Today, I’m talking about using “busy” as an excuse when it comes to losing weight and embarking on the irresistible you journey. I hear this excuse all the time in my community.
Let me be blunt right quick: Stop using busy as an excuse.
That’s right. I’m not here to coddle you and tell you it’s ok that you’re too busy. My job as a coach is to hold a mirror up to your habits and help you realize what’s actually holding you back.
Yes we are all busy at times. However, being too busy often becomes a cop out when it comes to prioritizing your life.
What is your favorite show right now?
If you answered that question, you’re not too busy. See, we make time for what matters to us. Whatever is of importance to us…we will find a way to sneak in time to do it. Even if that means sacrificing something else be it sleep or another activity. I bet you never forget to watch your favorite show, right?
Busy is not a badge of honor. Somewhere along the way, you though being too busy made you feel important. Wanted. Needed. Loved. So you commit to all the activities, volunteer for all the things and then complain how tired and busy you are all the time. How many times do you jump in to offer help or to do something without someone saying they actually need your help? You gotta stop that shit!
Listen. Busy is a choice.
Being too busy is a bullshit excuse.
We do the things we want to do, period.
Make sure you go and listen to the podcast episode on Victim Mindsets.
Busy is an addiction just like using food is to push down your emotions. As long as you stay busy, you won’t have to deal with YOU. The minute you slow down and sit still, you feel uncomfortable. So then, you turn to food to deal with that uneasiness. All of this boils down to one thing; you don’t like hanging out with you.
I see it all the time with weight loss and binge eating.
Here’s a classic excuse. I’ve probably said this exact statement before or some variation of it. I bet you have too. It goes a little bit like his:
I’ll start my diet after July 4th. I have too many BBQs and pool parties to go to. Well, my birthday is in a few weeks, so I’ll start after that. Then it’s back to school and we’ll be busy shopping and I won’t have time to meal prep and cook. So, I’ll start October 1st. Woops, then it’s my husband’s birthday, my daughter’s birthday, our anniversary, and then Halloween. ALL THE HALLOWEEN Candy (that you can buy anytime of the year mind you). Then it’s the holidays and no way in hell am I starting a diet in December. Then all the drinks on new years. Ok, I’ll start January 1st. Then there’s a birthday party..Uh oh, valentine’s day is a month away. CHOCOLATE HEARTS. Oh good, I’ll start in March. Wait, it’s spring break already. How did I let this happen again? It’s hot, it’s bathing suit weather and I’m still fat and miserable. I can’t believe I let this happen. AGAIN.
We’ve all been there. As long as you keep making excuses and saying you’re too busy, that is the pattern you’ll repeat year over year.
Read This: Dear Fat Girl Who Hates Summer
Let’s go back in time for a minute. I’ve been doing Weight Watchers since the days of carrying around that points slider, writing in a paper journal, and carrying the points books around in the little discrete WW pouch. I can remember blaming how I blew it on the weekend because I didn’t have my tracker or my books with me. There were no blogs with hacks, recipes, points values from every single restaurant. It was a convenient excuse. I’m too busy to figure it all out when I’m out and about.
Now? It’s a breeze compared to those analog days. I have the app. I also have other point counting apps for all the restaurants that aren’t listed in the official WW app. I even have a fit bit that’s attached to my WW app to automatically sync my steps and workouts.
But yet? I’ve found myself saying I’m too busy to open an app and track my food. IT TAKES 10 SECONDS!
See, with each level or season in life, we will find a way to make excuses and say we’re too busy.
That shit isn’t going to magically just stop until we get intentional about how we’re choosing to spend our time…and more importantly how we’re choosing to talk about our time.
1.Do a Time Audit
I want you to take an audit of your time.
- How busy are you really?
- Where and how are you spending your time?
- How productive are you?
- How many times a day do you go down a rabbit hole? Checking Facebook, then Instagram, then googling random shit? I bet you repeat that pattern multiple times a day.
There are apps that can help you track your time so that you can start to see the patterns. Google Pomodoro in the app store or in Google Chrome extensions.
2. Reframe Your Words
Next time you start to spew out, “I’m too busy for that”, I want you to re-frame your words. Instead of saying, “I’m too busy to lose weight right now.” I want you to say, :Losing weight isn’t a priority right now.” How does it make you feel to say it that way? If it feels icky and doesn’t sit well with you, that’s because you know you’re creating excuses with the busy mess.
3. If Not Now, When?
I’ve had students enroll into Irresistible You when they were at their limit for handling stress. I have a student who started the program when she was depressed, in the middle of a divorce, dealing with a family member with cancer, and much more. Most people would put themselves off and say this isn’t a good time. That’s the problem right there.
If you’re busy all the time, then YOU are exactly the one who needs to get support and accountability ASAP.
Saying that this isn’t the “right” time is the excuse you’ve been using for years. When will it be the right time? Nothing is ever going to feel perfect. We just have to begin. Picture yourself six months from now. How are you going to feel if nothing changes? But what if you take this chance on yourself…what would your life look like in 6 months from now?
Now What? Sign Up For My Free Training for Next Steps
Listen. The time is going to pass anyways. How are you going to use it? What I don’t want for you is to wake up one morning 6 months from now, a year from now, or five years from now and wonder where the time went. I don’t want you having regrets about your life. Nothing is going to change the way you feel about yourself, your weight, and your body until you make a conscious decision to do something about it. That doesn’t mean you need all the answers. It just means that you get to make a choice. If after listening this podcast, you realize that you’re guilty of using busy as an excuse then you have that awareness. With that awareness comes a choice to keep doing what you’re doing, spinning on the yo-yo diet/body hate shame cycle hamster wheel OR making a decision to try doing this a new way. A way that actually works.
If you’re ready for that new way, I want you to sign up for my free training. You’ll have the option to attend live or watch the on-demand version at your own pace.
Remember, you will always make time for what matters to you.
Listen To The Podcast Episode!
Head on over and listen to the Irresistible You podcast for this episode and more just like it. You can subscribe with iTunes, Stitcher, Google Music, or your fav podcast player. Search for Irresistible You. When you subscribe with a podcast app, you’ll get notified each time I publish a new episode.
You can also stream the episode and listen right here:
Join the #IrresistibleYou Movement
Use the hashtag #IrresistibleYou on Instagram and across social media to show how you are creating and living an irresistible life. Use the hashtag to search for others who are going through the same journey with us! Plus, I’ll be re-posting and sharing some of my fav photos and stories.
Let’s Stay Connected!
The best place to connect and chat with me is on Instagram and my Irresistible You Facebook Group. You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest
Hi! I’m Aimee with 2 E’s. I'm a confidence coach that empowers women to love themselves by breaking down body image issues, so that they can lose the emotional weight and gain the confidence to look and feel irresistible...at any size.