is it ok not to exercise?

alisoncarl

i really dont have time to exercise.. any helpful hints on what else i can do?

alisoncarl

i really dont have time to exercise.. any helpful hints on what else i can do?

Summarain

We make time for things that are important to us.

kerrilucko

EVERYONE has time to exercise. walk to work, talk the dog for a jog around the block, take the kids swimming at the Y, dance around your living room during commercials. everyone has time if they look hard enough for it. You can lose weight without exercise, but you can't be healthy without it. :flowerforyou:

LuckyLeprechaun

park your car further away. choose stairs instead of elevators. go for a ten minute walk whenever you have a few minutes. make your chores inefficient (I bring only two items to the washing machine, then walk back to my bedroom, repeat until it is full. same with bringing in the groceries, make as many trips as there are bags)

once you start to see the weight come off (and it will, if you are following your calories)
you'll be motivated to see it happen more quickly. then you'll find ways to add exercise to your daily schedule.

:flowerforyou:

fjtcjt

Try getting up 30 minutes early and exercising the. I know it is hard and nobody likes to get up early, but 30 minutes doesn't make much difference in your sleep time, but it makes a huge difference in your health if you put that time to good use!

Anna_Banana

It works better if you exercise, but it can be done with out. Studies have shown that changes in the diet are more effective at weight lose than exercise. But for your health you should try to get some in. I am very busy, but I walk over my lunch, even in the cold. then I try to do exercise videos when I get a chance. Like last night. I put potatoes on to boil for soup and I ran and did a 10 min ab DVD.

If you are not exercising just make sure you stay within your calories, that will help a lot and be honest with what you are eating.

marisa0918

Trust me I know what you mean. I work full, go to school full time, and I am a single mother to a 20 month old. I wake up early ever morning and either do a short cardio video or go for a jog. I also have steps in my house so I will make a couple extra trips up and down them. I also make playing with my daughter my exercise. She loves to be lifted up above your head so I do that with her and that's 25 pounds of weight lifting. Or I will run back and forth with her either holding her or pushing her on her little car. She thinks its a blast and it's a good workout for me too. :laugh: My daughter will actually do jumping jacks with me....it's too cute

petunia

I exercise so I can eat my exercise calories... :drinker:

SoupNazi

You can most definitely lose weight without exercise BUT you will more than likely be flabby when all is said and done. Having a caloric deficit without exercise will also force your body to lose fat AND lean muscle. Losing muscle is nothing to be happy about either.

When you exercise, you also raise your metabolism.

I would suggest finding time even if that means you need to break your exercise into a minimum of (3) ten minute increments throughout your day.

lettyig

do sit-ups while watching tv .

keiko

It's also good for you to exercise whether or not you are trying to lose weight. It's about keeping your body healthy.

neeterskeeter

I only lose weight from really watching my calories, not from exercising. But exercising helps me get toned and also makes me feel less stressed, so I make time for it. I work long hours and I'm really busy but I make sure to fit in my exercise pretty much every single day. After you make it a priority for awhile, you'll realize how poopy you feel when you *don't* exercise, and it will be second nature, like brushing your teeth or putting on pajamas. Really!

My dad used to do an illustration where he'd take an empty plastic peanut butter jar, two raquetballs, and a bunch of those hard pinto beans. He would say, "these two raquetballs equal the two most important things I need to focus on today... my family, and my health/exercise" (or whatever a person's top priorities are). He would put the beans into the jar and say, "okay, I'm doing my thing, living my life today, and I've gotta remember to fit in the top two priorities later..." Well, once all the pinto beans were in there, the raquetballs wouldn't fit! Then he'd go, "hmmm, maybe there's a better way..." He'd empty it out and put the raquetballs in *first." All of a sudden, he could put the beans in too, because they fell in around the raquetballs and didn't take up all the space first. The lesson, of course, was to make sure you fit in your top priorities *first*, and then everything else will fall into place... don't let everything else fall into place and think you can still fit in your priorities.

1Corinthians13

I only lose weight from really watching my calories, not from exercising. But exercising helps me get toned and also makes me feel less stressed, so I make time for it. I work long hours and I'm really busy but I make sure to fit in my exercise pretty much every single day. After you make it a priority for awhile, you'll realize how poopy you feel when you *don't* exercise, and it will be second nature, like brushing your teeth or putting on pajamas. Really!

My dad used to do an illustration where he'd take an empty plastic peanut butter jar, two raquetballs, and a bunch of those hard pinto beans. He would say, "these two raquetballs equal the two most important things I need to focus on today... my family, and my health/exercise" (or whatever a person's top priorities are). He would put the beans into the jar and say, "okay, I'm doing my thing, living my life today, and I've gotta remember to fit in the top two priorities later..." Well, once all the pinto beans were in there, the raquetballs wouldn't fit! Then he'd go, "hmmm, maybe there's a better way..." He'd empty it out and put the raquetballs in *first." All of a sudden, he could put the beans in too, because they fell in around the raquetballs and didn't take up all the space first. The lesson, of course, was to make sure you fit in your top priorities *first*, and then everything else will fall into place... don't let everything else fall into place and think you can still fit in your priorities.

Wow, I love that! Your father is a smart man!

But you're right. I know that for me...putting Christ absolutely first into my life seems to make everything else work to - working out, family, friends, yes, even finances.

Amazing.

yellow_pepper

When I find it difficult to fit exercise into my day, I try a few of these tricks:

1. Walk home and back for lunch (30 minutes of extra walking)
2. Take a walk instead of getting a coffee during my coffee break - or at least go to the farthest cafe!
3. Ask my boyfriend to push back dinner an hour and work out with me before we go out.
4. Tell my friends that I need to work out, and ask if they want to join me - or if not, at least to push back the drinks/plans an hour or so. This is so important if my social plans involve food/drink! (When don't they?)

In short, I try to walk as much as I can throughout the day and to inform my friends and boyfriend about my fitness obligations so that we can work in social plans around them.

I know it must be harder for MFPers who are married with kids, but for singles, these are worth a try! You'd be amazed at how readily your friends will accept your need to exercise and even be inspired to do the same thing! It also makes it a lot easier for you to eat and drink moderately together when they know you are committed to your health.

Good luck!

artschoolgirl

I REALLY regret not excercising when I first started because now i'm all flabby! I bought a weight and lift that while I'm watching TV, I have a wii fit, I walk and take transit rather than drive, I ride my bike in the spring/summer, but I also go to the gym a couple days a week along with this.

Juliebean_1027

First can I ask why you don't have time to exercise? I'm not trying to be critical at all because I completely understand having a limited amount of time (I work full time, have a second job I work 3 nights a week, tutor on the weekends and am working on my Masters...:noway: :yawn: ) but I make the time to exercise. I have found what works best for me. I walk during my lunch break at work (30 minutes in the basement at work or outside if the weather is nice) and I work out at night, after I'm home, I get on the elliptical and do just 10 mins of cardio. May not seem like a lot, but it's what I make time for. I tried getting up earlier in the morning to exercise then ... :indifferent: ... it didn't work out at all! I am not a morning person and even trying the 'early morning workout' for 2 weeks didn't change my mind. Like others have said, you'll still lose weight if you don't exercise, but you won't tone as much, and you may find that after all the weight is gone you'll wish that you had taken the time to firm up your problem areas. Good luck finding something that works for you! :flowerforyou:

neeterskeeter

Wow, I love that! Your father is a smart man!

But you're right. I know that for me...putting Christ absolutely first into my life seems to make everything else work to - working out, family, friends, yes, even finances.

Amazing.

Hi 1corinthians13. Yeah my dad is really religious and he would actually use that demonstration to show putting God first... when we were in sunday school and stuff. I always think of it for everything now, from working out to cleaning my house, etc... whatever I *know* I need to get done, I think of that raquetball!

drewzaun

I work 45 hours a week, am a full time college student, volunteer about 20 hours a month, and yet still find time to hit the gym.

Others have given you some great ideas to add exercise into your day, park in the back of the lot, take the stairs, etc.

But if you put your health as a priority you suddenly find time to exercise. I just do not watch as much tv as I used to.

There are 24 hours in a day, finding just one to work out in is not really a problem, just an excuse.