fitspiration | Sleep, Eat, Gym, Repeat.

As you can tell, I’ve been on a “no excuses” kick lately. It’s frustrating hearing people complain about their weight or how they look, but refuse to eat well and exercise regularly. It’s not rocket science, people! But- we’ve all had days or weeks when it really is hard to motivate yourself to get to the gym or choose a salad over a burger with fries, so I thought it would be helpful to look at the top excuses for avoiding be healthy and practice some tough love so we can avoid excuses fo-evah! Without further ado… here are the top 5:

Hands down, this is the #1 excuse. But let me let you in on a little secret- NO ONE has the time, they MAKE the time. You get up an hour earlier. You go for a jog during your lunch break. You do crunches before you go to bed. You run up the stairs at your office. You do 4-15 minute circuits throughout the day instead of dedicating an hour to go to the gym. You buy workout DVDs to do in your living room while dinner is cooking, or while your toddler is sleeping. There are 24 hours during a day. If you really wanted it, you’d find the time to get a workout in.

Sleep more!! With the exception of mothers of newborns (because I heard you just don’t sleep for like 6 months.. reaaally looking forward to that…) it shouldn’t be too difficult to go to bed an hour earlier. Although it is super tempting to stay up until 3AM and watch 5 episodes of Game of Thrones (internal struggle on a nightly basis) you NEED to wind down and get sleep. As much as you can. Preferably 8 hours a night. If that’s not in your cards or isn’t do-able, may I introduce you to something called fruits and vegetables? It’s shocking how much more energy you have after eating a meal with loads of veggies vs a plate of fried food or a sandwich. Healthy food + exercise +sleep= more energy. Oh, and there’s always this little thing called caffeine…

This is another one of my favorites. “Oh, I don’t exercise because I don’t like going to the gym. It’s, like, soooo boring” Well yes, I’d have to agree that going at a glacial pace on an elliptical while reading US Weekly and slowly killing brain cells could get a little boring. So, don’t go to the gym! We’re lucky enough to be living in a time period where boutique studios and new workouts are hot, hot, hot. Find something else you like to do- whether it be yoga, Crossfit, Pilates, swimming, kayaking, walking, jogging- WHATEVER. There is bound to be something that you enjoy doing. It might take you awhile to find it- that’s half the battle. Take as many classes as you can, try as many activities as you can, and find what works for you. Once you find something you truly love doing, it’s a piece of cake. I mean.. a piece of banana? Piece of fruit? What’s the healthy alternative for this saying? Now I want cake. Which brings me to my next excuse…

Guess what? There is ALWAYS going to be temptation around you. Always. For the rest of your life. So buck up now and get used to it and pick your battles. I’m not saying never have a piece of cake at a birthday party again, or never have a drink, but use some self control. Especially if you’re at the beginning of a new diet, you have to stay strong during the first two weeks. Those are the toughest. If you are already making excuses as to why you can’t eat healthy, then you’re not setting a good precedent for the rest of your diet. Want some tough love? This is one of my favorite excerpts from the Whole 30 Challenge that I always think of whenever I want a cheat:

“You never, ever, ever HAVE to eat anything you don’t want to eat. You’re all big boys and girls. Toughen up. Learn to say no (or make your Mom proud and say, “No, thank you”). Learn to stick up for yourself. Just because it’s your sister’s birthday, or your best friend’s wedding, or your company picnic does not mean you have to eat anything. It’s always a choice, and we would hope that you stopped succumbing to peer pressure in 7th grade.”

No, it’s not easy. It’s not easy to wake your ass up at 5am in the middle of the winter and bundle up in layers and plow the snow off your car just so you can drive to your local Box or spin class. It’s not easy sacrificing nights out on the weekends because you’re training for a marathon. It’s not easy to look at a huge piece of cake and all your friends and family eating it and not take a slice (can you tell I want cake today?) If getting in shape were easy, EVERYONE would be in shape! But it’s not. It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, sacrifice, and NO EXCUSES. But guess what. It gets easier. There is a giant beaming light at the end of the tunnel. The longer you stick with your healthy habits, the easier it is to say no to cheat meals and days off at the gym. Your friends and family will understand that you are a certified crazy person and will stop giving you a hard time for not staying out til 3am drinking and eating drunk pizza. And you never know- maybe they’ll jump on board the crazy train too

What do you guys think? What are the most common excuses you hear? Am I missing anything? What are YOUR top excuses for yourself? I think mine is “….but it’s dark chocolate…!!”

Happy Friday!

Emily

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Yes, I know the title of this post is quoting the post famous fitness quote ever, but there’s really no other phrase to describe getting motivated so perfectly. Get ready for a ramble…

After my vacation splurge last week, I told myself I would get back on track as soon as I got home, and would stick to a strict, super clean diet for the next 4 weeks. I’m just 3 days in, and already feel amazing. I am literally fascinated by how our bodies work, and how we fuel them. The point of this post is to tell you that if you’ve been making excuses, saying “oh I’ll start eating better tomorrow” or “I have a party this weekend, I’ll start after that” or “I just want an extra half hour of sleep” or “I’d rather sit on my couch and watch Game of Thrones instead of working out” (wait… that might be me sometimes..) just stop. Just stop making excuses and start accomplishing your goal. Whatever it is- losing weight, gaining weight, eating better, whatever. Just. Fucking. Do. It. Yes, the first day will suck. The first week might even suck, but your body is going to start responding quickly. You’re going to love the way you feel and wonder why you haven’t been doing this your whole life. Your body is going to love you and show you results quicker than you thought. You’re going to sleep better at night and have more energy throughout the day.

Like I said, it’s a hard first step. But once you take that step, once you make that commitment- you’re golden. I got home Monday afternoon and taught Tuesday morning and thought I was going to have a heart attack on the bike because I was so winded. But that was my big motivation right there. Why would I want to feel this way? Why would I want to feel shitty and lethargic and bloated, when I know I can feel strong, lean and energetic? It’s really a no brainer when you remove yourself from the situation:

Eat bad food and don’t exercise= shitty.

Eat good food and exercise= awesome.

How f-ing eloquent am I?

Sorry for the ramble/vent, I just get SO frustrated when you listen to people complaining about their weight or their fitness goals, yet don’t want to take any measures to achieve them. They just expect their solution to come in a bottle of Hyrdoxycut. Like, oh I’m sorry- you don’t want to put in the work? Then stop complaining and start accepting yourself as you are. You have to give something up to get where you want to be. It doesn’t have to be a big sacrifice! It can be as simple as waking up 45 minutes earlier, or skipping drinks with friends and going for a run instead, or cutting out french fries when you order a burger.

Anyways. Hopefully this helps give some of y’all a kick in the butt if you need one! If not.. here’s some fitness inspiration oogling from Pinterest. SPEAKING OF FITNESS INSPIRATION- did you watch the Marky Mark video from yesterday?!