The consequence is that people end up exercising and eating the wrong foods! Then, of course, some go to the gym and don’t use it!
Apologies #4
I’m too busy to exercise: First, get rid of any preconceived notions about the word “exercise.” We’re not talking about a 45-minute daily run followed by a circuit of weight machines. We are talking about movement; integrate more activity into your daily life in ways that eventually become so ingrained that you won’t even realize you’re doing them.
Simply increasing your normal activities of daily living (fidgeting, moving around by changing your posture) can prevent weight gain if your calorie intake doesn’t change.
Apology Hunters:
(a) Turn off the TV: We watch an average of 22 hours of TV a week, and every hour of TV can be blamed for an additional half pound of weight per year. If you can’t put it down, hop on your stationary bike or treadmill right in front of the TV.
(b) Integrate it into work: Let’s start with mail handling. If you were to walk 2 minutes to someone’s office to deliver a message instead of spending 2 minutes at your desk writing an intranet email, research shows you would lose 1.1 pounds of fat per year. By contrast, when you sit down at your desk to send the mail, you’ll gain 1.1 pounds. Worse yet, progressive obesity is associated with a significant increase in blood pressure, cholesterol level, and insulin resistance. So get up! Go to the bathroom on a different floor, never take the elevator (unless you are on the 40th floor and then go up at least 10 floors). Try pushing against your desk and getting your stomach to engage while you go through those emails. Eventually, you will start to see results.
(c) Rhythm while talking on the phone: Why do you think portable phones were invented? You must go at least a quarter mile around the house for every 15 minutes of conversation.
