Commitment and Excuses

This is not a miracle diet.  You can not look for loopholes, and think you are fooling anyone.  You are fooling yourself, which is bad for your self esteem.  It’s bad because on one hand, you are telling yourself you are on a diet, but on the other hand, you are using 2 of your cheats on Six Dollar Burgers and the other on skipping a workout.  This is not healthy and you will (probably) not lose weight.  I understand the occasional need to do such things.  But that the key:  make it occasional.  Don’t slip back into your old habits.  This is not a ‘how much can I get away with’ diet.  It’s a commitment from you to live and eat healthier. 
EXCUSES:

• I DON’T HAVE TIME TO EAT/PREPARE/SHOP FOR HEALTHY MEALS:
  • We would all love to have more time.  Think about this:  If you spend a few minutes a day living healthfully now, you will have more time in years added to your life.  What are you willing to commit to?  I have written some time-saving strategies in the strategies section.  I’d also love to hear from you what your time saving strategies are.  Maybe it’s just a matter of dusting those off and re-using them.
• MY FAMILY WON’T EAT THIS WAY:
  • One of my toughest challenges was eating differently from my husband and children.  My husband’s preferred dinner when he doesn’t like what I cook is nachos with tons of cheddar and jalepenos.  Did you read that last sentence carefully?  I said, “when he doesn’t like what I cook”.  I had to get to a point, for the health of my family, to just cook healthy meals.  If he doesn’t like it, he has to fend for himself.  Of course, I want him to eat healthfully too, so often times I’ll make a different version of the same thing for both of us.  For example:  chicken tacos.  He gets the fried corn tortillas, and I get either a salad, or a warmed un-fried tortilla. 
  • My kids are like most kids, and are very picky.  I try to serve them what I cook, because I don’t want to be a short-order cook, but at the same time, I want them to eat!  I have learned that in order for me to eat the way I know I should, I have to make my own meal.  Their steady diet of natural peanut butter and sugar-free jelly on whole grain bread, while healthy, does not appeal to my taste buds as often as it does for them. There are also many ways to sneak ingredients into meals so that both you and your children are happy.

• I DON’T HAVE THE BUDGET TO LIVE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE:
  • This has probably been my number one excuse for procrastinating in the healthy living category.  Having gotten married 2 days before law school started, and then all the student loans to pay back, it’s been really hard to fit “health food” or “health club” into our budget.  I have learned to use frozen vegetables, buy in bulk, watch for sales and find ways to work out outside of the gym. 
• What are the excuses that you always fall back on?  Please post about them. Let’s see if we can get you over the hump.