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!
The excuses are over. I am going walking on Mocay am with or without my buddy. This is for me!
Had a good walk yesterday, but not yet today. It’s pretty windy out. Oops…that sounds like a lame excuse! Thanks, Michele, for helping me think more realistically. I don’t want to be a procrastinator or excuse-maker. It’s so easy to tell myself I’ll start that diet tomorrow, etc. But deep down I know NOW/TODAY is the time! I’ve heard: “The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here.” I think that’s a good outlook, while still striving to improve in all areas of life. Hope we all have a good next 15 days, and beyond! Hey, hubby just asked if I wanted to go on a walk with him. I said YES! 🙂
I’m always too tired in the morning and I have a reading program I do as well. I just don’t let myself eat breakfast until I do them! Cuz I know I won’t do both later in the day. BTW, I learned the other day that the best way to start a new habit is to reward yourself. I’m thinking that 3 Cadbury mini eggs @ 15 cal each is a good incentive to get me out to the workshop for 30 mins on the treadmill for the first 2/3 weeks til its a habit.
Gotta admit I’m doing stretches at the moment not heart rate increasing exercise as I spent almost 3 hours on Saturday pulling kikuyu runners out of my new vege garden bed. I find that more effective than just digging them out. If you can imagine being in a half squat position while touching the ground in front of you that’s how I looked for most of that time. No wonder the thigh muscles are a bit tender at the moment! It was also a good pelvic floor exercise for those who know what I mean. However, the soreness will disappear in a couple of days and I’ll be back to where I was before. It’s a slight delay, not a total set-back.
I don’t leave time to have excuses, in my head I don’t really feel like, however when the time comes I just grab my baby my buggy and go and pick up my daughter from school by walk (no more bus) that is 4 journeys every single day. I do really hope they add up 🙂
So sorry I’m late to these this week, but good news is I have had NO EXCUSES for working out. I planned for the week(I am a special ed teacher with annual review for my students this week) and upped my workout in anticipation of working late yesterday and today. So I did take two days off, but I planned and made up for them. I am finding that planning in smaller chunks(like a week at a time) is working better than long term appointments with myself. Ten pounds down so far….GO ME!
How did you know the conversation I was having in my brain today?!
Here on the Gulf Coast it DOES get super hot… so I’m going to keep INSIDE DVD’s to do on hot days.
I will change “I hate exercise” to “I really enjoy exercising”. Sooner or later I will start to believe it. LOL
WOW.. I loved every sentence.. and it made me think of other aspects in life that we put excuses for.. Thank you.
I’m done and I have my list.. and my excuses answered.. will keep this page marked to refresh often.
This is soooo true, I have no more excuses, you’ve covered them all!
Wow, too many excuses. How’s that for an excuse. Seriously, Gotta smack ’em down before they get too strong.
Interesting the crazy excuses I have been using seem so lame now.
My reason for being slack this week in exercising is I came down with a bad cold which effected my asthma and made me feel horrible make up for it this week.
My biggest excuse is not enough time and too tired after work. I think I need to get up and do some in the morning first thing.
I get really committed, and see no results, so I figure ‘what’s the use?’ This is hard one for me to get over, since I can be committed 100% for months and not lose a pound.
at the moment still really motivated, will definitely use this when it starts to wain……mmm might go for a second walk today, just watched souths lose need to work off the frustration.
This is definitely written for me! I’m determined to make life style changes & getting more exercise is my weakest point. Jedi mind tricks might be just what I need.
So, here’s what I’ve got… Too Tired? Go to bed at decent time and get up early! Not Motivated? Suck it up and do it anyway!
(I really think I needed this kick in the pants).