Countless well-meaning people start diets or try to stop a bad habit, only to fail shortly after takeoff. The reasons for this are as varied as the people behind them, but how often is the excuse really valid?
I smoked for 13 years, watching my mother, uncle, grandma and grandpa all die from smoking. Despite that, it wasn’t until I thought of telling my firstborn I wouldn’t be around to see him grow old that I was finally able to kick the habit. When I started eating low carb, I weighed 202 pounds. Over the past few years, I’ve lost and gained, gained and lost and am on a losing streak (in a good way!) again right now, down to about 160. Through all this addiction — to sugar, to cigarettes — I gave myself all kinds of “good” excuses as to why I could keep going for just one more cupcake…one more cigarette.
All those excuses were like smoke upon the wind; gone and meaningless as soon as they left my head. What I was left with was the cold reality that just one more cigarette could be the one that gave me cancer. One more dessert could mean an irreversible transition from prediabetic to a life of finger pricks and carb math.
How much do you stand to lose by clinging to old reasons and excuses to not change your course or stick to your diet plan? How many candy bars are you from full-blown diabetes? Blindness? Losing a limb? By contrast, how many good, healthy meals are you from meeting your target weight or blood sugar level? If you can only stay the course and stay on track, how long would it take to reap the rewards?
Every time we use our self control and say no to that extra helping or sweet treat and choose instead to say yes to 10 more minutes on the treadmill or five more sit-ups, we are that much closer to the freedom and joy of good health, fitness and a longer life.
So, what’s your excuse?
