What's Your Excuse?

There are a million excuses to not do something, but not one good reason--so what's your excuse to avoiding or postponing a healthy lifestyle? Many of the excuses we come up with don't seem like excuses while we're making them. One important step you can make today is to pinpoint the excuses you're most likely to make, so you can recognize them in the future. I've grouped together six popular categories. Next time you're inner weasel is trying to get out of living healthy, ask yourself, "am I making an excuse?"

Health Excuses

• I need to get my calcium in, so I better drink this milkshake.
• Walking to the mailbox is exercise.

Giving Up Excuses

• I'm always going to be fat, so why bother?
• Eating right is too hard.

Blaming Excuses

• My boss was so harsh today, eating will make me feel better.
• My husband always wants to eat out. It's his fault I'm overweight.

Bedtime Excuses

• I won't sleep well if I don't eat my nightly ice cream.

Celebration Excuses (this one could go on forever)

• It's my birthday.
• It's Friday/the weekend.

Victim Excuses

• My mother's fat, so I'm always going to be fat.
• I just have a slow metabolism and can't do anything about it.

Sound familiar? The next time you hear something like one of the above examples cross your lips, stop yourself from giving in. Think of the health and lifestyle benefits you'll gain from losing weight slowly and in a healthy way. And don't let some weak excuse derail your future success!