Kang - The No More Excuses Diet: 3 Days to Bust Any Excuse, 3 Weeks to Easy New Eating Habits, 3 Months to Total Transformation

The material in this book is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for the advice and care of your physician. As with all new diet and fitness regimens, the nutrition and fitness program described in this book should be followed only after first consulting with your physician to make sure it is appropriate for your individual circumstances. The author and publisher expressly disclaim responsibility for any adverse effects that may result from the use or application of the information contained in this book.

Copyright 2015 by Maria Kang

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Harmony Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York.
www.crownpublishing.com

Harmony Books is a registered trademark, and the Circle colophon is a trademark of Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN 978-0-553-41967-2
eBook ISBN 978-0-553-41968-9

Book design by Rae Ann Spitzenberger
Interior photographs by Mike Byerly
Cover design by Jess Morphew
Cover photograph by James Patrick

v3.1

3 Days to Bust Any Excuse,
3 Weeks to Easy New Eating Habits,
3 Months to Total Transformation

MARIA KANG

TO MY MOTHER, CAROLINE KANG,
FOR BEING MY BEST FRIEND
AND INSPIRATION

Whats YOUR EXCUSE for not having the body that you want? Are you unmotivated, tired, or frustrated? Do you lack time, energy, finances, or support? Whats holding you back? Whats preventing you from being healthy, fit, and confident?

There are so many different ways to answer those questions. If youve been on this roller-coaster ride before, then you know what Im talking about. You love food. Youre too tired. You lack energy. You have no willpower. You dont have timeand the list goes on. I know exactly how you feel.

But these are excuses.

Excuses validate our choices. They let us off the hook and give us permission to fail. While psychologically soothing, excuses limit our ability to create opportunities to progress toward personal health. What if I told you that the only thing standing in the way of you and the body you want is a single excuse? Would you confront it? Would you commit to overcoming it? Thats what this book is about. I want you to bust through these excuses and empower yourself. I want you to rewrite your story and feel empowered to be anybody you want to be. Are your excuses valid? Sure, some of them probably are. Can most excuses be overcome? Absolutely.

This book is not about making you feel guilty for how you look, or ashamed of the choices youve made. This book is about getting you to a place where you love your life, love your body, and love your health. And in order to feel that way, you have to bust through the excuses that might stand between you and your best body. Thats what we will do together over the course of this program.

We will review your excuses, combat them, then attack them. I provide a simple set of rules to follow that will have a revolutionary impact on your ability to achieve your goals. I also present simple and flexible ways for you to understand fitness, nutrition, goal setting, and time management. Not only do I give you some simple workouts and easy recipes that make fitness feasible, but I also offer a maintenance plan for your new normalthe person you become when youve taken the path to fitness and good health. After all, it is often harder to stay in shape than it is to get into shape.

As a busy working mom of three young sons, who were born in 2009, 2010, and 2011, it wasnt easy for me to get back into shape. After giving birth to my first son, I gained 35 pounds, my muscles were gone, and my midsection looked like a deflated balloon. Regaining my physical fitness was hard. In fact, it was really hard. There were days when I needed to wake up at the crack of dawn to fit a workout into my schedule. There were days when I was tired or unmotivated, when the last thing I wanted to do was prepare the days lunches and dinners so my family and I would have healthy foods at hand. But even when I had no energy or I felt overwhelmed by my responsibilities, I pushed myself to do it anyway. Sure, there were times when I missed workouts, slept in, or splurged on a piece of chocolate cake. But I never gave up. I never lost sight of my goal: getting into the healthiest shape I could.

Reaching any lofty goal isnt going to be easyand if you think this No More Excuses plan is going to be a cakewalk, then let me tell you right now that it will not be. But setting a goal for your health and achieving it is worth the effort. Whether your aim is to fit into a certain size pants, to eliminate a health risk, or to change your energy level, reaching that goal will make you feel physically, mentally, and spiritually amazing.

The first step in realizing your fullest potential is to make a choice. We make a thousand choices every day that either help or hinder us in becoming successful in reaching any weight-loss goals. After all, we know eating fried and sugary foods is unhealthy, we know physical activity is vital, and we know we can really make fitness fit into our lives if we truly want it there. Busting your excuses boils down to figuring out what you really want. Why is this endeavor important to you?

Its important because this is your own path and your own body. This vehicle isnt going anywhere until you get into the drivers seat. Once you know your why for wanting to attain your best body, figuring out how to do it becomes easy. You need to identify the reasons that will keep you disciplined in this journey, and then make it your choice to prioritize your goal, no matter what obstacles arise.

And obstacles will arise. All of a sudden, its pizza night at home. Its a lunch potluck at work. You feel lack of personal support. You catch a cold or burn the midnight oil working. Your life gets busy, your efforts become half-hearted, and your resultswell, theres not much in the way of results. I have been on this path more times than I can count, but Im here to tell you that you can break away from that path.

I want to help you develop your own No More Excuses plan to take your life to the next level. This book isnt (just) about how to eat right and exercise. It is also about learning how to achieve the goals youve set for yourself, no matter what else is going on in your life. Its about believing in your abilities and giving yourself permission to succeed. Its about getting to know YOU: your strengths, your weaknesses, your excuses, and, most of all, your motivation.