It takes too long to prepare healthy meals. I’m too tired to workout today. I’ve tried everything to lose weight, but nothing works! I’m always looking after others and that’s why I’ve let myself go. I hate broccoli! There aren’t any gym classes available at the time I need. Do any of these statements sound familiar? These are the stories you are telling yourself to stay in your comfort zone.
If you continually tell yourself the same story, you are going to believe it no matter how far-fetched it seems. That’s how our brain works. That’s how we stay in our comfort zone and inhibit our own development and progress. Next time you tell yourself one of these stories, start questioning it to see how much truth there is to back up that statement. Let’s take a pragmatic approach and see if any of the examples above are valid.
“I’ve tried everything to lose weight, but nothing works!”
My first question would be. Everything, really? So you’ve tried intermittent-fasting, paleo, keto diet, lemon detox, vegan? You’ve even tried doing 10 star jumps before each meal? You’ve tried fasting for an entire month? Now I’m not condoning that, but I’m trying to prove the point that you probably haven’t actually tried everything. My second question would be. How long did you keep up your different eating habits when you tried them? It can take months and years for your body composition to change. So if you try a new eating habit for only a couple of weeks, you haven’t really tried it because your body hasn’t had enough time to fully adjust.
If your fitness goal is important to you, I urge you to question your excuses. Because at the end of the day, that’s all they are, excuses. If something is important enough to you, you will do what it takes to get there. It is simply a matter of prioritizing your health and fitness and making choices that get you to where you want to be.
There will be some things that you know you have to do to achieve your health and fitness goals, that you may not necessarily want to do. That’s completely normal. That’s like cardio for me. I don’t actually like it that much, but it gives me the health and physical appearance that I love. So whenever I’m umming and ahhing about going for a run I tell myself “I love running”, “It’s going to be awesome”, “I can’t wait”. If you tell yourself something long enough, you will start to believe.
So don’t believe your excuses because they are simply stopping you from being where you want to be. And cancel out your excuses by using positive affirmations with activities that will keep you on track to your health and fitness goals.