I've been thinking a lot about the excuses that kept me fat for so long, and the ones I hear from my clients on a daily basis.

If you think about it, excuses DO make your ass look fat, because they keep you from pushing to live the best life possible.   I'm guilty of making excuses, and catch myself to this day coming up with reasons why I can't do something, or shouldn't expect something.

If I have learned one thing this past year and a half is that whether you believe you can, or believe you can't..... YOU ARE RIGHT.

In March of 2007, I had wrapped this bubble of fat around myself as a protective shell.  I just felt stuck.  I was 100 lbs overweight, exhausted, and ran through a list of reasons why I was "special" or "different" from all those people who could successfully lose weight at home.

I was (and still am) hypothyroid.

I have hip problems from childbirth.

There are two screws in my left foot from a joint reconstruction that are starting to wiggle their way free and I have pain when I exert myself.

I had (at the time) an 18 month old and a 3 year old, plus I worked from home, so I "just didn't have time" to work out.

-----> My excuses were keeping me fat.  Because that was what made me special.  Otherwise, I had to admit that I got myself fat, and regardless of the litany of medical "reasons" I was heavy.... I was the one responsible for keeping myself overweight.

Yes, I'm hypothyroid..... but with careful diet and diligent exercise, I DO lose weight (over 60 pounds so far.)

My hips do hurt sometimes as a result to carrying two large children and difficult childbirth.  But they hurt a lot less without the extra weight.

My foot will ache when I run for extended periods, which means at some point, I'm going to have to have surgery to remove the  screws in my foot, especially if I plan to run a lot.  It's bearable now, especially now that I have lost weight.

Yes, I'm busy.  I run two businesses, manage a household, and have two active little children at home.   But when did being busy make it OK to stop caring for my health?   Is that what I wanted to teach my children.... that if you're busy, or have a lot on your plate that you should give up on your own needs?

I put myself on the priority list a year and a half ago.  I felt guilty at first, taking ME time to work out, creating meals that I needed to eat, even if my family wasn't super excited about it every night.  

But, I got over it, and my family is now blessed with a wife and mother who has energy to keep up with them, who feels better about herself, and who will be there to see her daughters walk down the aisle and grow old with her husband.

It's not selfish to make your health a priority. It is a GIFT to the people who love you, because you are giving them a better version of yourself.

Tags: weight loss, diet, exercise, excuses, health, fitness

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