The Biggest Loser Season 12: NO EXCUSES!

I usually only post recipes or ideas for activities with kids, but this time I want to post about how the new season of the NBC show "The Biggest Loser" has resonated with me. I am a newbie as far as this television show goes. I only started watching during season 11, but it has quickly become my favorite television show and I was excited when season 12 started this week.

The theme of the new season is NO EXCUSES. I love this! A little over a year ago, when I was still in denial about being overweight, I was the queen of excuses! Some of the excuses that were mentioned in the first episode this week were mine too: time, money, and physical ailments. I thought I'd share my thoughts on these three excuses, because I am pretty sure that they are the big three for everyone!

1) Time- I am a full-time teacher, a mother of two young children, a wife, and I have a house to maintain. Making time an excuse was pretty easy, because really who could argue with that? Yet even with this crazy lifestyle, I was honestly spending hours a day after the kids went to bed watching television and playing on the ultimate time waster, facebook (has any one else gotten on there to check a message and an hour later you realize that you never checked that original message?). I simply cut this time in half and magically I had an extra hour or more in my day. An hour that I wasn't losing with my children (my number one priority), but an hour after they went to bed. I now spend this hour at Planet Fitness, a Zumba class, or in my living room working it. I now think of the years I have hopefully added to my life and it seems like time well spent to me. Do you literally not have an extra 20 minutes a day you could squeeze in if you cut something else? (Even reading this blog!)

2) Money- Buying healthy food does indeed cost money. I am finding this to be the case especially during this winter season as fresh produce is hard to come by and expensive. However, I think eating in an unhealthy manner ultimately costs more! While my grocery bill is higher, my fast food bill is significantly lower. We used to grab fast food several times a week at $20 to $25 a visit for our family. Eating at home costs less! Another cost is exercise. However, Planet Fitness is literally $10 a month. Some people spend more than this on coffee in a day! It's also possible to find Zumba classes that are $5 a piece! Come on now!

3) Physical Ailments- This is the trickiest one I think. I had the beginnings of arthritis in my knees. There were some days that I would hobble around to walk and concerts that I had to sit down during because they hurt me so badly. Even with this limitation, I was still able to do it. I met with an orthopedist that suggested I use an elliptical as it does not put as much impact on my knees as walking or a treadmill would. I'm not going to lie, it was painful at the beginning of this journey and I had to take a lot of naproxen to push through it. Flash forward 81 pounds later and I am nearly pain free! It was a tough road to travel, but worth it. I think God sent me a wink last January at the gym. I wanted to give up that particular workout because my knees hurt (wah!). In comes a man in a wheel chair with no legs! He went from strength machine to strength machine working his butt off! The point is to focus on what you can do and not on what you can't do.

While I still want to make excuses (I am human), I love how this new season of "The Biggest Loser" has made me aware of this problem. I think excuses hold us back from every challenge we have in our lives (not just weight loss). Get rid of the excuses and get your life back!