Stop Making Excuses

How many excuses have you made for ...

• Not starting your weight loss program
• Cheating on your diet
• Going off your diet completely
• Not exercising

Have you ever made the following excuse?

• "I've already blown it - So it doesn't matter what I eat now."
• "I'll start my diet tomorrow."
• "Everyone else was having some."
• "I couldn't say no to the hostess."
• "I had a bad day and "deserved" a treat."
• "I was bored and there was nothing else to do."
• "I'm too tired."
• "I'll never lose weight - it's in my genes."
• "I'm too old to change my ways."
• "It's my birthday." (Or my kids or my husbands or my friends - any special occasion).
• "It's the week-end, I've been "good" all week so I can eat anything I want now."
• "I exercised hard, so eating this candy bar wont hurt."
• "I don't have the time."

These are ALL typical excuses we use to sabotage our weight loss efforts. I'm sure you could add your own to this list.

We commonly make excuses for things we know we should do - but don't really want to do ... As well as for things we WANT to do.

Food should not be used as a reward. Food is fuel for our bodies. Think of the "naturally thin" people you know. They don't attach the same emotions to food as overweight people do.

The more importance you give a food - the more excuses you can/will make to eat it. Food only gives us temporary gratification. It cannot make us feel happy or sad. It cannot fix our problems. It can't reduce our stress of meeting an important deadline at work. It can't solve the fight we just had with our spouse, child, boss, friend etc.

OK, you ate a couple of cookies - Eating the whole bag isn't going to change the fact that you ate them in the first place. It just makes matters worse because you've consumed 1000 calories instead of 100. Then you might feel guilty so you grab another bag of cookies .. and it goes on and on and on ...

STOP making excuses. The more you make, the easier it is to make the next one and the next. Begin spending the time you used to make excuses to make goals.

Write down "Reasons that You Will Achieve Your Goals!"

Think of the excuses you commonly make for overeating and/or for not exercising. Replace the excuses with goals.

For example instead of saying "I'll never lose weight - because it's in my genes."

Tell yourself ... "I will lose weight by changing the way I think about food and following my plan. I will consciously make my food choices based on what is best for my health."

"If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed." Chinese Proverb

Remember if you continue to do the same thing you always have done - you'll continue to get the same exact results.

The difference between those people who lose weight and those who don't is simply how many excuses they make. -Cindy Holbrook