Tuesday, January 24, 2012

no more excuses

if you've watched the biggest loser at all this season you'd know that their theme is "no more excuses." such a simple yet profound concept. i literally get asked the same question almost every day about my weight loss. how did you do it?

the simple answer i usually give is: weight watchers. sure, that's the program i used to track my food, to change my portion sizes, to get my eating under control, etc. but the more direct answer that i sometimes want to give is this: i stopped making excuses and did something about it. because that is the God-honest truth.

those people who ask me how i did it? 9 times out of 10 they respond back with an excuse as to why they can't do it. and i know this might sound harsh but when i hear the excuses sometimes i want to scream. or roll my eyes. or shake them.

are you still reading? yeah, i just admitted that.

i get frustrated because i can relate. THAT WAS ME. i lived in the land of excuses for years and years and was unhappy with my body as a result. i had trapped myself. it wasn't anyone elses fault. no one force fed me hershey's chocolate... although sometimes i wish someone would. haha. no one turned my car into that fast food drive through lane. no one tied me to the couch to watch hours of tv instead of getting up and exercising. I DID THAT. i made those choices and i had to live with the consequences of my decision. and my choices affected others, too. i struggled to have intimacy in relationships because i was insecure about who i was. i was ashamed of what i had done to myself.

so i had a choice to make. i had to accept that enough was enough. i had to do away with the excuses and own up to my decisions that led me to the place that i was. no one else could make that decision for me. i had to face it and OWN IT. and that my friends is what makes all the difference. when you can admit to yourself the honest truth about where you are and how you got there THAT will be your turning point. you have the power to make better choices each and every day that when strung together over months and years will result in a happier, healthier YOU.

let's let this be the year of no more excuses. the year that we decide to look at ourselves honestly. to put down the veil of denial that we've wrapped ourselves in and step out of the shadows. and that doesn't just relate to weight loss. that can translate into so many areas of our lives where we've held ourselves back from being who we know we are really called to be. as women, sisters, daughters, mothers, friends and if there's any guys reading- all that guy stuff, too.

don't let the excuses hold you back any more. life's too short to live in the shadows.

grace and peace,

30 comments:

Jenn and Casey said...

susan, I SO agree with this. Having lost 114 pounds myself I get this question all the time. Everyone wants a magic answer. I think it's hard, because I know that people will not change until they are ready. And what makes them ready is different for everyone. It's a switch, and I can't tell them when that will happen. You're a great example, and you are inspiration to everyone around you. That is enough - they will change when they are ready, just like you did. Congrats on your success!!

Katie @ Loves of Life said...

I am so glad you wrote this, because Lord knows it's better you than me anyway :)

Cara Linn said...

Amen. :)

Noe said...

Thank You for this post... Thank You, Thank You, Thank you!
This is what I needed... to keep on going... I've been pretty frustrated coz I can hardly see any succes after the first couple of weeks, but maybe I just have to remind myself that this is only the beginning, and that it takes time!... Thank You once again Susan!...

Unknown said...

Very well put!! I dealt with this a few months back when I started to finally face the fact that I was fat because of choices *I* made, not anyone else. I'm real good at playin' the blame game :)

Once you start to realize the only person that can change you is YOU, those old excuses don't sound quite so convincing anymore.

Congrats, congrats, congrats on all your hard work!

Taylor said...

Gah, love this. Now, will you please come scream at me, roll your eyes at me and shake me? Cause some days, today totally being one of them, I need it.

Hailey @ Me and My Boys said...

*standing ovation*

Ashley @ Gratitude and Latitude said...

I could not have written this better myself. Agree with you 847523874%!!!

Jess said...

*slow clap*

Truth . 100% truth. I have 4kids. Doc appts galore. An absentee husband. Part time work. Photography business. I haven't slept in years. And I get myself to the gym/outside to run at least 4 times a week. Because I stopped making excuses for myself (and all those really, really delicious cool ranch doritos), and just did something.

Jess said...

Hit send too soon...my point of that comment was that we all make excuses, and that's the only thing that keep us down.

Shannon Dew said...

I love this so much because it's the absolute truth. Right after I had Kendall I was just like, "well I guess this is my new mom body" and for 5-6 months I just dealt with it and did nothing to change. Then I hit the point where I said, "heck no! i don't have to settle for THIS" and I got motivated. Sure there are great tools out there to help us but at the end of the day WE did this.

Christina said...

Great post, yes this is the year of NO more excuses.
You did it, I can do it!

Thanks for posting on this frequently I need to read it!! You inspire me Susan!

xoxo

Perfectly Jenn said...

This is seriously the best thing I've read in a long time about weight loss.
I'm am the excuses Queen and I will be the first to tell you that. I don't know what's going to kick my butt into gear or when but I sure wish I had a motivator like you in my life.

Thank you for posting the truth
It's more appreciated then you know

Anonymous said...

Great post!! I just found your blog and I love it! :)

Emmalee

everydayemmalee.blogspot.com

Katie said...

If something is important to you, you will get it done - period. Such a great post! I loved it!

Evelien said...

The best post I read in a long time... This one was for me!
Well I do have one good excuse for the next 1.5 week: exams.
After that I'm done with making excuses!! Thank you so much for this post, it helped me a lot!

Meg G said...

You hit the nail on the head with this one!

This is my year of No Excuses - for ANYTHING, including my weight/laziness.

Thank you for your honesty - it is quite refreshing.

Aly @ Analyze This said...

I still am making some excuses .... not 100% there .... yet! BUT, I sure as heck will get there. Right now I'm about 85-90% .... just gotta break thru!

Thanks for the encouragement! EVERYONE was once there. I appreciate your attitude on this. People who are all "look at me now" put a sour taste in my mouth. But you? You get it. And that's why you're so relatable to sooo many of us! Keep it up! I always look forward to these kind of posts :)

Rachel said...

Another post that speaks straight to my heart! You are wonderful, sweet Sus! This is SO TRUE. And I needed to hear it. Thanks for keeping it real for us--I need that :)

Tatiana said...

This is so true Sue! Even though I believe that it's a lot easier for some people to find time to exercise than it is for others, it's still an excuse. My biggest excuse however, is that I really really hate exercising. With a passion.
Also this post reminded me of a 750lbs patient that I was taking care of, who's family was making excuses and blaming all of us for their son's health issues. It was SO annoying! I wanted so badly to say, "No, he's gonna die because he weighs more than half a ton, and it's your fault for not smacking that burger out of his hand 20 yrs ago."

Melissa said...

I love this, Susan!! Inspiring & TRUE! :)

Laura said...

Amen to that!!

Jessica @ This Blessed Life said...

hey susan, just wanted to let you know that this post was a huge inspiration to me. i'm committed to weight loss and the weight is coming off so slowly but i'm sticking with it. i love that you wrote how one month you dropped a size but didn't lose any weight - that was so encouraging to me! i just linked to your blog in my own post. i'll be following along for sure! :)

Unknown said...

this is awesome susan! it was harsh but sometimes some tough love is all we need!

and the excuses? I can't deal with them anymore. Who cares if you hate working out alone! get up and do something!

off to run and do the shred :)

ffprncez said...

Fabulous post!!!!

Megan @ Grimm Tales said...

I'm here from your sisters blog. This post is great. I think I need to read it everyday.

No more excuses for not working out and not eating right. The only person I'm hurting is myself.

Amber said...

great post and one that I definitely needed to hear :)I need to stoo making the excuses and just do it.

Just Brandi said...

Great post!
I hopped over here from your sister's blog who reads my blog and I am now reading hers, and yours.
are you confused yet?

Anyway, I totally agree with this post 100%- been there, done that. all too familiar.
And I, too, want to shake those people with the excuses...

Anonymous said...

LOVE it. thanks for the challenge.

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