I'm too busy to exercise.

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Jacwhite22
Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,012 Member
in Motivation and Support
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.
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Replies

  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,012 Member
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    Nobody? Nobody doesn't have time to exercise?
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
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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!
  • wtw0n
    wtw0n Posts: 1,083 Member
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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.
  • iamkarent
    iamkarent Posts: 145 Member
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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....
  • ColleenHollis
    ColleenHollis Posts: 53
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    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! LOL
  • kaylagetsfit8
    kaylagetsfit8 Posts: 15
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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.
  • Lady_Bane
    Lady_Bane Posts: 720 Member
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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.
  • Danni1585
    Danni1585 Posts: 250 Member
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    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 post
  • margojr4
    margojr4 Posts: 259 Member
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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! ^5
  • emilypink573
    emilypink573 Posts: 132 Member
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    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.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
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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.
  • EpitomeOfSxy
    EpitomeOfSxy Posts: 157 Member
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    "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.
  • BellaFe
    BellaFe Posts: 323
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    Excellent post! When one is ready, truly ready there is no excuse in the world that will keep them from achieving their goals.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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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.
  • RoxianneM
    RoxianneM Posts: 17 Member
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    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.
  • panshee
    panshee Posts: 24 Member
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    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.
  • irjeffb
    irjeffb Posts: 274 Member
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    Everybody always has time for whatever they make a priority in their life.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
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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.
  • Dementedllama
    Dementedllama Posts: 177 Member
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    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.
  • fleur_de_lis19
    fleur_de_lis19 Posts: 926 Member
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    Everybody always has time for whatever they make a priority in their life.

    NAILED IT!

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