Coach To Lose

On my last post I talked about the many reasons I (and many I meet) use to not even begin to work towards weight loss or physical fitness.  They are the excuses that kept me from taking an honest look several years earlier.  I am not saying anything about the way we make choices other than to address it from a single question:  Why?  We have a society here in America that second only to maybe Great Britain and it is becoming the most obese society in the world.  We top the research in the world in figuring out that obesity kills and robs the quality of our lives, yet the numbers are still climbing.  I know I was one of those statistics.  We look for the magic solution or the right surgery for the quick fix.  We don’t want to look at the behavior.

In part two I wanted to address exercise.  You know the saying “No Pain No Gain”  I used this as a mantra when I was at 297 lbs and trying desperately to loose weight.   I would repeat that I was just one more workout away from getting strong enough to keep going.  Facts where I was too heavy, was pushing too hard, and I needed to figure it out.  Meanwhile my joints where killing me because of all the extra weight and my blood pressure was still shooting up through the roof.  Finding a way to drop the weight saved my life.  Keeping it off and keep reaching for the right weight was the next level of determination.

On to workout/exercise excuses that I hear when I talk to people about my life these days.  And yes I have used them as well in the past.

“You only live once – Hell enjoy life and stop worrying about when you are going to die.” Now I am not a big fan of worry and self loathing, however I found out if you use this one long enough the quality of life goes down pretty quickly.  What is enjoyable about having to say “No I don’t have the energy!”  or “Sorry I am hurting all over my body and I am just not up to it!”.  Or my favorite one “Hold on I need to catch my breath!”  This one always came out when I felt my heart thumping through my chest and wondered if it was going to burst.  Truth – You only live once – Why not enjoy it with a healthy body and an active life.  Being a couch potato isn’t all it is cracked up to be.  There is a whole lot more fun out there waiting to be had.

“The weather sucks today, guess I can’t do my workout.” This is a great excuse.  I could use it when it was too hot or too cold, too wet or too dry,  and even if the wind was blowing or not.  This one only fails on the perfect day.  As long as you never define the perfect day to some one that cares about you, then you can pull this one out almost any day.  It fits in well with “I didn’t sleep well last night and I am too tired, besides it is raining out.”  Fact was the gym was less then a 10 minute drive from the house and inside.  Funny thing about the gym it is almost always the same temperature and lighting settings.  This last year I found out that you can do a lot right in your living room to get fit.  Oh and running on a cold wet morning even has some great moments.  If nothing else you know you have joined the ranks of people that realize that every step towards health matters.

Image by ninahale via Flickr

“I travel all the time.” Now this was not one of mine.  I do hear it from people when they ask about the changes they see in my physical condition and here about my workouts these days.  Well if you fit into this one there are portable resistance bands, inflatable balls for all kinds of exercises, etc etc.  More and more hotels have exercise rooms or in Seattle I even found a hotel with an agreement with Ballys gym to allow us to work out there while staying.  As you might guess this one doesn’t work for me either.

“I just had a baby.” Well I can honestly say I have never used this one!  I have heard it more than once however.  Some good friends of ours had their new baby boy last year when I was in the middle of my weight loss phase.  And she was back at it right away.  She had to work past many of the other excuses because of the baby not getting on schedule right away, odd sleeping patterns, etc.  She and my wife just did a walk with a local woman’s fitness challenge where the baby carriage was pushed up hill and they both (baby and mother) had a great time.  All because she worked out before the baby was born and got right back at it afterward.

“I’m too (fill in the blank here ..)” The universal I am too this or that excuse.  Let me give you an example of some of my old I’m too’s.  I am too old. I am too fat/heavy.  I am too out of shape.  etc. etc.  What it really was I was too wrapped up in what wasn’t working and not find things that would work for me.  I relied on having the excuse to keep from having to do the work.  Sure I worked out,  heck I even tried many diets.  I just never took the time to stick with it till I found the right combination.  I relied on what I knew and it wasn’t till I found some one with some answers to help me that I got started in the right direction.  From there it was like gliding down hill, the longer you stick with it the faster you go.

Point of all this excuse busting is that excuses will change the quality of life you live tomorrow.  They will rob you of your health.  They will steal time away from you with your loved ones.  They will take your life breath away until you don’t have the breath to speak them.  Maybe even get you to the point you want to quit trying.  Time to find something that you want bad enough that you will work to experience more of it.  Maybe that is a relationship, or something you love doing.  Maybe it is a purpose you always wanted to full fill to some how change the world around you.  But find it as the pull to live longer and healthier.  Start with help if you need it, but start.  Baby steps or leaps, the only thing that matters is the journey anyway.  GO FOR IT!