Do you feel guilty if you don't work out?

No, I don't feel guilty, I hate exercise, but, I sure feel proud of myself when I do

Maybe I will walk on the treadmill after I put the kids to bed. I don't think I have it in me to run but maybe that will help me feel more complete....maybe the working out has caused me to be high on endorphins---don't they say runners get a "runners high"--maybe its like I'm in detox now--for three days I didn't sweat and get that high feeling...maybe??

Thank you for the well wishes on my mom

I can completely relate to the feelings you've described. If you are due to get in a workout and then can't get to it, there is an uneasy, unfinished feeling. I used to run a lot, and would not say that I never got an endorphin "high" that I could appreciate but just felt overall terrible if I didn't get to it. Maybe endorphins or some other hormone levels are coming into play. Good luck with your mother. My mother is doing well 50 years post breast cancer diagnosis.

I feel guilty if I don't work out because I feel that I'm not taking the time to meet my goals. However, there's a difference between not working out because you woke up too late in the morning, or you're tired and you'd rather sit in front of the tube at the end of the day, and not working out because major stuff is going on in your life. A couple of years ago, my dad became very ill and passed away. I spent a lot of time at my mom's and didn't work out during those times. Also, there were always goodies around, and during the last week of his life and the wake and funeral, people were sending more stuff. I didn't restrict my eating, but I also didn't pig out. If there was dessert, I had a piece. If all we had in the hospital room were muffins that the hospice people sent, I ate them. The end result, I actually lost weight; I guess the stress caused me to burn it off. Anyway, the most important thing now is to take care of your children, be supportive of your mother, and take care of yourself emotionally. Even if you gain a couple of pounds, it's not the end of the world. Running after 2 toddlers and taking care of a baby will use up plenty of energy, too.

I feel guilty if I don't work out on a day that I'm supposed to, and I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. I think that feeling helps keep us accountable to ourselves.

Another thing, you may find that taking the time to work out - even with everything going on - may help you to handle the stress you're under. It will give you some time for yourself and allow you to focus on something else, giving your mind and emotions a much needed break.

I hope your mother has a good prognosis and beats her diagnosis. F cancer!

Not so much but I feel awesome after a great workout

Sorry to hear about your mom. That kind of news is always tough to take. You have my permission (random stranger on the Internet!) to take it easy for a few days. You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of other people.

To go back to the question: I don't feel guilty if I miss a workout. But I feel like something is missing from the day. I enjoy the activities I do - cycling, running, and Nordic skiing (though not for much longer this season), so if I don't do them, I often feel restless or listless. That said, I schedule in one or two rest days a week, when I don't do more than a leisurely walk or some upper body strength training, to let my leg muscles recover.

I've been doing endurance exercise long enough to have learned that sometimes you have to take time off to progress--whether it's due to injury, overtraining, or major life events. When my dad died, I had so much on my plate that my exercise slid off; keeping up with work and family responsibilities took priority. After a few weeks, I realized that I missed working out and that I handled other things better when I did at least a basic workout, but I didn't begrudge myself the recovery time.

:flowerforyou: Be kind to yourself, you're in a stressful, emotional situation right now. It's okay to feel guilty about missing a workout as far as knowing you need to keep yourself healthy, but it's not that big of a deal. Try to plan a half hour that you can sneak in a walk or some yoga. They'll help you reduce your stress and can be done almost anywhere.

I feel guilty about not working out when I just skip it for no good reason, but when you really can't because of life situations happening that aren't under your control there's nothing to feel guilty about.

I don't use the scale except once a month. I keep track of all my calories in and out and do my best to make sure I'm at my needed deficit to loose half a pound a week. Weighing everyday is kinda pointless, it fluctuates too much and isn't really indicative of whether you're loosing weight. Measuring and tracking inches, as well as fit of clothing are much better indicators.

Take care of yourself first so you can take care of everyone else.:flowerforyou:

Not really but I do get very antsy.

I do and I usually beat myself up about it too. But I have to remember that part of being healthy is giving my body a break too to recover properly.

I used to feel guilty before I discovered MFP. But now if I miss a day working out, I just make sure I stay under my calories for the day and I don't feel guilty at all! Sometimes it's actually refreshing to take a day off. But yeah, in the past I did feel extremely guilty for taking days off.

It sounds like you've needed this extra time to recover from all the stress you're under. Try not to beat yourself up about it, because that's only going to increase your stress levels. You can only do so much.