I'm too busy to exercise.
Jacwhite22
Posts: 7,010 Member
Now that you're in here.......I highly doubt this is true for most people. There might be a VERY small subset of people who really don't have time. People who are parents and full time students working two jobs. If you don't fit into this criteria then odds are you have time to exercise but you choose to fill it with something else. At the end of the day, the things you fit in are your priorities.....the other things are the things we don't have time for....What are your priorities?
Watch TV? Exercise Instead
Surf the internet at night? Exercise Instead
Sleep > 8 hours a day (or maybe even less depending on other circumstances)? Exercise instead
My point is that many people say they want to lose the weight.....they want to exercise but they are too busy.......In most cases if you are too busy to exercise you simply don't want it bad enough. And honestly if you don't want it bad enough don't bother trying. If you don't really want it you won't succeed......wait till you do really want it and then you will have a better shot.
Some people might not want to hear this.....Think I'm being mean or negative. Not at all. We as a society are really good at making excuses and not so good at making changes. It is work.....you have to make changes or else you wouldn't have gotten overweight in the first place.
If you don't meet the criteria above and you think you don't have time to work out, please....by all means.....post up your schedule. I'll help you figure out how to make time. If you say you work a 12 hour shift please include the days per week that you work because let's be honest.......You aren't working 12 hour shifts more than 3-4 times in a normal 7 day week.
Watch TV? Exercise Instead
Surf the internet at night? Exercise Instead
Sleep > 8 hours a day (or maybe even less depending on other circumstances)? Exercise instead
My point is that many people say they want to lose the weight.....they want to exercise but they are too busy.......In most cases if you are too busy to exercise you simply don't want it bad enough. And honestly if you don't want it bad enough don't bother trying. If you don't really want it you won't succeed......wait till you do really want it and then you will have a better shot.
Some people might not want to hear this.....Think I'm being mean or negative. Not at all. We as a society are really good at making excuses and not so good at making changes. It is work.....you have to make changes or else you wouldn't have gotten overweight in the first place.
If you don't meet the criteria above and you think you don't have time to work out, please....by all means.....post up your schedule. I'll help you figure out how to make time. If you say you work a 12 hour shift please include the days per week that you work because let's be honest.......You aren't working 12 hour shifts more than 3-4 times in a normal 7 day week.
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Replies
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Nobody? Nobody doesn't have time to exercise?0
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You're preaching to the choir. I don't think there is a soul on MFP who doesn't know this. Good post though!0
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When I was a full-time student with a full-time job I still had time for exercising and sleeping, so I don't really buy that "too busy" excuse. One can exercise at home, and even something like 20-30 minutes is better than no exercising at all.0
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I am a single mom of 4 kids...and have to say...that isn't an excuse either. Of course I could use it as an excuse all day long..and before I was ready to take action...I probably used it to justify myself.
Yes, it is surely a reason to not be able to get to a GYM....I have that happen ALL THE TIME...
The best laid plans to get to the gym on a regular basis are constantly changed by a child home sick, or this appt or that game etc.
But if you really want it....it can be incorporated in with the time with the kids...and heck..it gets them moving too! Often it is a win win...because they get worn out and take better naps/sleep better etc,
I knew I was on a better path, when I realized, I am worth being a priority. The sooner I start taking care of me, the better and longer I will be able to take care of them. And those times when I am the most stressed out with seemingly no time...is when I need it the most...
Just have to remind yourself of that...and fit it is...I still have to remind myself when life gets overwhelming.
It doesnt have to be a gym workout...it can be a 20 min exercise video before bed etc. as the kids are going to sleep..
And it may take 20 minutes from sleep...but you will probably clear your head of the stress....fall asleep faster....and sleep better....0 -
I protect my time to exercise because good health is a high high priority. Life is to short to not make it a priority. It hasn't always been this way with me and I have five lovely children and a husband to keep me busy. They have been complaining lately that I haven't been cooking as much! LOL0
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Great post. I am a full time college student working two jobs, but I still make sure that I MAKE time to workout by doing it later in the afternoon or in between jobs.0
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I always hear "I am too tired" or "I am too busy"
Are you on the computer, or watching tv? DO SOME SITUPS AND PUSHUPS.....you are NOT that busy.
If they wanted it....they would figure it out.0 -
Your so right, there are no excuses. Get up, get out ! Making excuses for years is what kept me fat. I am new to MFP but already feeling better, and exercising is helping me sleep much better. Good post0
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I always hear "I am too tired" or "I am too busy"
Are you on the computer, or watching tv? DO SOME SITUPS AND PUSHUPS.....you are NOT that busy.
If they wanted it....they would figure it out.
Amen sistah! ^50 -
This is true. I have my own business, a job and im a graduate student. I make time to at least do 30 day shred. No excuse for 20 minutes.0
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For years I said I was too busy to exercise. I was ignorant about what comprised "exercise." What I was really saying was "I am too poor and don't have enough time to get a gym membership and carve out the time to get there, be there, and drive back." The idea of an hour at the gym plus drive time was overwhelming.
Other people had to tell me exercise - effective exercise - could easily be done at home in 15 or even 10 minute increments. That's when I figured it out.0 -
"Not managing your time and making excuses are two bad habits. Don't put them both together by claiming you don't have the time."
The time will be "found" and the excuses will stop once the person gains the confidence to go after their goals. I think a lot of people say they don't have time as a fear of failure cop out.0 -
Excellent post! When one is ready, truly ready there is no excuse in the world that will keep them from achieving their goals.0
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I was thinking about the same thing yesterday. My mom's kidneys failed due to diabetes 3 yrs ago and she had to go on dialysis.
3 days a week, she spent 4 hours a day hooked up to a machine that took all her blood out and filtered out the toxins that her kidneys should have done.
The clinic she went to was always full of people there every day. Many of them missing limbs, and losing their hair because of all the protein that dialysis strips from your body.
12 hours a week, plus transportation time and recovery time, that these people spend every week, just to stay alive.
I wonder how many of them said for years that they didn't have time to exercise, or plan and cook healthy meals?
Make your choice. Choose to put your health a priority now, or have that choice taken away from you later.0 -
Up until this past June, I believe this was true for me. I was working full time and also working toward my Master's degree in Special Ed. The classes were all online, so my computer time was limited to listening to lectures or doing online reading and research. I felt as if I really needed at least 2 or 3 more hours in each day to get everything finished. Most weeks I worked 40 hours, spent 5 hours commuting, and 25 to 30 hours on school work . Then last Spring I did my student teaching while also taking another class (so 9 credits of graduate work). I was sleep-deprived for the entire 5 months. The only exercise I got was running around the school building toting my book bag, and sometimes 10 or 15 minutes of yoga or stretching. Since I live in a trailer, I didn't even have room for an exercise bike or treadmill I could use while reading. Even my usual housework/ workout routine suffered. During the 2 1/2 years I was working on my degree, I put on a lot of weight (about 20 pounds).
Now I have no excuse. I started working out as soon as school let out for summer, and I started eating better. This year, I'm teaching full time, but not taking classes, and it's amazing how much time I have. I joined the gym across from our school, and also got a Kinect, and have rearranged the living room so I can "play" exercise. Because I'm in a different classroom each period, I am also burning lots of calories hauling myself and my computer bag from one end of the school to the other and back again -- up and down stairs. I figured that I burn about 200 calories more per day than the teachers who are in one classroom all day.0 -
I'm a mom of two kids, 2yo and 13 wks. This past week was my first week back to work. I get up at 6 and most nights get home at 7 and then feeding and putting the kids to bed takes until 8p. I make lunches for the next day, eat dinner and then try to get to bed at 9:30 or 10 since the baby wakes up to feed around 2 or 3am. So this week there were two nights where I honestly didn't have the energy. However, the best thing I ever did was start exercising before I went back to work, and even though it was only 20 minutes, and at times I was interrupted by the kids, it got me into a routine and I look forward to it. My fitness was improved and now I'm doing about 30 mins of a DVD, but it is something and I am seeing results. I do understand when people say this but I would say just do what you can and don't beat yourself up if you can't devote 1.5 hrs to the gym. It's not all or nothing and every little bit counts.0
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Everybody always has time for whatever they make a priority in their life.0
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Surf the internet at night? Exercise Instead
LOL! I keep weights at my computer desk so that I can do both at the same time.0 -
Now that you're in here.......I highly doubt this is true for most people. There might be a VERY small subset of people who really don't have time. People who are parents and full time students working two jobs. If you don't fit into this criteria then odds are you have time to exercise but you choose to fill it with something else. At the end of the day, the things you fit in are your priorities.....the other things are the things we don't have time for....What are your priorities?
Watch TV? Exercise Instead
Surf the internet at night? Exercise Instead
Sleep > 8 hours a day (or maybe even less depending on other circumstances)? Exercise instead
My point is that many people say they want to lose the weight.....they want to exercise but they are too busy.......In most cases if you are too busy to exercise you simply don't want it bad enough. And honestly if you don't want it bad enough don't bother trying. If you don't really want it you won't succeed......wait till you do really want it and then you will have a better shot.
Some people might not want to hear this.....Think I'm being mean or negative. Not at all. We as a society are really good at making excuses and not so good at making changes. It is work.....you have to make changes or else you wouldn't have gotten overweight in the first place.
If you don't meet the criteria above and you think you don't have time to work out, please....by all means.....post up your schedule. I'll help you figure out how to make time. If you say you work a 12 hour shift please include the days per week that you work because let's be honest.......You aren't working 12 hour shifts more than 3-4 times in a normal 7 day week.
I'm a full time student with a job and volunteer work and I still have time to work out. Even that's not a valid excuse.0 -
Everybody always has time for whatever they make a priority in their life.
NAILED IT!0 -
Now that you're in here.......I highly doubt this is true for most people. There might be a VERY small subset of people who really don't have time. People who are parents and full time students working two jobs. If you don't fit into this criteria then odds are you have time to exercise but you choose to fill it with something else. At the end of the day, the things you fit in are your priorities.....the other things are the things we don't have time for....What are your priorities?
Watch TV? Exercise Instead
Surf the internet at night? Exercise Instead
Sleep > 8 hours a day (or maybe even less depending on other circumstances)? Exercise instead
My point is that many people say they want to lose the weight.....they want to exercise but they are too busy.......In most cases if you are too busy to exercise you simply don't want it bad enough. And honestly if you don't want it bad enough don't bother trying. If you don't really want it you won't succeed......wait till you do really want it and then you will have a better shot.
Some people might not want to hear this.....Think I'm being mean or negative. Not at all. We as a society are really good at making excuses and not so good at making changes. It is work.....you have to make changes or else you wouldn't have gotten overweight in the first place.
If you don't meet the criteria above and you think you don't have time to work out, please....by all means.....post up your schedule. I'll help you figure out how to make time. If you say you work a 12 hour shift please include the days per week that you work because let's be honest.......You aren't working 12 hour shifts more than 3-4 times in a normal 7 day week.
To be honest, I hate people who put forth this attitude on the internet. Not because they aren't right, but because of the way they present their message.
Life circumstances can make changes difficult. But telling people "You just don't want it enough to do the work so you're making excuses, might as well give up now because you are going to fail..." might actually make them give up! And if I hadn't listened to people who told me I just wasn't strong enough and didn't want it bad enough and decided they were right, I would not have spent the majority of my adult life overweight.
Instead of focusing on how someone isn't good enough because they can't do everything that you think they should or everything they think they need to do... I prefer to focus on what CAN be done. Small change is still better and more effective than no change at all, and it's momentum-building. So you don't have time to exercise? You can still lose fat by eating fewer calories. Maybe you think you must exercise in a gym? Can you find something you can do at home? That would cut out transport time. Or maybe you think you need to exercise every day? You can still see a change if you can find two half hour periods a week.
No need to give up completely. Change what you can, accept the things you cannot change for now. If you don't give yourself freedom to not be perfect it will never work for you because you'll spend all your time whining about how you aren't good enough.0 -
I'm a full time student with a job and volunteer work and I still have time to work out. Even that's not a valid excuse.
Same, but sometimes I don't have as much time as I would like to work out.0 -
Truth is I barely work out, working full time and going to school part time I barely even have time to go to the doctor for myself. I do however watch what I eat and working so much has helped lose 60 pounds last year.0
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I claimed I was too busy to exercise for years. I work at least 60 hours a week (often a lot more). I've got kids, a husband, I was working on a Masters' degree. But being busy was just an excuse. Sure, I really was insanely busy. But the truth is, no matter how busy I am, I have to work exercise into my day. I'm just hurting myself when I don't. Work/kids/life will always be there. Never once have I completed a workout and said, "Damn, I wish I didn't do that".0
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Trying to get back in MFP after some time away. I enjoy a few TV shows, but I got an exercise bike for the living room and will try to ride it daily while watching TV...thus multitasking and making the time go by faster.
Will see if it works, I had made some progress last year but gave most of it back this fall.0 -
As a full time college student working two jobs with severe health issues that often drive me to the hospital for days at a time, I still find time to go to the gym at least 4 times a week (unless my doctor yells at me to stay in bed haha). I really dont see how anyone could be 'too busy' to go. If they were, they wouldnt even be mumbling about it cause they wouldnt have time! (at least thats what I think)0
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My doctor has a cartoon posted on the wall in her office of a guy with a beer belly telling a doctor, "I don't have time to exercise." And the cartoon doctor replies, "You don't have time NOT to exercise!"0
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Watch TV? Exercise while watching!
Surf the internet at night? Surf between sets!
This is my suggestion to those finding it hard to fit in the time.0 -
I skip my 'coffee' ritual (it never was coffee, chai tea and cream maybe at times)- I hydrate and make running my coffee now. I like starting my days off strong. And keeps me going. When I feel the 3:30 drag, I grab a protien snack and I go work-out to spike up my blood.and heart rate.0
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After the last 3+ months of my life, I scoff at almost anyone (aside from the aforementioned single parents working and going to school) who complains that they don't have time to work out.
Since late September, I've carried on through my 9-6 M-F job, visited my dad daily in the hospital for at least an hour (more often 1.5-2 hours), have taken my mom places when necessary or picked her up from work (she doesn't drive), and have taken maybe eight rest days from working out in that process. When people tell me they're too busy.. very few excuses fly with me!0
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