"Damn, I'll have to wear less clothing, and for a longer period of time every day. And I look like this."
Unless you took advantage of that gym membership or you've got a piece of equipment you actually use at home, chances are, you packed on a few pounds during the colder months. And if you didn't get the opportunity to shovel a ton of snow - yes, that's an opportunity - then you probably just ate, worked and slept. The holidays are always fun, right? Oh yeah, great food and lots of it. Well, "great" in that it tastes good but it does terrible awful no-good things to your body. Thing is, you were able to cover it up with multiple layers and now, you can't.
What to do? Well, you need to start moving. The problem is that in addition to storing some fat over the winter months, you're also storing myths and excuses that stop you from taking the necessary steps. Time to destroy 'em, so you can start down a healthier path.
5. "I don't need to because I'm not vain or superficial."
What appears to be the statement of the secure, mature individual is nothing more than another thinly-veiled cop-out.
A. If you say you don't care about looking better, you're lying. Maybe you don't care as much about it as other people, and of course, you shouldn't let your self-image dominate your life. At the same time, caring about your appearance isn't vain or superficial; it's human. And there's a very large difference between caring and obsession.
B. This isn't about vanity. It's about your health. Yes, healthy people look better but that's not the point, and it becomes less and less important as you get older. You're not exercising to look good in a swimsuit; you're exercising to keep your heart healthy. You're doing it so as you age, you can continue to be functional. You're doing it so you can avoid the hellish existence that is routine hospital visits and a dozen medications simply because you're suffering from a variety of ailments, all of which are related, directly or indirectly, to your poor health.
No, it's not vanity. It's taking responsibility for your life.
4. "I don't want to be sore all the time."
Personal trainers always laugh at this one. It's such an obvious lame-o, give-up excuse, though it's commonly uttered by those who really don't know anything about fitness. Yes, you will be sore during the first week, but that's about it. The reason you're sore is because your body isn't used to the exertion; once it becomes used to it, you won't be sore anymore. I've been exercising for 20 years - mostly rowing and free weights - and the last time I was sore? 20 years ago, when I first started. Even when you keep pushing yourself, you won't be sore; you just might be a little tired or weak of limb.
The actual pain will be gone but only if you keep at it. Once a week? Sorry, but that's a waste of time. And you will always be sore every time you do it, because you're never giving your body a chance to get accustomed. Where do you think the "weekend warrior injury" phrase came from?
3. "I can take supplements and medications and I'll be fine."
We are a country of medication addicts. Not only do we believe that doctors are essentially omnipotent and that we "need" any medication that's prescribed, but we really believe drugs, and even natural supplements, can replace individual effort. I'm very sorry to inform you, but this will never be possible. No amount or type of drugs or supplements will stop you from gaining weight if you have a terrible lifestyle. Supplements are great but they're called "supplements" for a reason; see, they go with a healthy diet and lifestyle; they don't magically provide you with a healthy diet and lifestyle.
The medication for lowering blood pressure? Newsflash- you can do that yourself, and you can do it without suffering a laundry list of side effects, which will of course prompt you to take other medications. You just have to do it. If you choose not to, well, the consequences aren't far behind...
2. "My diet's fine...and besides, it doesn't matter that much, anyway."
I'm always flabbergasted when people say this, even in today's world, with all the health and nutrition information we have at our fingertips.
Firstly, I've found that if you say your eating habits are "fine," they're probably not. A surprising number of people have no idea how many calories, cholesterol, grams of fat, and other bad things are in some of the most common foods they ingest every day. They also don't get that as portion sizes have been completely out of control for years, what we say is a "normal" portion today is honestly 2-3 times what it used to be (and what it should be). Look at the nutritional information of a small bag of Cheetos. Not only do they not offer a single thing the human body needs, but they contain a mountain of toxic crap that really do hurt us...and there are 3.5 servings of that garbage, so you gotta MULTIPLY all those numbers you see.
As for thinking it doesn't matter much what you eat, that's just too idiotic to address, frankly. There isn't a truer statement in history than, "You are what you eat."
1. "I don't have time!"
Jennipher Walters mentioned this early on during my interview with her (read the full Fit Bottomed Girls chat here), and she said what I've been saying for years, which is essentially: "You're lying." Or more specifically, you're lying to yourself. You have time. Some of the most successful people in the world, self-proclaimed workaholics, find time to exercise. As Jenn said, "do you have time to do Facebook?" You do, don't you? How much time do you spend in front of a video screen in any given week? How much time do you spend on the couch?
Add it up. You'll be shocked at the number. And the bottom line is that you don't need hours every day to become healthier and fitter; you really only need a good 20-30 minutes, and it doesn't even need to be every day. It should probably be 4-5 times a week but we're still only talking about a couple hours or so total.
Sorry, for 99.9% of the world, "I don't have time" is just a lame-ass cop-out. The faster you own up to this, the faster you can treat your body with some respect.
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