Ideas on exercise?
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bmeadows380
Posts: 2,981 Member
I have no willpower - its a fact of my life that manages to circumvent pretty much anything I need to do in my life. And right now, I'm hitting the point where I need to start exercising to continue losing weight, or I"m going to stall out.
But I HATE exercising. I hate treadmills, exercise bikes, stretching - the whole gym experience. The few times that I've managed to make myself walk at work during lunch was not fun at all - I argued with myself for an hour before I managed to get out the door, and it was all I could do to keep myself going for 30 minutes - and even after making an effort for a month to walk at lunch most days of the week, the effort never got any easier; if anything, it just got harder and harder to make myself continue doing that until I reached the point where I just couldn't make myself go any more.
And exercising doesn't leave me feeling good afterwards. I never get done being glad I did it, and I never get done feeling energized or like I've accomplished something. All I feel is tired, hot, sore, and so very glad I can finally stop - and that's even after no more than a 30 minute walk at 2.75 mph
It's not that I'm so out of shape that I can barely walk that speed - I was able to hike for 4 hours back in August up one side of a hill and down another and didn't have any troubles at all and enjoyed myself, and it's not that I feel so tired after a 2.75 mph walk that I'm huffing and puffing or anything - my breathing may be up a bit, but it's not like I couldn't carry a conversation while walking at that rate. It's just that I hate it so much that I have to force myself to keep going and feel no pleasure at all in the effort.
It's now cold, and since I leave in the dark and don't get home until after dark, outside exercise is, well, out. Hiking isn't something that i could realistically do on a daily or even weekly basis anyway - it's not exactly prudent to hike alone, and I only have 1 day a week actually free, and I'm usually just too mentally exhausted on Saturday to want to go anywhere - and besides, I need to clean house and do laundry on that day.
The local Y doesn't have a pool (not that my severe self image problems would ever allow me to actually wear a bathing suit in public anyway) - and really, the only thing around is a couple of gyms that do cross fit and such - though I've tried the gym before and already know what the outcome of that battle will be (me a couple hundred bucks down the drain)
I'm a severe introvert with no close friends to exercise with - and my sister doesn't want to do much of anything.
I much prefer being able to see that I've accomplished something for my effort - meaning I would much rather work hard raking leaves, cleaning house, and (my current project) remodeling the house, painting, etc than working out. When I do chores and work around the house, I end the day tired, but can look behind me and see where I'm accomplished something. The problem with this is that I doubt its burning nearly as much or doing me nearly as much good as I think it is - after all, it's not like I'm getting my heart rate up or sustaining it for any period of time.
So any ideas? Or is my only real answer to buckle down and force myself to do something.
But I HATE exercising. I hate treadmills, exercise bikes, stretching - the whole gym experience. The few times that I've managed to make myself walk at work during lunch was not fun at all - I argued with myself for an hour before I managed to get out the door, and it was all I could do to keep myself going for 30 minutes - and even after making an effort for a month to walk at lunch most days of the week, the effort never got any easier; if anything, it just got harder and harder to make myself continue doing that until I reached the point where I just couldn't make myself go any more.
And exercising doesn't leave me feeling good afterwards. I never get done being glad I did it, and I never get done feeling energized or like I've accomplished something. All I feel is tired, hot, sore, and so very glad I can finally stop - and that's even after no more than a 30 minute walk at 2.75 mph
It's not that I'm so out of shape that I can barely walk that speed - I was able to hike for 4 hours back in August up one side of a hill and down another and didn't have any troubles at all and enjoyed myself, and it's not that I feel so tired after a 2.75 mph walk that I'm huffing and puffing or anything - my breathing may be up a bit, but it's not like I couldn't carry a conversation while walking at that rate. It's just that I hate it so much that I have to force myself to keep going and feel no pleasure at all in the effort.
It's now cold, and since I leave in the dark and don't get home until after dark, outside exercise is, well, out. Hiking isn't something that i could realistically do on a daily or even weekly basis anyway - it's not exactly prudent to hike alone, and I only have 1 day a week actually free, and I'm usually just too mentally exhausted on Saturday to want to go anywhere - and besides, I need to clean house and do laundry on that day.
The local Y doesn't have a pool (not that my severe self image problems would ever allow me to actually wear a bathing suit in public anyway) - and really, the only thing around is a couple of gyms that do cross fit and such - though I've tried the gym before and already know what the outcome of that battle will be (me a couple hundred bucks down the drain)
I'm a severe introvert with no close friends to exercise with - and my sister doesn't want to do much of anything.
I much prefer being able to see that I've accomplished something for my effort - meaning I would much rather work hard raking leaves, cleaning house, and (my current project) remodeling the house, painting, etc than working out. When I do chores and work around the house, I end the day tired, but can look behind me and see where I'm accomplished something. The problem with this is that I doubt its burning nearly as much or doing me nearly as much good as I think it is - after all, it's not like I'm getting my heart rate up or sustaining it for any period of time.
So any ideas? Or is my only real answer to buckle down and force myself to do something.
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I don't believe that you should do anything that you hate, if you can't enjoy it you won't do it.
That being said exercise is so important, so keep looking until you find something you do like, crank up the music and dance in your house like a pop star, getting a walking video and march in your living room, instead of going for walks at work once an hour go for a 5 minute stroll (my doctor recommended this as being better then a 30 minute walk), when your shopping walk up extra aisles, if you work in an office google things you can do at your desk, like lifting small weights.
I hate exercise as well I love laying on my couch after work and crocheting, although not realistic for most people, one of the reasons I got a dog is because I would love my dog more then I would hate exercise and now I have to go for walks for him, he is also a great protector when I am home alone and he lays on me and licks my pants when I'm having an anxiety attack, the licking is weird yes but calming lol!
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thank you!
I do tend to criss-cross a store a lot when I go shopping; I'll look down my list and realize that something I needed was 5 aisle back lol I've just never thought that grocery shopping really burned all that much because its all starting and stopping; I was under the impression that it doesn't really count as exercise if it doesn't get your heartrate up - is that true?
I don't crochet, but I used to cross-stitch until carpel tunnel set up and my fingers kept going numb. My job is a desk job, but it kills me mentally, so by the time I get home of an evening, I just want to veg out; some days, its all I can do to fix dinner, and then I just spend a couple of mind-numbing hours in front of the PC before crawling into bed, dreading the next day.
I've thought about the dog option for the same reasons-something to make me exercise and also for the security as I live alone, but realized that I'm just not a dog person - I don't have the temperament for them so I know it would be a bad idea (my brother has 2 big labs, and after spending a couple hours at his house, I come away very happy I don't have a dog!)0 -
I guess the shopping thing is a matter of opinion, but I think anything that has you on your feet and moving around is better than time doing no moving around.
I had one shopping trip with my friends at the end of summer that had us walking almost 10 km (6.2 miles) and anytime I go to Walmart I walk usually 2 km (1.2 miles). Mostly the problem is we don't shop 6 days a week so we need to fill in the gaps with other activity lol! Chair yoga at the desk??
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