Excuses are like...well...you know.....

Excuses are like ...well...you know.



Armpits, yeah...that's what I meant. Excuses are like armpits; everyone has them and generally, unless you pretty them up, they all stink.

I have no excuse for not being further along in my journey. I have reasons for some of the setbacks, but no excuses. I choose not to allow excuses in my journey. Why? Because it would be SO EASY to just say to someone, "I have arthritis, lupus, spinal stenosis, neuroforaminal disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. I've had a heart attack and there is a stent in my artery. I have muscle fiber tears in my hamstring and calf muscle. I have stress fractures in one of my feet. I have fibromyalgia. I hurt ALL OF THE TIME. I am stiff and sore MOST OF THE TIME." It would be so easy. So understandable. "Poor MJ", they would say. "She has so many things wrong with her. No wonder she can't lose weight. No wonder she sits in that chair most of the time."



OH HELL NO, THEY WON'T! No matter how stiff I am in the mornings, I move around and stretch until I loosen up a bit. No matter how much my joints throb and ache, I am NOT going to be an invalid, disabled, impaired from LIVING. Some days I can do yoga, even power yoga. Some days I can walk a mile or two. I proved that in January when I walked 13.1 miles, didn't I? Does it matter that it took me more than 5 hours? Nope, cause I did it!



So I have no excuse for EVER giving in to the limitations I have. Instead, I have to work around and with them...WORK being the key word. If I rest, I rust. No one likes a rusty She Beast...trust me on that.

I have been in a lot of pain the last few weeks with this torn hamstring and calf. I broke my own rule and used it as an excuse, along with my son's wedding, for not exercising and for not tracking my food. I allow myself days off from certain types of exercise for injuries, but I should have, and could have done some seated cardio and some ST...so I have no excuse for not exercising. I allow myself to eat some indulgent foods now and then, but not tracking them has proven detrimental in the past so the busyness of my son's wedding is no excuse. I could have used the Spark iPhone app, scraps of paper, sent myself a text, etc...NO EXCUSE.

I believe in accountability. I believe in being honest with not only yourself, but with your team members. I fudged up for a week or so. No excuse. Time to get back in the saddle and back on the right path. No excuses...I just goofed off and it has cost me a little weight gain and a little loss of flexibility and strength. I'll lose the weight and earn the strength back. I claim it and I own it.

There isn't a single reason other than extreme illness, coma, or death for anyone on here to not find SOMETHING they can do to improve their health. Let's promise to stop making excuses, own the fudge ups, and move on and past them. We are stronger than people think, sometimes even stronger than we think. Let's get moving and prove it.

Never give up. Never give in. As always, I love you all.