What an interesting breed we humans are!

• We know what we need to do (to succeed).
• We know how to do it.
• We have the knowledge to do it.

 …… but each time there is failure – often repeated failure leading to emotional pain and low self-esteem.

 And all you are trying to do is avoid fat loss failure – to create the body you desire.

Without doubt one of the main causal factors to your misery is your fantastic ability to make excuses! Come on we all do it. I did it for years until my mind, my body and my low self-esteem couldn’t take it any more. Fat loss failure no longer became an option for me.

How many excuses do you have in your fat loss failure portfolio?

Here are a few excuses for avoiding exercise for you to consider along with the necessary corrective actions. Remember, to eliminate your unwanted ugly fat you need to eliminate excuses. They need to become a thing of the past!

1/ TOO TIRED!

You know how to exercise and you know it works, but you can’t face the short term discomfort that exercise will create. You have not created the habit that by exercising you will create many short term and long term benefits. You feel more comfortable sitting on your backside watching the telly.

If you’re feeling tired, take a short nap (20 – 30 minutes) – you’ll feel refreshed and ready to burn some fat. Do you feel more alive in the morning than in the evening because work drains you? – if so, then exercise in the morning when you are feeling ready. If you feel energised in the evening, then exercise in the evening. Listen to what your body is telling you – but don’t listen to those inner demons telling you that 30 minutes in front of the telly is the right thing to do ….that’s a sure fire way to fat loss failure.

2/ NO TIME!

Then make time! Period. This is just so lame. If you think you have no time, then you are wrong – you are just managing your time inefficiently. It’s so easy to get caught up in you’re ever-busy lifestyles (especially work!) to even think about taking the time to exercise. It’s all a bit silly really because a regular exercise (and healthy nutrition) regime actually helps workplace productivity!

Start small. Walk instead of taking the elevator. I work on the fifth floor of an office – walking up the stairs every morning provides a great workout. Ride your bike to work instead of taking the car. Walk around the block in the evening at a medium pace for 20 – 30 minutes. Trust me; you’ll start feeling better for the effort almost immediately.

Bottom line is to make time, create time – reassess your priorities and make exercise a key element to your weekly life.

3/ TOO EXPENSIVE!

Are you one of those that uses this excuse? Remember that there was health, fitness & exercise long before expensive gym memberships ever came into our modern life. You don’t have to be a member of an expensive gym to exercise. If you feel the need to be part of a gym, go find a low cost one – they are still available; just do some research. Alternatively, there are exercise workouts you can do at home without the need for any equipment – just use your own bodyweight and some of your furniture instead. Don’t have a treadmill or an elliptical machine at home? Go and get some fresh air instead – go for a run or a bike ride. You’ll feel so much better for exercising the way it was intended – outside in the real world.

4/ DON’T HAVE THE ROOM IN THE HOUSE!

Well, let’s be real here – you don’t actually need that much room. If you are talking resistance training then all you need is room for a bench, a mat, a barbell and some dumbbells. Need to do some cardio – then get outside and go for a run or a bike ride. Come on guys; get rid of those excuses, because that’s all they are! Fat loss failure is not an option remember.

5/ DON’T KNOW HOW TO!

In the current Information Age this is particularly in-excusable. There is information everywhere – the internet, television, DVD, etc. You can get great information for free. Don’t know how to do a particular exercise correctly – then do a search on Google. You can’t fail to find great stuff on the internet – whether they may be technical articles with demonstration photos or instructional videos.

Go out there and do some research. You can become knowledgeable relatively quickly and start to feel comfortable that these exercises are really do-able!

6/ DON’T LIKE TO!

Why not? Is it too boring? Takes too long? May be you have been told that you need to sit an exercise bike for more than 30 minutes at low-moderate intensity to gain the benefits of weight loss. This is not true. Try some high intensity resistance training instead. Trust me – you won’t find this boring. Alternatively, get outside. Do some exercises in the fresh air – go for a run in the country or try mountain climbing. Find a partner to share the experience with; you’ll have much more fun along the way.

If you’re a competitive person even better – how about 5-a-side soccer or squash or tennis? The possibilities are endless. It’s all down to you. There may be some awkwardness at first. You’ve probably not done any competitive activity for a few years. But hey – what’s the worst that can happen? Is it really so bad? After a few practice sessions you’ll start to have fun again and rekindle those great memories you had when you were a child…… it doesn’t have to be an excuse-driven lifestyle! You don’t have to fail in fat loss.

Hopefully, you’ve now re-programmed your mind to avoid providing excuses when an exercise opportunity comes your way. So when should you start? Why now NOW? You may not be feeling great – may be a little tired, but what the heck. You’ll feel great once you’ve finished. And you’ll be one step closer to your lean body.

Isn’t that worth abandoning your excuse portfolio for? Fat Loss Failure – Not Me! Not You! NEVER!

Do you have any other excuses that I’ve not included here? Do you have any strategies for eliminating excuses that you could share with others? Let me know by adding a comment to the post….