Excuses
 

I am so tired of the reaction I get from people who ask how I've done it and they want me to point them to some magic pill and when they hear that I have put in a lot of hard work they immediately start with the excuses of why they can't do that. I just posted to my blog about it, I am so angry.

http://roxysrogueblog.blogspot.com/2...ss-me-off.html

Truer words have never been typed! Seriously I cannot stand when people tell me how awesome I am and how they would just never be able to do it. Like I have superpowers or something. They can't do what I did, because they eat to much and sit too much and don't want to change. Flat out.

I think about 99% of the people that ask me what I did in RL are wishing it was just as easy as a magic pill. We are an instant gratification society especially with weight loss. I don't let it bother me, it's either they are ready to work hard or they aren't ;)

That drive me nuts too!, BUT my biggest pet peeve is when they ask me how I did it, and when I tell them they begin to tell me all the things I did wrong! ;) I just say, "yeah you're right, I'll do it your way next time." :)

Having been there, with a million excuses of my own, and having since realized that it was less about me being *lazy* and more about a deep-seated, fundamental self-esteem issue that prevented me from believing that I really COULD do this (and thus drove me to explain away the reasons I couldn't try, so that I wouldn't face the pain of trying and failing), it always makes me more sad when I hear these excuses than angry.

OMG - this happened just today. I said (very lightly of course) "that I'll gain back the weight and do it your way next time."

Yes, the excuses really get to me. Of course this is me and looking back and hindsight and all of that.

But the one that REALLY gets me, my biggest pet peeve - is when I'm told that "I just don't have time". They make it sound like their lives are more crammed packed with much more important things that weight loss (& maintenance). That they are just busier people than I am.

Bravo!

My favorite is when my father in law saw me the other day and was talking crap about low fat diets when he's overweight. I love armchair nutritionist.

The even more annoying version of this: "I wish I had that kind of time", usually said somewhat wistfully.

I have a weird, mildly unhealthy relationship with a woman at work like this: she never says no, takes on 10000 things she can't possibly handle, and then feels ok dropping things for others to pick up because it's self evident that she can't possibly do all the things she's "expected" to do, so it's ok that she doesn't live up to her responsibilities and imposes on others (me). The fact that the reason she's "expected" to do so much is because she volunteered (out of pride, IMO) never even occurs to her, and she loves having these little pity parties about how she "has nothing left for [herself]" and how "everyone always wants a piece of [her]". She's one that wishes she had time to take care of her health.

It seems like an attempt to mask self-reproach and envy. But we are bigger than that...err... I mean... smaller...

Whew, Roxy. Isn't it great to have forums like this where you can say what you REALLY think? In RL we smile and nod because you can never win a game of "yes, but" with a determined player. It's a waste of breath. But we can come here and let it all out.

And, yes Robin, "I don't have time" is an excuse, but there is a widely held perception out there that you have to put your whole life on hold to be able to lose weight. IMHO, I think the Biggest Loser helps promote that.

I'm starting to think people are looking for a magic pill too. They ask "how did you do it" and soon as the word "calorie" comes out of my mouth, you can visibly see them tune me out. The eyes roll up to the ceiling and the head starts to nod. Then come the excuses.

Annoying, but I'm proud of me for not having those excuses.

I have two answers for the "how do you do it?" question. One is for people who I well and genuinely want to discuss it with. For them, I'll go into details of my plan and the ups and downs of it.

For people who are just being nosy or who I don't want to talk about it with, I simply say (with a smile), "Hard work." If they press the matter, I like to say, "There's no secret to it. We all know how to lose weight - cut calories and up activity. It's not a secret, it's not some magic, it's just a question of actually doing it."

(For the even more obnoxious, "Where's the rest of you!?!" question, I say, "In the gym." It shuts people up nicely.)

Good for you, I loved your blog. You vented quite well. Keep on keepin on!!

Angie