Excuses excuses excuses…

I did it. I am breaking the mold.

My mold.

I will no longer succumb to my own excuses. In the coming days, I will tackle each of my recurring excuses to prevent myself from getting into the gym. By facing my own demons, publicly, I hope to prevent them from happening in the future. Maybe some of you face the same demons and can offer commentary on what has worked for you.

When I think of excuses, many come to mind. I’ve got a million and one for just about any occasion, but there is one that stands out far more than the others. It affects all aspects of my life, personal motivation, work productivity and more importantly the time I spend with my kids. I’m tired.

Excuse #1: I’m too tired.

Why the hell am I so tired?

Obviously I’m fat. Thats why I’m in this situation, right? Am I fat because of some medical condition? Do I have diabetes or a thyroid disorder? Nope. Do I have High Blood Pressure? Nope. Are my knees so shot I can barely walk? Nope. In all honesty I am a perfectly healthy guy, other than being a fat ass. I had blood work done a few weeks ago and everything came back perfect.

So what is causing me to be so tired?

• Because my body is used to being a lazy ass. It’s in a constant state of rest. I work at a desk and sit on my ass all day.
• Because I am self employed, I work from home and set my own hours. There is no structure. My hobby is my work. If I am bored at night, I get online and work.
• Because I don’t sleep enough at night (see previous reason)

I’m sure I could come up with even more reasons, but they are all related to those above. So lets examine some of the affects this has on my life.

1. My house is a mess. I’m either too busy or too tried to really clean. So I solve that problem by hiring someone to clean my house once a week. That still leaves 6 days of me not doing even the simplest amount of cleaning.
2. My business is unorganized, which affects my productivity. If I would exert a little more time and energy, I could be organized and stay on task. This is something that has affected me my whole life, regardless of my weight, which makes this an even tougher mountain to climb. If I can accomplish more in a shorter period of time, I can work less and focus on improving other parts of my life.
3. Quality time with my children. As a single dad, who recently has the kiddos full-time, I get to juggle homework, sports and after school events in addition to all my other responsibilities. By not having the energy to stay organized and on top of things, it affects my children. My laziness rubs off on them. This is probably the most motivating issue of them all. I’ve noticed that if I wait and have to rush them, they push back and respond less positive to whatever the issue is. By giving them the time attention they need, there is less hassle and they are much happier.

So there you have it… Excuse and motivating factor #1.

My solution is to get to wake up 30 minutes earlier, thus getting the kids to school earlier and creating an additional 30 minutes of gym-time. I plan do do this 5 days a week. I don’t think it’s too much to ask of myself.

*Side note: Today I did 30 minutes on the elliptical.

Distance: 2.59 mi
Calories: 534