Whenever we don’t want to do something, we tend to find creative excuses to wriggle our way out of it. And when it comes to avoiding exercise, some of us are pretty fantastic at convincing ourselves to not hit the gym.

Here are 7 insane excuses people make for not exercising:

1. I Chew Food … that’s an Exercise- Do you know how many calories I burn chewing food constantly? Quite a lot. Don’t underestimate chewing; it’s going to be the next big thing after yoga!
2. I Spin on my Office Chair and that’s my Work out- I hold the record of spinning my chair for the longest time in the office. We even hold an intra-office competition for this. Sometimes, I even race with my colleagues from one end of the corridor to the other on my chair. That needs stamina and burns fat!
3. I Walk to the Coffee Machine Three Times a Day- You know what keeps me going the whole day? 3 cups of coffee. And the best part is that the vending machine is at the extreme end from my cubicle. Having said that, drinking coffee has numerous health benefits, keeping diseases at bay is one of them.
4. I am Pear-shaped… that’s all I Need- Do you know how much effort it takes to maintain my pear-shaped body? It’s a God’s gift, why change it?
5. I am Perfect … Change your Glasses- Whoever thinks I am obese, needs to get his/her eyes checked. 
6. I Hate to Lose, won’t Lose Weight- I am born to be a winner. Everything I do is for the sole purpose of winning. That is the ideology of my life. I won’t do anything that includes losing. So losing weight is off my radar!
7. I Want to be the FAT Super Hero- Have you seen Kung Fu Panda the movie? Po is my idol. Imagine a man, shaped like a panda and agile like Po! I am going to lead a new league of Superheroes- the FAT Super Heroes!

Enough is Enough!

Everyone deserves to be healthy and fit. If you make excuses, deep-down you know that not exercising is not right. It’s never too late to gift yourself the gift of fitness. Lack of exercise and abundance of junk food consumption is an open invitation to developing/ contracting various illnesses.

Try baby steps, no one is expecting you to be an athlete in a matter of a few days. In your fitness journey, grow at your own pace. No matter how slow, but make some progress.

Practice Moderation

Whatever you do, make sure you practice moderation. And don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s okay if you fail to accomplish your goal(s), it’s okay if this one time you couldn’t resist having a slice of that chocolate cake, it’s okay that you missed your workout sessions few times a month. As long as you keep on trying, it’s okay.

Over to You

When it comes to exercising, no matter what excuse you come up, don’t make the same mistake when buying health insurance. We all need a health insurance policy to protect us from the medical expenses of known and unknown diseases and illnesses.  If you don’t get rid of the unhealthy habits, you will have to pay a higher insurance premium and miss out on comprehensive insurance coverage.

As mentioned earlier, not exercising is an open invitation to so many illnesses. Some health insurance plans in India don’t cover pre-existing illnesses. It means you will not be covered for those specific illnesses (if any) and you will have to pay for the medical treatment from your own pocket.