Excuses are a way for people to make themselves feel better about something. Typically, it's for something that they should be doing but aren't.
"I know I said I wouldn't eat sweets but that cake was my favorite kind."
"I only bought that $4000 plasma TV because it was $7000 two weeks ago."
"I only punched that monkey in the face because I didn't like the way he was looking at me. You would have done the same thing!"
As hard as it is for me to admit - I am so guilty of this. Perhaps I didn't punch any monkeys in the face (that you can get me to admit to) but I've made my fair share of excuses in the realms of saving money and diet/exercise.
I ran up so much debt in college (and particularly grad school) that I would be killing myself with it for years if I wasn't handling it so aggressively now. I make over $50,000 a year right now but it hardly seems like it. I pay anywhere from $400 to $1000 a month in credit card payments currently. I don't need to do this... it would only be around $225 or so if I made minimum payments but I want this debt off the books as soon as possible.
I don't necessarily regret the fact that I have this much debt. I went on some very nice trips and bought some very nice things that I could not afford over the last few years and I'm very glad I have them. But now that I make a good salary I can not enjoy it nearly as much as I would be able to if I didn't have the debt.
My number one excuse as I was racking it up? "I'll make enough money when I get out of school that paying this off will be no problem." As it turns out - the excuse is relatively true. I expect to be out of credit card debt in just over a year (from $12,000) but what I never managed to realize is that paying off this much debt SUCKS. Let's just hope I still have a job a year from now and I don't have to worry about being in debt this much ever again.
It's good to cover that first because while that was an excuse I made quite often when I had no money - now that I am in a position to pay off my debt I truly expect to never be in that position again. I have more pressing excuse problems...
I think the most tangible time I told myself I would never be lazy and gain weight again was when I was laying on an air mattress in a basement in Ithaca... three months left on a lease with what by then is my ex-girlfriend and she's already dating some new guy and possibly having sex with him directly above me in what used to be MY bed. On the plus side I'm back living in a place I had no intention of ever living again and wishing upon all wishes that I was back in North Carolina where it was warm and sunny and I had good friends.
Now - you might think that this was such a negative experience (which it certainly was) that I would never eevvvver allow myself to get out of shape again. Well - to a degree you'd be right but you'd also be wrong.
I did manage to get myself in good shape... in fact, last summer I was under 210 pounds (barely under is still under!). I was well on my way to getting down to my goal weight of 185. But Jack and I were starting to get lonely in Syracuse (I can only snuggle with him so much) and I started dating again. I told myself (very firmly!)... you already learned your lesson. Don't put on any relationship weight.
Well - fast forward six months (six lovely wonderful amazing months if you happen to be reading this, darling) and I've gained twenty pounds. Not the end of the world but not ideal. I've had many excuses along the way with the most prominent being my favorite that I use every year all the time..."It's hard to go in the winter. It's dark out by the time I get home and then I don't want to do anything."
This is a true statement, but that doesn't make it valid. I waste so much time at home browsing random internet sites and wasting time on the internet in general that I could easily take the 90 minutes per day going to the gym requires and not miss that internet time at all. It all boils down to me being too lazy to do and justifying it with some stupid excuse.
I know a few facts that are 100% true:
1) I only lose weight when I'm exercising. Diet alone just won't do it. But they are related. I only tend to eat healthy and stay eating healthy if I'm working out.
2) I can't keep the motivation to keep going to the gym unless I'm lifting on a regular basis. Going and just doing cardio just can't keep my motivation high enough.
I just found this last fact out recently but it's startling to me how it hasn't dawned on me earlier. From last January to last April I was lifting four times a week without fail (didn't miss a single workout!) and surprise surprise this led to me being thinner and in the best shape I'd been in years. Try to go "just cardio" and bad things happen. Another excuse.
Back to lifting tonight and this time we hope it's going to hold up. With daylight savings my favorite excuse is no longer valid and I also have to work off my post viral clearance belly.
If I can't get this done, frankly, there is no excuse.
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