Day 15: Stop Making Lame Excuses | 30-Day Weight Loss-athon

Wow – it’s Day 15 of the of the 30-Day Weight Loss-athon. Can you believe we’re halfway through?

All tasks in the 30-Day Weight Loss-athon are adapted from the 52 Weight Loss Missions program.

Read the steps first, then take 10 minutes to think about them and take action. Ready?

What You Need:

• A problem-solving mindset.

Step 1

By now you’ve been working away on your 30×3 exercise program from Day 5. And over the past two days you’ve removed any practical obstacles and got yourself properly equipped.

I’m hoping that you’ve stuck with it pretty consistently.

But sooner or later, you’re going to start coming up with excuses – totally lame reasons why you can’t do it today. You’ll feel tired, it will be raining, your left toe will hurt.

But don’t get too creative with your excuses, because today I’m going to head you off at the pass.

First, let’s learn the shocking truth about exercise. Once you know it, you can’t un-know it – and it will help you win the workout war.

The shocking truth about exercise, as any regular exerciser will tell you (seriously, just ask them!) is that the absolute hardest part of exercise is the conversations you have in your head.

That’s right – not running out of breath, not soreness, not even Lycra. (But Lycra is probably a close second.)

The true challenge is in shutting up your resistant mind long enough to put on your workout clothes and get out the door. This is where the battle is lost or won.

To win the battle then, our first step is to realize that the challenge is more mental than physical, and to switch from being an exercise excuse maker to becoming an exercise problem solver.

Step 2

Next, let’s make a list of your usual exercise excuses – the things you tell yourself that let you get away with skipping out on your exercise commitment.

Once you’ve made your list, it’s helpful to repeat each excuse aloud in a nasal, whiny voice.

Step 3

Now we need to apply that problem-solving mindset to these excuses.

Look at each excuse on your list and consider how you can perform some Jedi mind tricks so that this excuse no longer works.

For example:

Excuse: I’m too tired when I get home from work.

• Don’t sit down – it will be too hard to get up again.

• Have your workout clothes waiting at the door. Put them on straight away and off you go before the voice in your head starts up.

Excuse: I’m not motivated – I’m waiting for motivation to hit me.

• The only thing that’s going to hit you is the sudden realization that your life is passing you by. Motivation is a bonus, for now you’ll have to start without it.
• Tap into the particular motivation you identified on Day 1.

Excuse: The weather sucks.

• Too hot? Go for a swim. Too rainy? Pop on an exercise video or use your stationary bike or grab your wet weather gear and head out anyway.
• There are also indoor sports like racquetball if you enjoy some competition.

Excuse: Exercise feels uncomfortable.

• So does being overweight and unhappy. Two evils. Working out is the lesser, by far.

Bonus Step For 52 Weight Loss Missions Members

Revisit Mission 17: Overcome Exercise Excuses for suggested ways to overcome 15 common exercise excuses.

Check in!

And you’re done!

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See you tomorrow!

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