Part 11 - Excuses Are For Losers???

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     In my ever so humble opinion, I must gracefully disagree.  In actuality, I would not be able to proudly call myself a loser had I not taken ownership of my actions and stopped making excuses.  So I say loud and proud my friends, EXCUSES ARE NOT FOR LOSERS!!

    Welcome back to all of my loyal readers and a heart-felt howdy to any new folks.  I thank you all for taking time to join me on my journey and to lend me your support.  This will be the 11 installment of The Rendering and I still am in awe of the overwhelming show of support and success I have received during my journey.  I am going to throw out the numbers early this week because I would like to spend the later part of this post discussing excuses and success.  So without further ado...

 ...POW!!!

     There it is my friends, a meager 1 lb. down.  I have managed to lose a whole 16 ounces...LOL.  I only joke because any loss is a good loss. 

“We must not constantly talk about tackling obesity and warning people about the negative consequences of obesity.  Instead we must be positive - positive about the fun and benefits to be had from healthy living, trying to get rid of people’s excuses for being obese by tackling the issue in a positive way.”

- Andrew Lansley -

     I love this quote and here is why.  Knowledge of the consequences of obesity is good to have, however, approaching the subject by shedding light on the positive aspects that are to be gained by fighting obesity has truly motivated me.  Yes, I only lost 1 lb. this week and I could list excuses from now until next year as to why I did not lose more but I choose to focus on this fact, with this 1 lb. that I have lost this week, my total weight loss is 120 lbs.!  I now have motivation to set a new goal and hit that as well.   

     That being said, I am now going to talk a little about a darker issue I have been experiencing.  Over the past weeks I have spoken about the fact that even though I am succeeding, I sometimes wonder if I am living up to my potential weight loss ability.  I have been trying over the past few weeks to look at my outside life through the eyes of a spectator.  What I saw was that even though I was working the program, I was making far too many excuses trying to rationalize my behaviors.  Take a moment to step back and look at yourself and the struggles you are experiencing.  While you are succeeding, you may be making excuses that limit your potential.  I saw, for me personally, that I would make excuses not to exercise regularly.  I would tell people that I was too tired or sore or I had been through a rough day.  I would toss out the excuse that "one little piece" was acceptable; even if I knew I didn't have the points to spare.  I was using these excuses to hide behind.  I think that many who read this would agree that they either do this now or have done so before.

“The cruelest lies are often told in silence.”

- Robert Louis Stevenson - 

     I found, as well, something far more disturbing in my day-to-day actions.  I have fallen into the habit of convincing myself with excuses, that some old bad habits are acceptable.  I was starting to play a "numbers" game with my Weight Watchers points.  I was convincing myself that I could slip today and catch it up "tomorrow".  The sad part was that tomorrow just wasn't coming and I was finding a need to excuse my excuses.  I was keeping my head above water and even making some progress but I was, to say the least, "under achieving".  I am well aware that I am going to stumble, but I must OWN my mistakes and keep focused and accountable for my journey.  

          I have made the choice that I WOULD succeed a long time ago now so I stand here and say I choose NO to excuses!  What will you choose?  I must remind myself that with this new lifestyle I am living, that I am not limited with the food that I eat.  I just need to make the right choices about how I eat it.  Knowing what is healthy for you isn't that hard but committing to living that knowledge can get a bit rough at times. To remind myself of this I found this for my "Wall Of Reminders"...

     Every single example above is so true to me that I am reminded I can feed both myself and others of all the excuses in the world but living up to my potential is worth so much more.  I am learning to apply this theory to many other areas of my life and I feel like I am becoming not only a healthier person but also just a better man for the effort.

  

     I carry this little "check list" in my wallet as a daily reminder.  Only I know if I am tossing excuses around to myself in my head.  Have you ever done that?  Sometimes we can become our own worst enemies with what we tell ourselves.  I read this every morning to remind myself to cut the BS and be strong.  Can you do the same?  Try it...we will all succeed!  I am also going to keep this in my wallet to remind me that if I am going to give it up for excuses that they should at the very least be creative...

    I figure, hell, I will feel ridiculous with that excuse so why use any right?  

     So, armed with a few visual aides and an even more focused positive attitude, I am gonna crank this train up to eleven!  I hope you all can see the excuses that creep into your own lives that might be holding you back from reaching your full potential and toss them out like so many stinky fish!

     I have one more small item to talk about.  I want you all to know that I absolutely love and cherish all of your feedback.  I use your comments as motivation to keep pushing.  Over the last couple of weeks I have received a couple of comments from somebody labeled "anonymous".  I am fine with people commenting under anonymous for whatever reason, but this person said "I remember you from youth group at Union Center Methodist", so naturally, I was curious to see who this was.  If you are not comfortable leaving your name in the comments, you could email me at Pedropwr3@aol.com .  Pleas do, I would love to get an opportunity to talk with you. 

     I am also happy to announce that there is a plan to get some T-shirts for The Rendering made and dispersed.  I am working on the logistics at this very moment.  I hope, as always, that you all can make some sense out of the jumbles that pour from my mind and that you can find some encouragement in what I am doing.  We all can, not only, meet our potentials but far exceed them!  I believe in all of you and remember...excuses most certainly are NOT for losers.  Excuses are simply stinky fish!  As always, thank you all and please, please, please, share this with everybody and by any method you can.  We are changing lives and making a difference.  Much love and God bless you all.  VIVE LA FAT REVOLUTION!!!  To be continued...