Time Management advice???

des091490
des091490 Posts: 2
edited November 2023 in Getting Started
I'm cutting back on foods, running so low on energy and haven't got enough time in the day to do anything but walk that 1 mile with my daughter. Now, it's getting almost too chilly to bring a 7 month old out side!
I'm in nursing school, I work on the weekends, I have a 7 month old and i help maintain 2 houses and cook everyday for 8 people. I have to study, no one else knows how to clean and I have to study my until my head is ready to explode to pass my schooling. I have enough time to walk a mile. With my schedule the way it is I average about 4.5 to 5 hours of sleep.
I'm just getting started on this site and really trying to lose weight (a whole 120 lbs of it!) but i can't seem to find enough time to actually exercise, and I know i need that as well as a diet change to get it.

Replies

  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    You don't actually.. Exercise has nothing to do with weight loss. You can easily lose weight through caloric deficit. You can NOT out exercise a bad diet however.

    Exercise is useful to improve your body composition as well as your cardiovascular health / strength so normally doing some should be a part of healthier living but it is a complete myth that you need to exercise to lose weight - its all about the calories. Get serious about your diet and you will see the weight shift.

    Once you start losing a little weight it wouldn't surprise me at all if you found that you actually wanted to do more. If it becomes a priority you will find other ways to be active.

    Quite honestly when you have a lot of weight to lose its practically impossible to NOT to lose weight assuming you are eating at a reasonable deficit, logging accurately and not trying to starve yourself thin. Just eat a little less and move as much as you can.
  • zichab
    zichab Posts: 1,494 Member
    You don't actually.. Exercise has nothing to do with weight loss. You can easily lose weight through caloric deficit. You can NOT out exercise a bad diet however.

    Exercise is useful to improve your body composition as well as your cardiovascular health / strength so normally doing some should be a part of healthier living but it is a complete myth that you need to exercise to lose weight - its all about the calories. Get serious about your diet and you will see the weight shift.

    Once you start losing a little weight it wouldn't surprise me at all if you found that you actually wanted to do more. If it becomes a priority you will find other ways to be active.

    Quite honestly when you have a lot of weight to lose its practically impossible to NOT to lose weight assuming you are eating at a

    reasonable deficit, logging accurately and not trying to starve yourself thin. Just eat a little less and move as much as you can.

    This is totally true! I lost my first 45 pounds before I was brave enough to try any sort of exercise, (I was afraid I'd have a heart attack at my weight :laugh: ) so focus religiously on your calorie count. Weigh and measure everything that goes into your mouth and stay at your calorie limit. However, since you are already walking 1 mile, search You Tube for Leslie Sansone Walking at Home. There are several of her walking videos posted there for 1,2,3,4 & 5 mile indoor walks depending on how much time you have. She also works more muscle groups than we use during a normal walk so you will feel more energized. The thing I like is that I can choose the length of my walk depending on the time I have and the time of day, which is great for me since I only have time to work out at night, which is not the safest time to go out walking! As busy as you are, you will appreciate the flexibility for now and once school is done, you will have the time for a more complex exercise program. By then though, you'll have lost the weight! :wink:
  • SkinnyFatAlbert
    SkinnyFatAlbert Posts: 482 Member
    no one else knows how to clean

    Two households and 8 people and no one knows how to clean? No one else can help cook? Not buying it. Someone is being lazy. Force them to do more for themselves including cooking and cleaning.
  • 1PatientBear
    1PatientBear Posts: 2,089 Member
    no one else knows how to clean

    I call BS on this. If you live with other adults, you have people in your house who know how to clean. Tell them to get off their lazy rears and help you so you can get your exercise in.
  • ckspores1018
    ckspores1018 Posts: 168 Member
    I'm cutting back on foods, running so low on energy and haven't got enough time in the day to do anything but walk that 1 mile with my daughter. Now, it's getting almost too chilly to bring a 7 month old out side!
    I'm in nursing school, I work on the weekends, I have a 7 month old and i help maintain 2 houses and cook everyday for 8 people. I have to study, no one else knows how to clean and I have to study my until my head is ready to explode to pass my schooling. I have enough time to walk a mile. With my schedule the way it is I average about 4.5 to 5 hours of sleep.
    I'm just getting started on this site and really trying to lose weight (a whole 120 lbs of it!) but i can't seem to find enough time to actually exercise, and I know i need that as well as a diet change to get it.

    Two houses full of 8 people and not one of them knows how to plug in a vacuum? Really? What a load of crap. Unless you have seven infants there are people in your home that are capable of helping.

    I appreciate the fact that you are busy. I'm busy too. Everyone is busy. Everyone has work, school, family, friends, etc. But, it is okay to do something for yourself sometimes. It isn't selfish or obnoxious to say "hey there, relative, get off your lazy *kitten* and wash a dish, or run a brush through the toilet, or clean a window so I can go for a walk" To me, it sounds like you are making excuses for yourself and for the people in your life as to why you can't exercise. I find it hard to believe that no one knows how to clean or cook anything.

    It is true; you lose weight in the kitchen but if you incorporate exercise it'll help, you'll feel better, and you'll be a better mother/wife/sister/friend or whatever to the people in your life. So, stop the excuses and take care of you first.
  • Cyclingbonnie
    Cyclingbonnie Posts: 413 Member
    You don't actually.. Exercise has nothing to do with weight loss. You can easily lose weight through caloric deficit. You can NOT out exercise a bad diet however.

    Exercise is useful to improve your body composition as well as your cardiovascular health / strength so normally doing some should be a part of healthier living but it is a complete myth that you need to exercise to lose weight - its all about the calories. Get serious about your diet and you will see the weight shift.

    Once you start losing a little weight it wouldn't surprise me at all if you found that you actually wanted to do more. If it becomes a priority you will find other ways to be active.

    Quite honestly when you have a lot of weight to lose its practically impossible to NOT to lose weight assuming you are eating at a reasonable deficit, logging accurately and not trying to starve yourself thin. Just eat a little less and move as much as you can.

    Good advice. It also sounds as if you are overwhelmed by your life in general. Initially just concentrate on the eating right. Do not make the mistake of over limiting, just eat less than you burn and go for small losses. As your stomach adjusts to eating less you will feel less hungry. As you loose, you will feel better about most everything, and then will be able to do more to improve your health. Set small goals, so you can celebrate when you achieve them, each celebration will build your confidence. Good luck.
  • KD0BIK
    KD0BIK Posts: 44 Member
    There are many things you can do to get in a few extra steps in your daily routine. If you drive to your classes, try parking as far away from the building as possible. But as others have said, just eating less than you burn will allow you to lose weight.

    But as others have said, get more help with the household duties. I truly hate to clean...but I do it to help out. Otherwise I might end up sleeping outside. :-)

    JT
  • I must say that exercise does not help me with weight loss at all, especially during the early phases when low calories makes me feel tired. In fact, I recommend just doing brief "happy" things like standing on tiptoes and stretching, or pumping hands over the head to a fun song. A little stretch, a little brief movement during your day, like a study break for a minute or two doing some crazy dance moves before you sit back down to study some more.
    Maybe you can treat yourself to a fun song after every half hour of study, blast it out and goof around. Then you will feel invigorated.
    But don't worry about strapping on cross trainers and working out. It doesn't matter to the weight loss. Honest.
  • lorigem
    lorigem Posts: 446 Member
    If you're moving around that much daily, you should be burning a lot of calories as it is. Try just eating less.
  • ALSO I do suggest that when you get someone to help you with your work (which it sounds like they better do, I think you are being taken advantage of if you have to care for so many people by yourself) you should use the extra time for SLEEP SLEEP SLEEP because lack of sleep is a serious cause of weight gain!
  • magpie0
    magpie0 Posts: 194 Member
    Haha do you see why so many students become addicted to coffee? While I wouldn't support of caffeine addiction, if it would help your energy, it certainly wouldn't be detrimental to your plan. Caffeine may actually increase your metabolism but I don't have any proof of that however. It's all about IFIYM.

    How low are you cutting your calories? That may contributing to your fatigue. Maybe you should increase your calories even if it means slowing your weight loss. Being miserable is would almost certainly lead to breaking your plan.

    I also a huge advocate for increasing protein in diets! I find that it fights hunger and in turn, fatigue. Studies have found protein to be the most filling macronutrient. I personally aim for around ~1g of protein per gram of body weight but I find that a little excessive, especially for female. I recommend that you just consume more protein whether it be through lean meats like fish or chicken or if necessary, protein powder.

    Good luck!
  • pamuyamakene
    pamuyamakene Posts: 75 Member
    Every morning wake up ten minutes early to do ten mins of high intensity interval training or 30sec running 60 sec walking around the house or just outside your house, it will give you a lot of energy during the day and hopefully a calorie burn of around 200 cal.. you can look up HIIT but its basically cardio with different patterns like 30 seconds jumping jacks then 60 seconds knee ups, 30 seconds squat jumps then 60 seconds 'butt' kicks,,, soon you will look forward to this mini workout and make more time for it up to 20 min a day its equivalent to going to the gym for an hour. Hope this helps, you can always change it from morning to a time that suits you better though morning workouts give you energyyyy ziiinggs :flowerforyou:

    Really respect you for maintaining your life at full speed with such a hectic schedule, just think that this 10mins is your you time no one gets to take it away from you.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    I agree with those who say that someone else in the household can learn to clean and cook. You are under a lot of stress and need to relieve some of it. Getting so little sleep isn't great in the long term either; studies show that college students who get too little sleep are worse at remembering what they study than those who get a full night. And as samedame said, a sleep deficit is also associated with weight gain.

    My advice would be to get others in your household to help with the chores as much as possible; if necessary, lower your standards (sometimes "don't know how to clean" really means "don't clean as well as I would like") until you're done with your studies. Try the high-intensity traiing that pamuyamakene suggests, but you really don't need exercise to lose weight. Get more sleep.

    In short: take care of yourself, as well as taking care of others.
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