Recently, I had a friend ask for some nutrition advice. He said he wanted to lose weight and inquired as to how much I would charge to assist him. I told him that I don’t charge friends. I want to help!
So I made sure that I asked if he has any health problems (which he has many, including Type 2 diabetes) and what medications he was taking. He said that his doctor told him that if he lost weight, he might get rid of the diabetes (which is absolutely true).
I go through my normal instruction that it’s better to eat many smaller meals throughout the day than a few big ones, I gave him a list I created that said what foods to eat and what foods to avoid, etc… We talked about his current diet. He said he ate an entire medium-sized pizza for lunch the other day. Well, that would have to stop. I told him if he really craves pizza, to only eat a couple of slices and eat a big salad with it (with low-calorie dressing, of course). His response? I don’t want to eat salads – that’s rabbit food! Give up hamburgers? Nope. Give up fried chicken? Nope. Getting frustrated, I began to talk about exercise. That’s when he stopped me.
He looked me straight in the eye and said that he didn’t have the energy to exercise. His excuse was that his doctor told him he had low testosterone levels and that he COULDN’T exercise. Of course, I asked him if his doctor told him that he couldn’t exercise and he said, “No.” So, what would make him think that he couldn’t exercise? Well, he just didn’t have the energy.
You all are smart people… what would you say to this man? Personally, by this point, I just wanted to slap him and tell him to snap out of it! Of course, I couldn’t and didn’t do that, but boy, did I want to! I told him that he would have to FORCE himself to get off the couch and do something. Take a long walk before dinner. Instead of getting into his car to drive across the street to get lunch, he should walk. Just take a walk around the block at his office a couple of times a day. Just do something! No one lost weight sitting on a chair or couch all day!!!
He argued with me for a while before I suggested lifting weights. Again, we came back to the lack of energy excuse. However, when I told him that lifting weights could help him raise his testosterone levels (that’s what weight-bearing exercise does), he perked right up! Said that he had a weight set in his basement and maybe he could lift a little. Fifteen minutes into my conversation with him and I FINALLY got a win! Unfortunately, I talked to him a week later and he hadn’t made a single, solitary change in his life.
Which begs the question… why did he even ask for my advice if he wasn’t willing to change? All he did was fight me the whole time I was giving him advice! Making excuses. I wish I could say that this is the first time this has happened, but it isn’t. When your lifestyle causes you to gain weight and/or lose your health, you need to change your lifestyle! There’s no other way around it. Yet most people aren’t willing to do that. People sit on their couches all day waiting for a magic pill to be invented so they can lose weight without doing anything differently. I’m sorry to tell everyone, but that’s just not going to happen. So, what are you going to do now?
My message today is… you CAN change your lifestyle and you CAN change your health, but you have to reach deep, deep down to find the motivation to get started. It’s tough, I know. And it can take some time. It took time to put on the weight, so it’s going to take some time to lose it. But I have faith in YOU, that you can do it. If you ever need a little motivation, just come here and ask for it 🙂
Please remember… there are no excuses when it comes to your health!
No Excuses Health 