Excuses. I hear them all the time. Comes with the job of being a personal trainer I suppose. I am often amused when I overhear someone making excuses as to why they aren’t getting the results they had hoped for. Sorry folks, but going to the gym to walk on the treadmill for 60 minutes, three times per week, while watching Oprah isn’t going to cut it. Nor is restricting calories (read: carbs) to Ethiopian levels (yeah, cause it’s the fruit that’s making you fat). In case you didn’t pick up on it, I was being sarcastic….;o) Consider this a dose of what I like to call “tough love.” Everyone needs it from time to time.
Excuse #1: “I don’t have time to eat breakfast in the morning.”
Riiiigggghhhhttttt. It takes no more than TWO minutes to warm-up a bowl of oatmeal. I defy anyone to prove to me that they don’t have two minutes to prepare SOMETHING in the morning. And while the idea of eating a bowl of oatmeal sounds about as appetizing as a bowl of broussel sprouts to some; throw in a few blueberries or an apple with some cinnomon and maybe a touch of chocolate flavored protein powder, and you have a very scrumptious meal.
Food for thought: There is a plethora of data out there which shows that people who eat breakfat regularily tend to be MUCH leaner than those who don’t. Additionally, eating breakfast has been shown to decrease cortisol (a hormone which tells your body to store fat) levels to a vast degree. All in all, your mother was right…. breakfast IS the most important meal of the day. Make it a priority. Get up earlier and quit making excuses.
Excuse #2: “I don’t have time to train/workout during the week.”
Oh really? But I bet you can tell me who won American Idol or what happened in the season finale of Lost, right? It’s funny how people never have time to train, but have all the time in the world to watch their favorite television shows. To prove my point.
The National Human Activity Survey (n=8000): subjects watched on average 19.8 hours of television per week.
American Time Use Survey (n=58,000): subjects watched on average 21 hours of television per week.
Anyone who tells me that they don’t have time to train/exercise at least five hours per week is totally lying to me.
STOP WATCHING SO MUCH DARN TV, and do more exercise. Watch what happens. Quit making excuses.
