The other day I called out women who wear pajamas in public as being lazy. And I stand by that ... and I do not take it back.
However, so the cheese does not stand alone, I would like to out myself as well ... as being incredibly lazy. In a lot of different areas ... just not of the pajama-wearing-in-public kind.
We all know that genetics are responsible for your outward appearance ... whether you are tall, short, blonde, blue-eyed, brunette, brown-eyed, freckled, dark-skinned, fair-skinned, etc. It has also been found that genetics are responsible for your inward appearance as well ... whether you are fat, skinny, have heart disease, high cholesterol, have a higher chance of developing certain types of cancer, whether you are gay or straight, etc. Your personal values make up another part of who you are ... and those are learned by example from your parents, grandparents, legal guardians, teachers, coaches, etc.
I seem to break the mold when it comes to genetics playing a part in my outward appearance as I am a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, fair skinned daughter born to two dark-haired, dark-eyed, darker-skinned parents. Don't think for a moment that I haven't thought of searching for my true birth parents ... it's just that I have become too old and I don't think I could deal with yet another family.
Since my outward appearance is so drastically different from my parents ... how about my inward appearance? My father, for example, has a history of heart disease and Alzheimer's in his family. My mother, diabetes and certain types of cancer. I check the appropriate boxes on the medical forms you are required to fill out every time you go and see a doctor. But no doctor has ever attributed any of my ailments to a "family history."
For example ... nowhere on that medical form does it ask me if one or both of my parents is obese or exceed the healthy BMI rate. Nowhere on that medical form does it ask me if my parents are physically active ... exercising at a moderate pace for at least 30 minutes per day. Nowhere on that medical form does it ask me what kind of food my mother cooked while I was growing up, etc.
Since the medical world could care less about my own parents habits as far as health is concerned, I guess genetics is the factor that I can blame my poor eating habits, couch potato tendencies and fat ass on. Right? I'm not so sure.
My mother is a little on the chubby side ... a typical woman of Italian descent. However, my 4'10" mother is The Little Engine that Could when it comes to dieting. She has immense amounts of willpower and when she decides its time to take off the weight and get into better shape ... she does it. Sure she goes through periods of time that her weight creeps back up on her ... who doesn't? But once she makes up her mind ... ZAP ... it's coming off.
My father is different. He has never been overweight a day in his life. He has exercised regularly for as long as I can remember and he eats an overall healthy diet. And, yet, he had to have a stint put in a few years ago as a result of a clogged artery and high cholesterol. He has done everything "right" his entire life and was still effected by his family history of heart disease.
So again, here I sit as the blonde-haired, blue-eyed daughter of dark-haired, dark-eyed, darker-skinned parents at a crossroads. On the one hand, my mother is a little chunky ... on the other hand, my dad is lean and fit. On the one hand, my mother cooks like most Italian women do ... lots of pasta, bread, sauces , etc. laden with a lot of carbs and calories ... on the other hand, my father eats a relatively healthy diet and is mindful of his intake of carbs and calories. On the one hand, my mother gets her exercise in by walking her puppy Bella ... on the other hand, my father has a gym membership which he actually uses and also bikes and skis and kayaks.
Which side do I take when I am making my excuses of why I am shaped the way that I am, why I eat the way that I do, the reason I do not exercise? Ideas?
No one. I am just lazy. Just like the pajama-in-public wearing lazy slobs that I waxed on about in my previous post. I am just a well-dressed, well-manicured, well-perfumed version of a lazy slob. That's right ... I'm dressing up lazy ... like a wolf in sheep's clothing.
No one can become as fat and out of shape as I have allowed myself to become without being lazy. And trust me ... it takes a lot of work to be this lazy.
When my abusive boyfriend WW wasn't working for me, I was sure that there had to be some medical explanation for why the pounds weren't coming off. A physical and a battery of blood tests proved me to be wrong and threw that theory right out the window. I actually get a full physical every January ... and I am a healthy girl. No high blood pressure or high cholesterol, no thyroid or sugar issues, etc. My two strikes against me? I am a smoker ... and I am overweight. Both of which are completely in my control. And what started out as being a "little" overweight according to the BMI scale in my early 30's has now become full-on "obese" in my late 30's early 40's.
I allowed this to happen to myself and there is no one to blame but myself. Just as I do not believe you can continue to blame your parents for your lousy childhood and continue to whine about it after the age of 30, you can no longer blame your parents, your childhood, your marriage, your social status, etc. for your obesity. Own it brothers and sisters ... because you are the only one who can change it.
The Lazy Girl's Guide to Excuses:
"I have a slow metabolism." Yes, you do. And you will continue to have a slow metabolism until you get off your fat ass and do some exercise and fill your body with the fuel it needs to burn calories. You need to do cardio ... you need to do strength training. You need to shed the fat and put on some muscle. The more muscle you put on ... the more calories you will burn when you are sitting still. You will have a faster metabolism. A faster metabolism and a more efficient calorie-burning body cannot be purchased on EBay or Amazon.com. You have to actually get up and do the work yourself.
While age can play a factor in slowing down your metabolism (it's a medically-proven fact that losing weight for women over the age of 40 is harder than it is when you are 20), it is not impossible to lose weight after the age of 40. It may take longer but it is an achievable goal. I have witnessed it happen in my friends lives.
"I don't have enough time." Bullshit. That's right ... I said bullshit. Because this is the number one excuse I have used myself and the number one excuse I have heard from every one of my friends over the past 20 years or so. Do me a favor. Pick up an appointment calendar ... the kind that a doctor may have ... that has every day broken down into hours. For one week carry that calendar around with you and write down what you did every hour. Do it. And then come back and let me know if you don't have enough time to fit in 30 minutes of moderate exercise five days a week and an hour of strength training two to three times per week.
I have actually done this time experiment ... and I am ashamed and embarrassed by my ridiculously lazy behavior. I spend a lot of time at my childrens' sporting events but not near as much time as I originally thought. I spend more time watching TV than I do anything else. And I mean, anything else. I spend more time in front of the TV than eating, sleeping, working, etc. I really do. I am LAZY ... and if you try tracking how you spend your time hour by hour I think you will find that you are lazier than you think you are too ...
"It's in my genes." I kind of already covered this one. Wasn't the world a much better place when scientists and doctors concluded that there was a "fat" gene? Didn't everyone who was overweight breathe a sigh of relief and think, "Wow, mystery solved. I'm predisposed to be fat so there's nothing I can do about it. Now, let's eat!!" Ridiculous. Just because I'm predisposed to developing heart disease and diabetes doesn't mean that I cannot try to counteract the disease by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. And just because there is a "fat" gene and you are overweight doesn't mean that the "gene" is to blame. Maybe its the donuts, cupcakes, deep-fried onion rings, french fries, chicken wings and pizza that are in your diet more days a week than you would like to admit. Maybe you will never be a size SB ... that could definitely be linked to your genetic make up ... but it doesn't mean that you have to be a size "WWW" either.
"No one in my family will eat the healthy food I make." Who cares? Let them get fat. Then maybe they will look back on your attempts to get healthy and jump on the bandwagon. Make two meals if you have to ... better yet, make them make their own meal if they don't like what you're cooking (if they are old enough, of course). Do what you have to do ... and let them figure it out for themselves. If they are hungry enough ... they will eat it. This is actually one of my favorite stand-by excuses. One time I made a WW macaroni and cheese dish for my family and they wouldn't touch it. They whined until I made the calorie-filled, gooey, cheesy homemade mac and cheese they were used to. So I quit making the healthy one because it was just too much trouble to make both. I need to stop catering to them ASAP ... because truth be told, the WW version of homemade mac and cheese was pretty delicious. Since I have a 39-year old husband, a 17-year old son and a soon to be 16-year old daughter who are healthy and able to cook for themselves ... I think I'm going to start cooking what I want and they can eat it if they want to or they can cook for themselves.
"I'm not an athlete." Who says? Maybe deep down inside you really are an athlete. How will you know unless you try? If you watch the "Biggest Loser" you see that season after season people who can barely walk a mile their first day on the ranch can run a marathon on the last day of the competition. A marathon! They can do it and so can you ... maybe not today ... maybe not tomorrow ... but you can do it if you want to. Maybe running isn't your thing. I know it's not mine. I like to dance. And quite honestly doing Just Dance 2 for the Wii just about kills me ... and I'm talking only one dance here. On a beginner level. But the more I do, the less difficult it becomes. Same with Zumba ... Same with riding my exercise bike ... Maybe I never will be an athlete ... maybe I won't ever be a contestant on So You Think You Can Dance ... maybe I won't ever win the Tour de France ... or maybe I will. You don't know if you don't try.
"I'm going on vacation." This is one of my favorites ... because I go on a lot of vacations. I do. I love to travel and I go every time I get the opportunity. Last year I went to Atlantic City, Florida (3 different times), Hawaii, Mississippi, and Las Vegas. I am always going somewhere with someone ... my family, friends, etc. Now one would think that going on vacation would inspire me to lose weight ... not the case. I always say I'm too busy and I will start when I get back. And then I don't. Or I do and then go on another vacation and blow it once again. Now "going on vacation" is just a jumping off point ... maybe your go-to excuse is something like ... "when the weather gets nicer," or "as soon as my life settles down a bit," or "after I get through this rough patch," or whatever the case may be ...
I can go on and on and on and on with the excuses that I have made over the past several years as to why I am fat. But here are some of the facts: (1) I am too lazy to get out of bed in the morning and put in 30 minutes of exercise; (2) because I am too lazy to get up early, I am oftentimes rushing around getting ready for work which means that I don't have time for a healthy breakfast and usually grab a coffee and donut on the run; (3) I am too lazy to grocery shop regularly which means that I am usually scrambling for something quick and easy to eat for lunch (i.e., fast food); (4) because I am too lazy to grocery shop regularly, my family is usually scrambling for something to eat for dinner (i.e., fast food); (5) when I do grocery shop, I tend to shop for things that are quick and easy to make which usually includes a ton of processed foods and not meals that are prepared with fresh, healthy ingredients; (6) I am too lazy when I get home from a 7 1/2 hour workday where I spend my time sitting on my behind in front of a computer to exercise; and (7) I am so lazy that the only thing I want to do when I get home is sit on the couch and watch TV.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I am lazy. If I continue to be lazy I will not magically wake up one morning and be a size "SB." Nope. I will continue to grow and grow and grow into an even bigger size "W."
Laziness is an epidemic and I am the band leader of the laziness parade. Sure I can dress it up and make it look as pretty as possible ... but underneath it all lays a lazy slob that needs to move her fat ass and quit being so darn lazy. Laziness takes a lot of time and effort ... more effort actually than not being lazy. If I had spent as much time exercising and eating right than making excuses as to why I couldn't ... I wouldn't be sitting here typing this blog with such a fat butt.
So here's to all the lazy girls ... let's get up and get moving. I will admit that since starting this blog I have epically failed in my attempt to keep healthy and keep fit. I have used a number of excuses on my journey and I have allowed them to hold me back from accomplishing my goals. I have lost a total of 8 pounds ... which is a good start. It's 8 pounds I didn't have when I started. But my lazy ways truly have to change in order for me to live my life to the fullest.
What lazy behavior is holding you back from accomplishing your goals? What lazy behavior are you willing to come clean about and admit to? If you're not willing to admit it and own it ... how can you ever expect to change it?
© 2010-2011 Melanie L. Miller All Rights Reserved
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