Every morning I get up and look in the mirror and get saddened by what I see. The double chin, the stomach that people stare at wondering if I’m pregnant, the fat thighs and the jiggly arms. It’s a far cry from the slight girl I was for 30 years, and it’s not who I want to be. Every day I look at my reflection and think to myself that I need to do something about it. I need to lose weight. I need to exercise. I need to eat better.
And then the excuses start. I have no time. I can’t afford to go to the gym. I don’t have any workout clothes. My husband buys too much junk food. I have no will power.
And then the insecurities set in. I can’t go out and exercise in public because I’ll look stupid. I don’t want to tell people I’m trying to lose weight because I might fail. I don’t want to ask for support, because I don’t want to look weak.
But if there’s on thing life has taught me, it is that things don’t change if you don’t change them. So today I got up and told myself there would be no excuses. I will ignore my insecurities. I pulled on my old yoga pants and a yoga top that is fitting more than a little too snug. I pulled a big t-shirt over top of it and planned to do some exercises with the xbox, but then I changed my mind. I decided to go outside.
It’s was really cold outside. If I could make myself go outside in the frigid temperatures, then I wouldn’t have the winter excuse anymore. If I could pull on my daughter’s fluffy pink mittens and my husband’s Canada toque and walk/jog around the neighbourhood, then I would be breaking through that barrier that tells me I can’t look dumb in public (and I’m even showing all of you!).
So I did. And I survived. And tomorrow I’m going to do it again.
About Sheri
I have many of the same insecurities. One of my biggest things is that I want to get a family portrait taken like normal families do, but I’m too disgusted with how I look. I have to literally MAKE myself do exercise and right now some other things, such as my blog, are being neglected. However, if I don’t do something to become healthier everything will be neglected because I’m bound to die young being morbidly obese. Today I am going to do as much as I can to make the right choice to be healthy. I found the Fitbit has helped me a lot. I set a lot of personal goals for myself and I feel good! I’ll be there with you Sheri. We can do this! Together we will be Fab in 13!
A few weeks ago one of my local facebook friends posted a memorial to a friend who had just passed away. I went to the deceased girls’ facebook page and saw an extremely obese 27 year old woman, who died of a heart attack leaving behind her 2 year old son and husband. It broke my heart, and scared me a little. I agree, it’s time for change and we can do it!
I’m so sick and tired of hating how I look in photos that I’m determined to make healthyy changes. I’m so glad I have YOU to bug for support!!
Good for you! Not only baby steps to start but freezing cold baby steps. That’s a huge milestone!
I made excuses for years and despite going to the gym, couldn’t lose any weight. But when my husband finally had enough with his weight, we started eating right. That made all the difference. Don’t be afraid of asking for help. It’s not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of courage. If you use MyFitnessPal (or decide to start using it) then look me up. @SahmReviews
Good for you, Sheri!
I force myself to walk around the block every single night. We (being me and my dog) usually go around 8pm. It is cold, but I do love walking on a winter evening – it is very peaceful. Getting the dog has made me walk every day, which is a good thing.
Argh… cold. I’ve been walking around the mall getting lapped by old lady speed walkers…lol. Some of those old broads really move :0
You know what I did? I grabbed a Walk at Home with Leslie Sansone DVD! LOVE it!! You can do it, girl! <3<3<3
way to go!!!
Good for you! I just finished that song and dance and feel so much better now! You can do it.
Good for you! I was there, you can do this. Can’t wait to keep reading your updates.
You can do it! And I don’t think I would have even batted an eye if I saw you out walking, FYI…
I am so proud of you! I can relate, it was a photo I saw of myself, and I didn’t even recognize myself. Don’t get me wrong, I knew I’d gained a lot of weight. But this one picture just shocked me into reality. And since Oct. 15th, I too quit making excuses. And now, 18 pounds lighter, I’m more motivated than I’ve been in years. I don’t ever want to go back to that woman I saw in that photo. I know you can do it! Good luck!!!
Good for you. I feel the same way. I would like to lose weight but excuses come to mind for me. I did lots of walking in the warmer weather. Now i am working more and i do lots of walking at work, but no weight loss in a bit. It takes time but if you put your mind to it you will see the pounds start to go down. You will feel better.
Good luck on your goal.
good for you!! and seriously, don’t think you’ll look dumb. Just get out there, ignore everyone one and work your ass off to get the results you want.
You go, you can do it!! And tell hubby to stop bringing home the junk!
YAY!!! Go you! I don’t go for walks nearly as much in the winter because it’s cold and I have to take my two little ones, but I’ve started doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred program and it’s great.
All it takes is one step at a time. I use to think I had to follow this rigid plan or exercising was pointless. Now I have NO plan I just do what I feel like. Sunday I got on the treadmill, yesterday I did Kinect exercise. I find when I make a plan and don’t follow it I feel like I fail so now I just do what I can/want when I can/want.
Great start!
i know that feeling. What i find nuts is the fact that before my husband and i met ,I didnt like alot of cookies,junk food and U was average weight . Now he doesnt like sweets like that and losing weight.
It’s so hard to find motivation but once you do, everything else falls into place!
YAY for the walk outside today! A first step is a great step so I hope that I see many more updates in my FB stream from you!!
I wouldn’t think a thing in the world about you exercising in that. You look fine!
I’ve been putting off “real” exercise for far too long. My husband just motivated me by setting up my elliptical last night. One day at a time!
Awesome job! You took the first step and often that is the hardest.
This post totally hit close to home for me. Thanks for sharing it <3
I have a lot of insecurities and it stops me from quite a few things. Let’s do this together
I think I’ve used every single one of the excuses you mentioned as a way to convince myself out of exercising at one time or another. So you’re no where near alone on that! Congrats on pushing through those and starting on day one! Keep up the wonderful work! I found I feel much better after exercising…even if the scale doesn’t show me I’ve lost pounds it’s how I feel after the exercise that keeps me going.
Keep up the great work!