Moving Past the Excuses

Motivation. For every action we engage in, there's some type of motivation behind it. Whether it is fear or necessity or guilt or any number of other catalysts, something has to motivate us to move - to act.

So, what was my "tipping point" for beginning this journey? What got me off the couch and moving?

You may find this odd, but "The Biggest Loser" was actually my tipping point. I was sitting in front of the television (with a bag of chips) watching the contestants kill themselves in the gym. Then, they would get on the scale at the end of the show and I WEIGHED MORE THAN THEM! It was a sad and life-changing realization (I was about 7 months pregnant when it happened, so I had to stall my plan of action a tad until Eli arrived). But I had to do something...so I (finally!) quit making excuses and did it.

We all have our list of excuses and here are a few of mine:

1. I'm too busy. Wow. If I had a dime for every time I said or thought that, I'd be RICH (like Bill Gates-rich, people!). As a working mom (who's married to a youth minister), I feel pulled in 20 different directions most of the time. I had to prioritize to MAKE time to exercise. I'm learning to "protect" my run time like I would any other appointment on my calendar. That was (and still is!) my first obstacle.

2. I don't "feel" like it. Well, of course I didn't! I was SERIOUSLY overweight and hadn't worked out in years. Trust me, there were lots of days I really wanted to curl up under the covers and pretend I didn't hear the alarm sound at 5 a.m. But once I got my run in for the day, I felt amazingly better and had so much more energy. Ok. So, lesson learned.

3. I'm too old to run. I'll admit, this is one I still struggle with when my knees and hips are cursing me for putting them through a long run. But I'm not, and the longer I stick with this and train my body, the better it will handle the miles. When I started competing in races and seeing how many older participants there were, I knew I had to quit using this one...especially when they were flying past me to the finish line. LOL

4. I feel guilty for not spending this time with my boys. Ok. This is also one I continue to struggle with. Because the boys are in daycare, I feel like my time with them at night is really important. Then I realized, being able to physically care for them is also pretty important. I was headed down a pretty treacherous path with my weight/health and thankfully, I was able to turn things around. I am finally embracing the fact that I am a better mommy when I make time to exercise.

5. I can't afford to exercise/join the gym. Uh...can I "afford" not to? The cost of obesity is WAY more than the cost of getting fit. I didn't want to spend the money on a gym membership because of my crazy schedule and the fear I wouldn't be able to use the membership enough. So I found another way to get fit and now, I buy new shoes every 400 miles (1/2 way to my third pair!) and running clothes that make me feel good. If you feel better about putting on your workout gear, you are more likely to get in it and GET MOVING.

So, what's stopping you? What's keeping you from lacing up the sneaks and hitting the road or jumping on the treadmill or heading to the gym? If you can figure that out, then you can make a plan to move past those "excuses."

And you know that's what they are, right? EXCUSES!