I’ve been sleeping so well lately!  This is exciting for me because the past several years I’ve been a bit of an insomniac.  People have told me it’s because I’m getting older (I am) or that it’s because the past few years have been stressful (they have).  These can definitely be contributing factors, but if I’m going to be honest with myself (and I am) – they’re just excuses that have allowed me to ignore the primary cause for my lack of sleep… my weight.

 This is really an interesting thing… this grabbing on to an excuse to justify or ignore your circumstances.  I actually never realized I did this until a friend of mine told me – in all seriousness – that she couldn’t lose weight because everyone in her family was fat.  I was shocked that she just gave up all her power to that one excuse! It made me look at myself and all the ways I liked to fool myself so I didn’t have to take responsibility.

You know what?  When it comes to my weight I tend to find A LOT of excuses.  The pain in my knees is because they hyperextend, my constant back pain is because of an old injury lifting a T.V., my thinning hair is because I never recovered from those years I was a vegetarian… it goes on and on.  These are half-truths – – they play a role, but the 100+ pounds of extra weight contributes significantly to the fact that these are chronic issues.  My excuses have become obstacles to my health… and that’s a pretty humbling realization.

This hasn’t been a fun exercise, but it has been necessary.  The truth can be painful, and ugly, and embarrassing… but it needs to be faced if any lasting changes are going to be made.  So I’m done giving my power away to lame excuses. I’m taking responsibility for my body and doing what I can to make it strong and healthy.

~C