One of the most inspirational things I've seen online so far is this little meme:

My husband sent me this once and it hit home. Hard.  The fact is, I have been on this clean eating mission for 19 months now.  That is a long time.  I realize that the popular thought is instant gratification.  We all want to lose weight right now.  We want the weight gone in one month, a few weeks, days even.  The bottom line though, is that the time is going to pass anyway.  If it takes 19 months to hit a goal so what? Those 19 months were going to happen no matter what.  If you were fat, thin, healthy, unhealthy, no matter what those days would happen.  Why not let go of the time excuse, realize this is going to take some fucking time and just shut up and do it.  I went into this with a one year goal.  ONE YEAR PEOPLE.  Do you understand how hard it was to commit to a year?  To wake up and see a weight gain, and know I still had eight more months to go. To plateau for three straight months and tell myself every single day to go back to the gym and keep trying?  It was hard.  It is hard.  It's the hardest thing I've ever done.  Do you know what is harder? Looking back at the time past and wondering why I wasted it.  I look back at the years before March 25 2013 and beat myself up at all of the time I wasted being as heavy as I was.  Why?  Why did I make all of those excuses?  Why did I sit around at home watching the Biggest Loser and eating junk food lamenting about not having the time, instead of finding the time and losing the weight.  If I had started three years ago where would I be now?  I would be trying to lose 30 pounds instead of 60.  Trust me on this, looking back and regretting the lost time is so much worse then living your days as healthy as possible, especially since those days will occur no matter what. 

Injuries.

You guys.  Unless you are in a full body cast I sooooo don't want to hear that you cannot workout and EAT HEALTHY because you are injured.  First of all, abs are made in the kitchen, not many injuries will prevent you from eating clean and healthy.  If you happen to be in a full body cast take the time to do your BMR, find out your resting daily calorie burn and adjust your food around that. It might be lower then normal but it's doable.  I'm watching this season of the Biggest Loser and it's about second chance athletes.  One guy who had this incredible rocking body said he stopped working out because he had a leg injury.  I had a severe sprain in July.  Cast and crutches and all.  I took one day off from the gym, then I got on my crutches, hobbled in and did the most intense upper body workouts I could.  I figured out how to get my cast on a bike and burn off some calories.  I had my appendix out in January, I missed eight days from the gym and then I was in there figuring out how I could do legs, biceps, triceps, and the bicycle without hurting my stitches.  There is a girl on the Biggest Loser right now with TWO air casts on.  She is still losing weight. She is tracking her food, she is eating clean, she is swimming, she is doing as much upper body stuff as she can.  All you need to do to lose weight is put out more then you take in.  Any form of exercise is going to help you achieve your goals.  Obviously rest the injury but don't use a hurt arm to prevent you from doing leg press, lunges, calf raises, and bike.  Man up and take care of your shit.

I don't have the time.

If you are reading this, you have the time to workout.  You do not have to go to the gym to get in a killer workout.  I can teach you a twenty minute body weight circuit that can be done at home that will knock you flat on your ass and melt off the pounds if you are eating right. If you have time to watch your favorite show, or Netflix binge, you have time to workout.  When this started I would watch TV doing wall squats. I've watched my shows while doing body weight squats.  I've watched TV while holding as many one minute planks as I could. I've watched TV while curling some weights and doing ab workouts.  I know you are sitting there binge watching some Zombie show or Sons Of Anarchy when you could be working out.  Do you get a lunch break at work?  Go for a fucking walk.  Do you have any weights? Put them next to your couch.  If you have time to bake cupcakes you have time to workout while they are in the oven. 

I need me time.

Oh my gosh people.  We need to let go of this notion that us mommies need all of this bullshit me time. Do you know when my time is? When I'm at the gym, or on a run.  Now that I'm more healthy and active I don't have this urge for me time.  I have an urge to get outside, get my kids outside, go on a hike, go to the lake, go for a walk, run with my son, etc.  My me time occurs for ten minutes in the morning when I wake up and enjoy my first cup of coffee.  After that, it's just go time. I don't need special time to read a book.  I don't need special time to watch my TV shows.  I don't need special time to do crafts.  I need time to get my shit together and get healthy.  I need time to workout.  I need time to bake healthy foods for my family and meal prep for our week.  I don't need time to do all that girly lazy fluffy shit.  We need to get over ourselves.  We made the choice to have kids, and that choice meant giving up our time for the next 18+ years.  It's more important for me to be healthy and alive long enough to meet my great grandkids then it is to relax and have a cup of tea.  I want to live.  I want to live with my kids and have a healthy active life.  I want to teach them to do the same. I want them to see me out hiking and running and think that is a good idea.  I want them to go off to college and spend their weekends hiking mountains.  I want them to grow up and have kids and take them running and tell them how their mom used to run with them.  I want them to be healthy. I want to raise kids who don't have to struggle with weight and health like I did.  My job as a parent is to be healthy, to teach them to be healthy, and to set an example.  My job as a parent is not to have special time to read a book.  I still read, but I do it at the end of the day when I'm in bed and there is nothing else I can possibly do for my health and fitness.  I read in the car on road trips.  I read waiting at the DMV.  I don't read when I could be getting healthy.

You guys, stop making excuses.  Do this.  Don't start next Monday, start tomorrow morning.  I don't mean to be harsh but it's time to be harsh.  It's time to take your health serious.  It's time to make yourself a priority so you can be around for many years to come.  It's time to stop living a life of excuses and start living a life of achievements.