Most of us want to lose a few pounds, look good at the beach, or be healthier in general, but it’s so easy to make excuses and not take the actions necessary to achieve our desired results.

Today, I’m going to expose 7 excuses you might be making (consciously and unconsciously) and tell you exactly how to rid them from your mindset.

These 7 excuses were the exact same ones I used to push off clean eating, consistently exercising, and taking care of myself.

It wasn’t until I became aware of an acknowledged these excuses and then learned how to overcome them that I lost 45 pounds, eliminated my chronic allergies, and found a surge of confidence and vitality in my life.

No matter what your health goal is, chances are you are going to face some inner resistance. If you want to learn how to push past those obstacles and finally achieve your goals, keep reading.

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Excuse #1: “I don’t know how or where to start”

There is so much conflicting information out there about what diet to choose, what fitness regimen to follow, what macro and micro-nutrients you should be tracking, that you may find yourself in a state of information-overload. You get so overwhelmed with the information that you buckle down and don’t do anything with it.

I had this excuse when it came to working out at the RPAC (Ohio State’s largest gym) for the first time last year. I was reading up on all these difference exercises I could do and what muscle group sequence I should follow and whether I should use weights or just my body-weight. I probably spent close to a month absorbed in the information, not taking any action.

Here’s how you can overcome this excuse:

1. Whatever your goal is, search in Google, “The best way to ______ (your goal)”
2. Pick two of the top articles that show up, read them, and pick your favorite or the one that resonates the most with you.
3. Don’t start reading more articles to learn more or about other options. Take action now.
4. Spend the next month following the workout program/diet that article recommended.
5. At the end of that month, assess whether or not this is something you want to continue and if you can sustain it for the long-term. If it’s not, try the program/diet/recommendation from the other article that you read.
6. Rinse and repeat until you find exactly what works for you and that you will be able to sustain in the long-term.

Although these steps may seem obvious, so many of us find ourselves stuck in this excuse, not taking any action. They key to this method is to limit your choices and force yourself to take immediate massive action with the limited knowledge that you have. Over the one month period, your knowledge base will grow and you’ll find out about new and/or better methods to attack your goal. Treat this like a 30 day challenge and never, ever quit.

Excuse #2: “Eating healthy is gross”

This is the most common misconception about eating healthy that drives so many people away from taking the steps to achieve their health goals. Eating healthy never has to be gross, and if it is, you’re doing it all wrong.

There is basically a healthy alternative to every single meal, chip, chocolate bar, ice cream, and soda out there. You just have to know where to look and actually take the time to look.

So many of us have one bad experience and then just assume that all healthy food tastes like cardboard. That couldn’t be further from reality.

Here’s how you can overcome the belief that eating healthy is gross:

1. Google search, “Healthy alternative to ___________ (insert favorite snack, meal, or drink)
2. Go to a local health foods store or your local grocery store and buy a few of those alternatives from different brands. Try each one and let your palette guide you towards the best tasting option.
3. Waa-la, now just choose to buy that healthier alternative (that you can actually enjoy!) every time you go to the store.
4. Another simple option is to just search on google, “healthy snacks that don’t taste bad” and see what you get. I have my own list of delicious, healthy snacks that you can feel free to use as a reference!

I’ve been eating clean for the past three years and not once do I ever complain about my food tasting like cardboard. Actually, I take that back.

I definitely have come across foods that taste like cardboard – but then I know to avoid them in the future. We just want the good stuff here.

Take some time today to find a healthier alternative to your favorite snack food, buy it, and start with that little baby step towards changing the mindset that eating healthy does not have to be gross.

Excuse #3: “I don’t feel like it”

Let me be honest with you….Nobody ever feels like it. Even the best of the best never “feel like” doing the work they need to do. Get over it. If you really want to make a lasting change to your health and lifestyle, you need to overcome your “I don’t feel like it” mindset.

Here’s how to start “feeling like it”

1. Figure out your why and write it down on paper. Why do you want to be healthy? Why do you want to lose ___ number of pounds? Really go deep and find your “why” that is full of power and emotion. I’ve previously written about a good exercise to do this in less than 10 minutes!
2. Figure out the old story that you are telling yourself. Are you telling yourself you’re not capable of eating healthy? Are you telling yourself that there’s no way you see yourself in the gym 3x a week. Are you spewing negative thoughts about your body, your looks, your mind every day? We all have a story that our brain tells us to remind us of who we are and what we are capable of – you need to break free from that story and create your own:
   1. Find a picture of yourself where you look like you are absolutely thriving and living your best possible life.
   2. Copy and paste it in the notes on your phone or print it out and then write down all of the characteristics, thoughts, actions, habits, relationships, beliefs, values, feelings, that this best version of you has.
   3. Next, write a description of an average day for this best version of you’s life. Thing huge. How much money are you making? What do you look like? How much do you weigh? How do you feel, lighter? How are you living your dream every single day?
   4. For the next month, read this new story to yourself every single day – you may find it silly at first to be saying all these things that aren’t true about yourself or your life but your subconscious mind will slowly be aligning itself with this new story. You might find that you are an entire different person at the end of the 30 days.
3. Use the 5-second rule. You have five seconds before your brain can talk you out of doing an uncomfortable task. Whenever you have to make a decision, count down in your head from 5 and when you hit zero you make your decision. You take action. Whatever it is you decide, follow through with it.
4. Give yourself permission to take imperfect action or do imperfect work. Many of us fail to get started on anything because we want everything we create to be perfect. The thing is, that’s almost always impossible. Especially if it’s your first for something, like trying to lose weight. You just need to take small baby steps even if you don’t have all the information you need to succeed. You will find it along the way. Take action, now.

Excuse #4: “My family doesn’t eat healthy and I don’t want to make a big deal out of it”

When attempting any kind of new diet or lifestyle, the newbie often tends to become socially timid when it comes to getting their needs met. Many of them get easily embarrassed, feel like they need to apologize for the inconvenience, or just give up on trying to get the food they need.

It’s especially hard when you have to explain it all to your family and sometimes be living in an environment not conducive to the healthy lifestyle you want to live.

Here’s how to overcome this excuse:

1. Realize that being healthy is awesome and that you have made an intelligent choice – don’t get embarrassed because you do things different.
2. Don’t assume your family won’t support you or even join you on your health journey. Talk to them. Share with them the program you want to follow and share with them your why. Tell them how much it means to you.
   1. I used to be 45 pounds overweight with a totally inflamed body, but after seeing and hearing my mother constantly talk about healing herself through food, changing her diet, starting to live more naturally, I started to get on board with it all.
3. Offer to be the cook for your family and make them all of your healthier meals. It’s work, but it might just be what’s needed to keep you on track with your new lifestyle.
4. If you family is totally not on board and not willing to make a change in their own lives, accept that you’ll just have to be more prepared and start making you own meals just for yourself. Learn to meal prep and have your meals all planned out for the whole week!

Don’t let your environment or family hold you back from achieving your health goals. You are not a social outcast, don’t fall into this kind of thinking. You have made serious progress in improving your overall health, well-being, and longevity.

Embrace how light, energized, and amazing you are starting to feel and keep learning, growing, and improving.

Excuse #5: ” I don’t have the time”

This is my personal favorite and the most used excuse when it comes to anything, ever. It’s true that we all live very busy lives and to try to add a new routine seems like an impossibly daunting task – but you’ve got to think priorities here.

Enjoy this quote from the Dalai Lama when asked what surprised him about humanity the most:

“Man. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.”

Dalai Lama

Here’s how to overcome this excuse:

1. Think priorities. Is there anything truly more important than your health? The way I see it – you can’t even enjoy anything in life if your health is holding you back.
2. Make a list of everything you do in one day. Seriously evaluate what activities are adding value to your life and what activities are taking away from your life. T.V., Netflix, video games, watching the news – those are all time wasters. Replace those blocks of time with exercise time or meal prep time.
3. Remind yourself of your why, get angry about it, cry about it, make it so powerful that you have to take action now.

If you truly want something, you will make time for it. It’s as simple as that.

Excuse #6: “Working out is hard, disgusting, and no fun”

So what? So is anything worthwhile in life. You want to start a business ,you’ve got to put in nearly 100% of your time for years before seeing any return. You want to start a blog, you’ve got to put in the hours upon hours or learning and failing until your see any success. You want to get in the best shape of your life, you’ve got to do things that make you uncomfortable and that are hard.

Here’s how to overcome this excuse:

1. Realize that saying, “working out is hard” is not an excuse. It’s a fact. Working out will always be hard and going to the gym is usually not that fun. But you do it anyway because that is what it takes to win. And you want to win.
2. Find an accountability partner to workout with you. This helps tremendously with staying on track with a new workout regimen. With a partner, you’ll each make sure the other shows up and does the work that needs to be done, and you’ll be frank enough to point out when your partner is doing something they shouldn’t be doing.
3. Find ways to make workouts fun. Start doing calisthenics and body-weight workouts – eventually you can work your way up to handstand-pushups, full planche, muscle-ups, and superman push-ups. That stuff is fun!

You are going to sweat and you are going to have to push yourself, but that’s what it takes to be healthy and get in shape. If you want to be a healthy person, you actually have to do the things that a healthy person does!

Excuse #7: “There will be nothing for me to eat”

Wrong. There are so many healthy options out there that you just need to look.

Here’s how to overcome this excuse:

1. You can eat at nearly any restaurant (excluding fast-food) and find something healthy to eat. Stick with meats, vegetables, and fruits and you should be good. If there’s something you want like a cheeseburger, ask for no bun and no cheese – get a lettuce wrap. Don’t be afraid to ask for modifications. If you don’t make a big deal out of it, neither will the server/restaurant.
2. Load your house up with healthy snack options and start getting rid of any old temptations. It’s easier to choose a healthier option when all you have in your pantry is healthy food!
3. For family/friend gatherings, bring your own food/snacks with you so you’ll have something to eat. You don’t have to be too strict, just make smart choices ad you will be ok.

Trust me, there will always be something for you to eat. I’ve been doing this for three years and I haven’t once had the problem of, “there is nothing to eat!” You learn to be prepared, improvise, and make the best out of the situation you are in.

Did I miss anything?

I used to think that being healthy and in shape was completely out of reach for me. But then I learned to overcome my excuses and build a health framework for which to live which resulted in the loss of 45 pounds, the healing of my chronic allergies, and a new sense of vitality for my life.

You can do the exact same thing.

No more excuses.

Are there excuses you find yourself making that I didn’t list here?

What excuses are you going to stop making today?

Let me know right now in the comments!

If you’re interested in going paleo, I wrote a tutorial that will explain everything and help you get started right now.  In college? I’ve got a super detailed guide on how to maintain your diet and find the resources you need to stay healthy !  Have any questions about anything? I’m happy to help!