Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

There are a hundred thousand excuses for not following your eating or exercise program. I could list them here, but they all fall into one category:

BOGUS

You’re rolling your eyes right now. You think I’m just being hard and callous, but you’re wrong. For every excuse, there is someone out there who moved past it. It’s snowing? I’ve seen people run in the snow. It’s too hot? I’ve seen people exercising in the Las Vegas heat and smog. It’s just one chocolate? I’ve known people who have eaten healthy for years, forgoing every hint of chocolate. I don’t care what your excuse is, there is someone on this planet who didn’t let that barrier get in the way of their health.

How do I do it?

Focus on your goal is the key to getting past the excuses. It’s easy to stay focused and get past the excuses when you first start out your program. Something kicked you in the butt and showed you something that you didn’t like. Either it was the fat pants that didn’t fit anymore or the side glance in the mirror that took you by surprise. Something urged you to start.

After you made progress, however, it became harder. Maybe the fat pants are getting looser or the mirror view isn’t so shocking anymore. Whatever was kicking you in the butt is gone and now you need something to jump start your motivation. You need something in front of you to draw you closer to your goal. The problem for a lot of us is that the goal is so far away it’s hard to visualize it. Instead, you need to focus on a smaller, achievable goal.

Set a small goal that you have complete control over (such as eating five fruits and vegetables every day or exercising for 30 minutes every day). Decide on a non-food oriented reward that you want if you achieve that goal (like guilt-free time with your buddies or a massage at the local day spa). Then you need to do two things: write them down and tell them to someone else. It doesn’t matter where you write them. It doesn’t matter who you tell. Just doing those two things will help hold you accountable.

Working on small goals like this will help you stay motivated. When that Voice of Excuses whispers in your ear, you’ll push it away because you’ll want that reward and you want to save face to whomever you told. If the excuses still hold power over you, then you chose a reward that you don’t care about. You need to try something more compelling. Keep working at it and you will find the rewards that make all the excuses appear as they really are: bogus.

Eventually, eating healthy and exercising regularly will become a habit. It will be easier to eat your vegetables and run for 30 minutes a day. Ultimately, you won’t have to bribe yourself with rewards because you’ll notice the inherent benefits that come with taking care of yourself. When you finally reach that point remember this day because you will find yourself rolling your eyes at people who give you excuses why they can’t follow their program. When you get there, be patient with them and tell them the secret of your success.