NO TIME FOR MOTION, PLEASE HELP!

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ambeecakes
ambeecakes Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
HI, Im Amber and my job sucks! I work form home, and take emails for a cable company.. basically im glued to my desk from 7am-11 pm no joke, im aware that my job sucks, but i don't have the luxury of finding a new one. working from home gives me the benefit of eating right, i have balanced meals, fresh fruit and veggies, i do low carb bread when i do bread at all. and i drink plenty of water, but my weight keeps going up! i work 6 days a week, and my only day off i just want rest, please tell me what i can do to help get my weight under control, my goal weight is 130, i am hoping to be 50 pounds lighter by christmas of this year, but i keep getting farther away from it. what can i do to lose weight without the time for exercise? i know that exercise will be required to get to my goal weight but at this time id would settle for any weight loss, what can i do?
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Replies

  • ErinMcMom
    ErinMcMom Posts: 228 Member
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    You can always squeeze more motion into your day without time for a full workout. I have a fitbit and use these tricks to increase my daily step count on days that I can't get a solid block of time to workout. Basically what I find is that it helps to intentionally make your life less convenient. By that I mean, move things apart that should be together (even into separate rooms) so that you have to move more to get tasks done.

    -take a lap around the house every time you need to use the bathroom or get some water
    -use the bathroom on another floor of your home to force yourself to take the stairs
    -jog on the spot while you perform tasks (e.g., doing the dishes, while you are waiting for water to boil, while documents are printing)
    -switch your chair for an exercise ball and bounce all day long
    -use half of your lunch break to take a brisk walk, the other half for eating
    -when you put away laundry, walk each item to wear it belongs 1 piece at a time (I do this with dishes from the dishwasher too)
    -make time for exercise on your day off (you'll feel better and more energetic if you do!)

    Hope these help. Even squeezing in little amounts of activity will help you get moving in the right direction.
  • DaddieCat
    DaddieCat Posts: 3,643 Member
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    Edit for words. can't type or speak apparently... I give up.
  • ambeecakes
    ambeecakes Posts: 8
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    thank you, ill try these and see if there is any progress!
  • mcspiffy88
    mcspiffy88 Posts: 90 Member
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    Unless you are a robot at work 24/7 you DO have 20 spare minutes to put on some sneakers and jog around the block + have a shower which you were going to take anyways..

    Everything else is just an excuse.
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    Why can't you exercise during lunch hour or break? And if you sit 6 days a week, I would think your be dying to get out and be active on your day off.
  • ambeecakes
    ambeecakes Posts: 8
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    wow you know i just found 20 free minutes.. if i had 20 free minutes then trust me i have 1000 active things id love to do. my problem is that I DO NOT HAVE FREE TIME, if you are going to be an *kitten* and tell me about my life and say that i have all kinds of free time then do yourself a favor and dont comment, i am looking for helpful tips. for the record i work 15-16 hour shifts a day 6 days a week, no lunch, no break. i work from home so we are not required to take them. this schedule is not permanent, only until june. i am looking for a jump start for my weight loss until i can get out and be active again.
  • perseverance14
    perseverance14 Posts: 1,364 Member
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    Do exercises at your desk

    http://www.forbes.com/pictures/efkk45efdje/tricep-desk-dips-2/
  • ambeecakes
    ambeecakes Posts: 8
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    wilsojo74- i try to get out as much as i can on my day off, but the problem with working 6 day a week is that you have to cram everything else that needs done into 1 day, when i have extra time i go out and walk my dog, go to the beach ( i live in florida) and try to be active, but 1 day of activity is not enough to balance out 6 days of non activity
  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
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    If your weight keeps going up, you are eating too much, period. It doesn't matter how healthy the food is, if you are going over your calorie needs, you will gain weight. And carbs do not facilitate weight gain, you don't need to eat "low carb" bread, or cut back on breads at all. You don't have to exercise to lose weight (though it is always recommended).

    Make sure you are weighing all your food, and logging accurately.
  • ambeecakes
    ambeecakes Posts: 8
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    perserverance1- thank you, ill try these today! :)
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    wow you know i just found 20 free minutes.. if i had 20 free minutes then trust me i have 1000 active things id love to do. my problem is that I DO NOT HAVE FREE TIME,

    You found time to post on an internet forum so you clearly have some free time. If you are so buried by work that you have no time for your health then your work itself has become your excuse.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    Walk in place while at the computer. Get a treadmill desk, if the cost is something you can manage.

    But ultimately if your weight is increasing then its an issue with eating more than you burn. Burning more would help - but only if you monitor what you consume.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
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    If you work from home, stand up while you work. Do calf raises. March in place. Do 10 jumping jacks once an hour. Do 10 wall push-ups. Unless you're an air-traffic controller, you can take small breaks to do a set of something, a few times an hour.
  • allbarrett
    allbarrett Posts: 159 Member
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    If you don't have time to move more, then you have to eat less.

    It really is that simple.
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    If your weight keeps going up, you are eating too much, period. It doesn't matter how healthy the food is, if you are going over your calorie needs, you will gain weight. And carbs do not facilitate weight gain, you don't need to eat "low carb" bread, or cut back on breads at all. You don't have to exercise to lose weight (though it is always recommended).

    Make sure you are weighing all your food, and logging accurately.

    This. You don't need to exercise to lose weight. As long as you're eating at a calorie deficit, you will lose. If you've been logging your food and staying within limits than something is inaccurate there. Try weighing foods to make sure you're logging things accurately, check labels against the MFP listings (not all are accurate), etc.

    You may not be able to spare 20 minutes but how about a couple at a time. You must be able to get up to go to the bathroom, make a snack, etc, right? So take an extra minute or two when you do that and do some lunges, squats, wall/desk push-ups, jumping jacks, jog in place, etc. A few minutes at a time several times a day will add up. And it's better tha nothing!
  • ambeecakes
    ambeecakes Posts: 8
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    wow you know i just found 20 free minutes.. if i had 20 free minutes then trust me i have 1000 active things id love to do. my problem is that I DO NOT HAVE FREE TIME,

    You found time to post on an internet forum so you clearly have some free time. If you are so buried by work that you have no time for your health then your work itself has become your excuse.


    incase you didn't notice this a forum asking for helpful hints, and incase you cant read I WORK ON THE INTERNET, sorry that my time spent on asking strangers for help incriminates me of having the freedom to scroll my mouse to the next tab. please do not comment on my post again. i am asking for hints, not rude comments.
  • ambeecakes
    ambeecakes Posts: 8
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    If your weight keeps going up, you are eating too much, period. It doesn't matter how healthy the food is, if you are going over your calorie needs, you will gain weight. And carbs do not facilitate weight gain, you don't need to eat "low carb" bread, or cut back on breads at all. You don't have to exercise to lose weight (though it is always recommended).

    Make sure you are weighing all your food, and logging accurately.

    This. You don't need to exercise to lose weight. As long as you're eating at a calorie deficit, you will lose. If you've been logging your food and staying within limits than something is inaccurate there. Try weighing foods to make sure you're logging things accurately, check labels against the MFP listings (not all are accurate), etc.

    Are you able to stand up and move around? Put your callers on speaker phone or wear a cordless headset. When you're off the phone, just pace back and forth, do squats, lunges, push-ups against the counter, jumping jacks, running in place, etc.
    Look up exercises to do at work and in chairs. Even if you only have a few seconds, multiple sessions will still add up over time.

    is there a good guide you use for weighing your food? and how to balance your meals using it
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    is there a good guide you use for weighing your food? and how to balance your meals using it

    You can get a food scale just about anywhere - and they're pretty inexpensive, usually $20-25. Once you've got that, use the listings in the food database that come up in grams or ounces and enter the correct amounts for the food you've weighed. Also try to find the most specific listing. Instead of just finding steak, look for the actual cut like chuck, sirloin, etc as they're all different.

    You can also double check nutritonal info here via USDA:
    http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/

    ETA: please stop getting so snippy re: what you're perceiving as negative comment. I think folks are just trying to point out that if you've got free time to post online, you've got free time to do other things.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    wow you know i just found 20 free minutes.. if i had 20 free minutes then trust me i have 1000 active things id love to do. my problem is that I DO NOT HAVE FREE TIME,

    You found time to post on an internet forum so you clearly have some free time. If you are so buried by work that you have no time for your health then your work itself has become your excuse.


    incase you didn't notice this a forum asking for helpful hints, and incase you cant read I WORK ON THE INTERNET, sorry that my time spent on asking strangers for help incriminates me of having the freedom to scroll my mouse to the next tab. please do not comment on my post again. i am asking for hints, not rude comments.

    Relax. All I am saying is you are currently doing something that is not directly work. You could just as well be on a treadmill in front of your computer or lifting weights in front of your computer. Right now I have a little squeeze-bar working on the grip strength in my left hand while I hunt and peck this message out. There are things you can do here.

    You can jog in place. You can do 5 squats every 10 minutes. You can drop to the floor for 1 minute and do pushups. You can do things that will keep your heartrate in the aerobic range while still answering emails or typing at your computer.

    Honestly what prevents you from doing 5 squats with 2 minutes rest while at a computer. It would put your heartrate in the aerobic range and you can do it for 30 minutes at a time. Instead of taking 30 seconds to type out a forum post on MFP you could take 30 seconds to do 5 squats. Over the period in which you've been posting here your heart rate would be elevated and you would recieve an aerobic fitness benefit.
  • farfromthetree
    farfromthetree Posts: 982 Member
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    Hi Amber! Everyone telling you you do not need to exercise to lose weight is correct (though recommended) Eat at a deficit and load up on protein if hunger is an issue.That works for me. Buy a food scale to weigh your food. The whole thing is a learning process and there is a lot of helpful information on MFP. Good luck!

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