Inward Appearance

Of Doing It (aka no excuses)

Not to toot my own horn, but as of late people have been noticing my considable reduction in weight in size. They ask me how I do it, and I explain that it’s a simple balance of exercise along with proper diet. Some will say, “I wish I could do it.” But really, there’s no wishing to it. I used to wish it as well back when I was still 228 lbs. But then I would come up with excuses.

“I’ll wait until I can afford a gym membership.”

“My body can’t handle tough exercise.”

“It’s too expensive to be healthy.”

“It’s going to take too long to see results.”

“I’m going to end up giving up.”

As you can see, it was nothing but excuses and self-doubt. A whole lot of it. And oh man, the low self confidence whenever i’d look at my body, astronomical. That didn’t help me at all. So whenever I would almost get up and do it, i’d sit back down. I would be back to wishing for better health, for better fitness. But at one point, earlier last year, I finally came to the conclusion that I was making too many excuses for myself. I decided it was time to do something about it. So I got up, and I did it. I started exercising like I had never before, way harder than even PE in school.

Now i’m not going to lie, the first week was brutal. I felt like I had gotten absolutely beaten up all over my body. But I kept going, focusing hard to mute out the pain and the small voice in my head saying “this is too much for me”. Each day I would push as hard as my body would let me. I have to admit that there was a good month of stagnant activity, but I slowly pushed myself back into a physical program. Slowly, I also started to change my eating habits as well. I would even be further inspired by stories online of people battling against obesity, diabetes, and just being generally overweight… and winning those battles. Most importantly, my faith in Jehovah and a spiritual regimen gave me even more added strength of mind.

Now, it has been a year and 7 months since I started my journey to a healthier me. I’m in the best shape that i’ve ever been, (not even in my teenage years was I this fit!) I am super-careful about what I eat, and I feel stronger. Some may think that my journey was a quick and easy one, but as you can see it definitely fillled with challenges. No, getting fit is not easy, and there will be things that seem like roadblocks. But it you want to get fit, you have to stop making excuses. You just have to do it and get rid of all mental doubts, because really that’s all that’s stopping you. Your body was made to be a fitness engine, but you have to get it started yourself. It comes down to the simple matter of choosing fitness or choosing a sedentary lifestyle that will lead to many many complications later on. Even if you are sedentary now, even if you are obese, are prone to sickness, or have diabetes, you CAN REVERSE YOUR SITUATION AND YOU CAN GET IN THE BEST SHAPE OF YOUR LIFE. PERIOD.

You don’t need a gym membership. Jogging, push-ups, sit-ups, shadow boxing, dancing your heart out, all of that is free and you can do that at home. You will be sore at first, but your body will get stronger and stronger and soon that will be a minor factor. You don’t have to shop at Whole Foods to eat healthy. Basic vegetables and meats can be easily had at your local Safeway or Food 4 Less or whatever grocery store. With patience, you WILL see results as long as you stay positive. When you put this all together, you will NOT want to give up. You will have the mental frame to keep on going and to not stop. I promise you that.

What it boils down to is this: Anyone can be in the best shape they’ve ever been. It’s just a matter of finally letting go all the excuses… and doing it.