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Finding time to Exercise
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heiliskrimsli wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »SusanMFindlay wrote: »Maxematics wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »
Good to know that you aren't judging by defining people who exercise one or two hours each day as not having active lives, and that you haven made any assumption that they don't enjoy exercise either.
I'd love to have as much free time to do the activities I love as you have to do yours. Unfortunately, I have responsibilities that have to come first. I'll be very happy if after all the chores are done today, I get two hours to go cycling. Because that's more free time than I usually get.
It didn't seem at all to me @Maxematics was judging anyone. They were just talking about their choices. It does seem as though you're picking apart their posts and lifestyle because you're frustrated about yours. Sorry you don't have as much free time as you wish, but there's no reason to take that out on someone else.
Thanks. I don't get the free time comments either. I've stated so many times that I don't walk to and from work every day yet it's emphasized that I exercise for three hours every day when I don't. I do an hour workout five days a week. My steps come from longer walks and day to day life. I have a full time job in which I'm on my feet most of the day, I have family members to take care of, errands to run daily, housework to do. All of this is part of one's activity level, yet I'm perceived to have this crazy amount of free time because I burn off more calories than the average person my size due to my lifestyle and therefore have a higher calorie allowance. I honestly don't understand the hostility.
Yeah, I don't get it either. I have a full time job and two toddlers. Free time is certainly not something I have a lot of. I still average just under 20,000 steps/day. Making the time to do that is a choice (and, to some degree, the result of a semi-active job and happenstance like my parking spot being clear across campus from my office). I prioritize taking my kids to the park. My husband and I like to go for walks. I chase kids a lot.
Not everyone can (or even wants to) make those choices, but there's no need to attack those who can.
A lot of people spend upward of an hour a day commuting each way to a job that involves spending hours in meetings and the rest of that time trying to do the work that gets talked about in meetings. There went 12 hours of my day already. Inside the other 12, everything else has to happen. There are only 24 in a day, after all. Out of the 12 that are not part of either being at work or getting there and back, there's everything else: do the yard work, do the laundry, cook, clean up, do the grocery shopping, take a shower twice a day (after all the sweaty stuff, and before work), eat dinner, find time to exercise, my other activities like photography, have some sort of a social life, and sleep.
That whole thing about how people find the time to watch television 3 hours a day and that's why they're not out walking 8 miles a day? I guess it's easier to think that.
People don't realize what a difference a semi active versus sedentary job makes. You can do 8k step in a 6 hour shift in a fast food place, for example... that's still 8k more than someone who works 6 hours at a computer. So yeah... saying 'I have a job but still have 20k step a day' when you're on your feet at your job is not a very fair comparison. It IS hard for some people to get even 10k steps. I mean, a lazy day at home for me would be around 5000-7000 steps (doing those tasks like laundry, cooking, cleaning), but that's 16 hours at home (when not sleeping) and not spending 8 hours sitting at a desk...
That being said, there are a lot of people who watch 2 hours of television at night, and they *could* exercise at the same time if they really wanted it (like my husband. But he chose to put the exercise bike in the basement instead of spending those 2 hours on it). Or even that hour spent browsing Facebook or these forums... people could be going for a walk instead. It's still about choice. Like I choose to go for a walk instead of stitching/reading/playing video games (although obviously sometimes there isn't much of a choice if you have kids at home and/or are disabled).
Eight hours at a desk would be a short day for me. It's usually closer to ten. I still usually walk about 4 miles a day in addition to whatever other exercise I do.
My contention was at the "some of us prefer to have an active lifestyle" way that it was put. I have to make time to have an active lifestyle because I'm not working in the kind of job where I walk around all day (like serving food). Choosing to do one thing means something else has to go. At this point, there's nothing else I can just cut out and not end up with over-training problems. But the idea that the line between an "active lifestyle" is 20,000 daily steps / 8 miles of walking is a little far fetched.
When I think of people with an active lifestyle, I consider more than how many steps a day they take, because otherwise pretty much every white-collar office worker in the world cannot possibly have an active lifestyle - no matter how many marathons they run or centuries they ride - because they're not walking 8 miles a day and also going to the gym for another hour.
For me an active lifestyle is being on your feet most of the time when you're not working, pretty much. I'd say that steps are a pretty big part of that. It's the difference between someone spending their free time walking/exercising/doing chores and someone spending most of those 'free' hours reading or watching tv.
Only steps-based activity counts as activity?Maxematics wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »My contention was at the "some of us prefer to have an active lifestyle" way that it was put. I have to make time to have an active lifestyle because I'm not working in the kind of job where I walk around all day (like serving food). Choosing to do one thing means something else has to go. At this point, there's nothing else I can just cut out and not end up with over-training problems. But the idea that the line between an "active lifestyle" is 20,000 daily steps / 8 miles of walking is a little far fetched.
When I said "Active", I meant that with regard to the guidelines used by many sites, including MFP. Sedentary, Lightly Active, Active, Very Active, etc. I did not mean that anyone who does not do everything that I do isn't active at all and does absolutely nothing with themselves. According to those guidelines, I would be Active to Very Active in my day-to-day life. Recognizing that most people do not get that amount of steps or even exercise, they'd be considered Sedentary to Lightly Active.
I think defining activity in terms of steps ignores that there is a lot of activity that isn't based on steps at all. Rowing isn't steps. Cycling isn't steps. Swimming isn't steps. Martial arts aren't steps.
The obsession with steps, and defining a lifestyle as active vs. inactive based upon nothing other than steps is ridiculous.
How is this 2 page detour related to the OP?
OP, if you are still reading at this point (perhaps with fascinated horror at the train wreck this has become), sounds like you have become pretty meticulous with your logging. How quickly have you lost the weight? Have you ever taken a diet break? Hormones can respond to prolonged deficits, it may be worth considering to slowly increase calories for a period of time (couple weeks), and then come back at it. Great job so far!10 -
heiliskrimsli wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »SusanMFindlay wrote: »Maxematics wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »
Good to know that you aren't judging by defining people who exercise one or two hours each day as not having active lives, and that you haven made any assumption that they don't enjoy exercise either.
I'd love to have as much free time to do the activities I love as you have to do yours. Unfortunately, I have responsibilities that have to come first. I'll be very happy if after all the chores are done today, I get two hours to go cycling. Because that's more free time than I usually get.
It didn't seem at all to me @Maxematics was judging anyone. They were just talking about their choices. It does seem as though you're picking apart their posts and lifestyle because you're frustrated about yours. Sorry you don't have as much free time as you wish, but there's no reason to take that out on someone else.
Thanks. I don't get the free time comments either. I've stated so many times that I don't walk to and from work every day yet it's emphasized that I exercise for three hours every day when I don't. I do an hour workout five days a week. My steps come from longer walks and day to day life. I have a full time job in which I'm on my feet most of the day, I have family members to take care of, errands to run daily, housework to do. All of this is part of one's activity level, yet I'm perceived to have this crazy amount of free time because I burn off more calories than the average person my size due to my lifestyle and therefore have a higher calorie allowance. I honestly don't understand the hostility.
Yeah, I don't get it either. I have a full time job and two toddlers. Free time is certainly not something I have a lot of. I still average just under 20,000 steps/day. Making the time to do that is a choice (and, to some degree, the result of a semi-active job and happenstance like my parking spot being clear across campus from my office). I prioritize taking my kids to the park. My husband and I like to go for walks. I chase kids a lot.
Not everyone can (or even wants to) make those choices, but there's no need to attack those who can.
A lot of people spend upward of an hour a day commuting each way to a job that involves spending hours in meetings and the rest of that time trying to do the work that gets talked about in meetings. There went 12 hours of my day already. Inside the other 12, everything else has to happen. There are only 24 in a day, after all. Out of the 12 that are not part of either being at work or getting there and back, there's everything else: do the yard work, do the laundry, cook, clean up, do the grocery shopping, take a shower twice a day (after all the sweaty stuff, and before work), eat dinner, find time to exercise, my other activities like photography, have some sort of a social life, and sleep.
That whole thing about how people find the time to watch television 3 hours a day and that's why they're not out walking 8 miles a day? I guess it's easier to think that.
People don't realize what a difference a semi active versus sedentary job makes. You can do 8k step in a 6 hour shift in a fast food place, for example... that's still 8k more than someone who works 6 hours at a computer. So yeah... saying 'I have a job but still have 20k step a day' when you're on your feet at your job is not a very fair comparison. It IS hard for some people to get even 10k steps. I mean, a lazy day at home for me would be around 5000-7000 steps (doing those tasks like laundry, cooking, cleaning), but that's 16 hours at home (when not sleeping) and not spending 8 hours sitting at a desk...
That being said, there are a lot of people who watch 2 hours of television at night, and they *could* exercise at the same time if they really wanted it (like my husband. But he chose to put the exercise bike in the basement instead of spending those 2 hours on it). Or even that hour spent browsing Facebook or these forums... people could be going for a walk instead. It's still about choice. Like I choose to go for a walk instead of stitching/reading/playing video games (although obviously sometimes there isn't much of a choice if you have kids at home and/or are disabled).
Eight hours at a desk would be a short day for me. It's usually closer to ten. I still usually walk about 4 miles a day in addition to whatever other exercise I do.
My contention was at the "some of us prefer to have an active lifestyle" way that it was put. I have to make time to have an active lifestyle because I'm not working in the kind of job where I walk around all day (like serving food). Choosing to do one thing means something else has to go. At this point, there's nothing else I can just cut out and not end up with over-training problems. But the idea that the line between an "active lifestyle" is 20,000 daily steps / 8 miles of walking is a little far fetched.
When I think of people with an active lifestyle, I consider more than how many steps a day they take, because otherwise pretty much every white-collar office worker in the world cannot possibly have an active lifestyle - no matter how many marathons they run or centuries they ride - because they're not walking 8 miles a day and also going to the gym for another hour.
For me an active lifestyle is being on your feet most of the time when you're not working, pretty much. I'd say that steps are a pretty big part of that. It's the difference between someone spending their free time walking/exercising/doing chores and someone spending most of those 'free' hours reading or watching tv.
Only steps-based activity counts as activity?Maxematics wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »My contention was at the "some of us prefer to have an active lifestyle" way that it was put. I have to make time to have an active lifestyle because I'm not working in the kind of job where I walk around all day (like serving food). Choosing to do one thing means something else has to go. At this point, there's nothing else I can just cut out and not end up with over-training problems. But the idea that the line between an "active lifestyle" is 20,000 daily steps / 8 miles of walking is a little far fetched.
When I said "Active", I meant that with regard to the guidelines used by many sites, including MFP. Sedentary, Lightly Active, Active, Very Active, etc. I did not mean that anyone who does not do everything that I do isn't active at all and does absolutely nothing with themselves. According to those guidelines, I would be Active to Very Active in my day-to-day life. Recognizing that most people do not get that amount of steps or even exercise, they'd be considered Sedentary to Lightly Active.
I think defining activity in terms of steps ignores that there is a lot of activity that isn't based on steps at all. Rowing isn't steps. Cycling isn't steps. Swimming isn't steps. Martial arts aren't steps.
The obsession with steps, and defining a lifestyle as active vs. inactive based upon nothing other than steps is ridiculous.
You're way overthinking this. I don't think ANYONE would ever imply that cycling, swimming, or rowing, are not activity. I think you're the one who's obsessed over the step 'obsession' and nobody EVER said that steps are the only measure of your activity (I myself said that it's a 'big part of it'. Not all of it).17 -
SusanMFindlay wrote: »Maxematics wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »
Good to know that you aren't judging by defining people who exercise one or two hours each day as not having active lives, and that you haven made any assumption that they don't enjoy exercise either.
I'd love to have as much free time to do the activities I love as you have to do yours. Unfortunately, I have responsibilities that have to come first. I'll be very happy if after all the chores are done today, I get two hours to go cycling. Because that's more free time than I usually get.
It didn't seem at all to me @Maxematics was judging anyone. They were just talking about their choices. It does seem as though you're picking apart their posts and lifestyle because you're frustrated about yours. Sorry you don't have as much free time as you wish, but there's no reason to take that out on someone else.
Thanks. I don't get the free time comments either. I've stated so many times that I don't walk to and from work every day yet it's emphasized that I exercise for three hours every day when I don't. I do an hour workout five days a week. My steps come from longer walks and day to day life. I have a full time job in which I'm on my feet most of the day, I have family members to take care of, errands to run daily, housework to do. All of this is part of one's activity level, yet I'm perceived to have this crazy amount of free time because I burn off more calories than the average person my size due to my lifestyle and therefore have a higher calorie allowance. I honestly don't understand the hostility.
Yeah, I don't get it either. I have a full time job and two toddlers. Free time is certainly not something I have a lot of. I still average just under 20,000 steps/day. Making the time to do that is a choice (and, to some degree, the result of a semi-active job and happenstance like my parking spot being clear across campus from my office). I prioritize taking my kids to the park. My husband and I like to go for walks. I chase kids a lot.
Not everyone can (or even wants to) make those choices, but there's no need to attack those who can.
I'm someone who does have time, being a homeschooling SAHM, but that doesn't mean I judge people who chose to spend their time (however much they have or don't) differently. My current Fitbit running total shows me averaging around 22K a day. I also do shred workouts.
That aside, I fail to see how the OP's initial post in any way was meant to do anything but help the OP, in spite of the direction this thread went in.4 -
Hey folks - this discussion was split from https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10557138/is-my-metabolism-that-screwed-up
If instead of an 'exercise' debate, you were looking to help an OP figure out what's going on with him, head on over there. If instead, you wanted to debate about finding exercise time, please stick around and add your two cents.
I'd like to remind you that we have community guidelines. When someone posts a plea for help, lets try actually helping them. If you find yourself wanting to discuss something that ISN"T what the OP is about, start your own thread.
Now, back to your regularly scheduled program...
Happy freaking Sunday,
Em13 -
To this particular topic. Back when I did work, but wasn't particularly interested in exercise, I did do a fair bit of walking. It's one of the reasons so much of my activity is walking based now. I've always found it to be a great stress reliever. When I'd be wrestling with a particular job-related problem, I used to get up from my desk and do a few laps around the building's atrium to clear my mind and help me focus. I had walking built into my daily commute, too.
In addition to purposeful bouts of exercise (planned runs or speed walks, which I do depends on the condition of my joints) and Shred workouts, I do little walks throughout the day while I'm waiting for tea to steep or 10-15 minutes every hour when my watch move reminder goes off. I put on my shoes and go around the block and rack up another mile (our street is a loop that is just about a mile around and I walk very briskly).
Sitting around is bad for my medical condition. Getting up and moving every hour is good for it. It's important for me to make time for activity due to my circumstances.7 -
I don't get many steps in though in theory I could as I have a lot of free time. Often I can't and often when I can I just plain old don't. I'm not bitter about those who do and rightly say that if you can make some time in your day it's perfectly possible to get extra activity and increase your TDEE.
I've joined the National Trust today to try and encourage myself to get and do more walking in our national parks and even walk round stately homes, sites of national significance etc.
Be active or don't, have the time or don't, be in a position to have active job or work a desk job but don't pick someone apart because they happen to be more active/have the time to be more active/deliberately make the time.9 -
If/when fitness is important to you, you make the time. It doesn't have to be a gazillion hours per day...people really underestimate the value of doing some kind of moderate physical activity for 30-60 minutes per day and maybe throwing in a more vigorous workout in 1-2 times per week.
My wife and I are busy people...we both work and we have a 7 & 4 year old at home. We both work in an office environment and understand as sedentary workers, it's very important that we make time to move everyday outside of that circumstance simply for our general health and well being...beyond that, we're both just pretty into fitness.
My wife is an avid runner and enjoys participating in 1/2 marathons and the occasional marathon here and there. She runs a 10K 4x per week and usually a longer run on the weekend at some point. She also lifts with our friend and her trainer 1x per week and does some body weight stuff a couple times per week after her runs.
I'm a cycling enthusiast and typically ride 50-60 miles per week as a baseline...I like doing a couple of endurance events annually so I up the miles when I'm specifically training for one of those. I lift 2x per week in the gym and have one body weight workout weekly. I walk my dog most mornings when I get up...it's not far, but it's something and it's good for her and a nice way for me to wake up...love drinking my coffee and watching the sun come up on a new day. I recently got involved in Jiu Jitsu, but alas, that's not going to work out with scheduling unless I drop some cycling which I'm not really willing to do.
On weekends we like going out and being active as a family...family hike in the mountains or like yesterday, we took the boys to the rock climbing gym and climbed for a couple of hours and then all went out for lunch.
Being active is important to us...fitness is important to us. Because it is important to us, we make the time. We don't spend all day exercising...basically 45-60 minutes per day of deliberate exercise. It has made a tremendous difference in both our fitness and was instrumental in losing weight as well as maintaining our weights. Neither of us eat like little birdies either.
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Ah yes, I should have added, my steps are generally low but I lift and do bodyweight HIIT/Tabata type stuff 3-6 days a week. So on the odd day I do walk 15-20k steps it's no issue as I'm fit enough for it.2
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I'm incredibly fortunate that i have time to exercise. I'm retired and don't have small kids to look after, so i can walk for miles everyday.
I too would struggle if i had a desk job, plus a two hour commute everyday. Sure, i could get up early and pound the pavement, but i know myself and my lack of motivation in the early hours, and chances are high i wouldn't do it! When my kids were little and i worked full time, i did go to the gym for an hour or two most nights, but that was about it.
My sister works in an office, she decided to get a fitbit to motivate her to move more. She walked to the next floor instead of emailing, went to the furthest toilet, went to the photocopier multiple times instead of copying everything all at once etc etc. The result of this was she got in more steps, but she also got pulled into her bosses office for "time wasting" even though she got all of her work done. So now, her fitbit sits in her drawer at home
I get in so much walking because, I never watch tv during the day, i read the forums on my phone while i'm walking instead of sitting in front of my laptop, i walk when i'm talking on the phone which can be problematic for the other person because i'm huffing and puffing while trying to talk lol
I have great admiration for people who work full time and still manage to get hours of exercise in every single day, it just goes to show where there's a will there's a way.6 -
I have 5 kids with the youngest being 6 months and I find time to gym 5-6 days a week. I even go for 3-4 hours on the weekend. I make time for me. Happy mom/wife... Happy life.9
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One word: tabata. Everyone has 8 minutes (2 for warmup, 4 for workout, 2 to cool down) for 5 days a week. Research has found tabata workouts done properly are as effective as much longer workouts at improving markers of fitness. In my case at least it seems to be true - my blood glucose is lower the day after tabata, and it also seems to help my metabolism when I toss a few tabata workouts into the weekly mix.
Also, tabata is a quick and easy way of proving to yourself that Einstein was right, time is relative. Before trying it I wouldn't have believed that I would end up often choosing a much longer moderate intensity workout over the tabata one because the longer one is easier!
Anyway, I have learned to be flexible - on days when I know I have no time (for example when I know I will be in the car all day), I do something quick like pushups in the morning when getting ready. You can do squats anywhere, even in the bathroom. Do 40 squats every time you go to pee and you will have a serious leg workout by the end of the day. Do them fast enough and it will get your heart rate up too.4 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Maxematics wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »Maxematics wrote: »Actually, if the before picture is you, you might be able to maintain on fewer calories than the calculators suggest. Studies disagree about whether preserving lean mass helps prevent the "reduced obese" phenomenon, but it does exist - people who lost a lot of weight are found to burn fewer calories than people of the same (current) weight who were never obese.
But THAT much? I'm 5'3", 113 pounds, and I lose on 2000 calories. I truly think, depending on how long he's been at this, he's being impatient or highly underestimating his food intake. I'm leaning toward the latter even though he says he weighs everything in grams. Do you have cheat days?
Do you run a daily half marathon to get that kind of burn?
She walks up to 20,000 steps and exercises up to an hour per day.
Thank you for this! Yes, that's what I usually do. I feel like people really underestimate the power of being active. They see exercise calories as a bad thing and think they have to eat so little to maintain their weight.
Yay for exercise calories!
At 5'2", @WinoGelato is an inch shorter than you and maintains on 2200 calories because she's active. I find her story about how she gradually increased her activity level and was able to lose weight without deprivation inspirational.
Thanks! Don't know how I missed this earlier. Yes it's been a steady progression to try to become more active from when I started and truly was more Sedentary. When I first got my FitBit after 6 months of MFP I was averaging 8-10k steps/day. Now I average 15k steps/day, a lot of which is from just being a busy working mom, and then a lot is from purposeful exercise. I get up early and walk the dog, for 30-60 min depending if I'm doing circuit training that day or not. I do have a desk job but I park in the back of the lot, try to get outside at least once a day at lunch or between meetings for a couple laps around our campus (~3,000 steps). My boss and I have taken to doing part of our meetings while walking a couple times a week. I try to hit 10-12 k steps before I get home in the evening and then often take another walk with kids and dog in the evening - but a lot of my steps come because other than driving, working, and eating, I don't sit down all day long. When at home I just keep moving. Right now I'm at a kids birthday party and I'm walking outside while the kids are bouncing. Other parents are sitting and playing on their phones, I would rather keep moving. On the weekends we hike or go to the park and run around with the kids.
So yeah, my TDEE in the summer when I'm even busier is like 2300 or so. I'm in maintenance and eat back those calories over the course of the week (less on weekdays more on weekends). Just like some folks end up negatively impacting their metabolism through adaptive thermogenesis and years of extreme calorie cutting - I feel like I positively impacted mine through concerted efforts to raise my NEAT and my exercise levels. I enjoy the extra calories to eat but I also enjoy the activity.7 -
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Dogs make really great walking partners, and having one forces you to walk as they need to get walked at least once a day.
My daughter has 2 huskies, and she went from zero exercise to walking them an hour in the morning before work, and 2 hours after work every single day, and more on weekends. I honestly cant believe she does it lol But her love and caring for those dogs outweighs her laziness tendencies...5 -
I have a desk job but I walk in my morning break, lunch, and afternoon break. I then hit the gym. I have a standing desk at work so I don't move too much but I'm on my feet. I average about 16k-20k steps a day with work and the gym.0
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I'm glad I have a flexible schedule so I don't have to always worry about when to workout.1
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Christine_72 wrote: »I too would struggle if i had a desk job, plus a two hour commute everyday.
I'm quite fortunate because although my commute is stupidly long for how far I live from work (about 6 miles, and yet 45 minutes minimum each way, generally longer on the way home), part of that is always a 10-15 minute walk (or a bit more if I detour to one of the slightly farther grocery stores than the one I pass between my place and closest L station), and I can replace part of all of it with something active. The fastest way to get to work is biking, and for a while I was biking the pleasant way along the lake with an extra loop or 2 -- 13 miles there, maybe 20 on the way home if I could leave where I wasn't fighting the darkness. Lots of exercise without adding much to my commute time. I also often run home (have a backpack for that purpose -- 1 hour, so again not much more than my regular commute and the workout is out of the way). Unlike the biking I do this when it's dark and in the winter too (many people bike in the winter, but I don't). Worst case I can walk part way home and get at least some additional exercise.
Being able to not be cooped up in a car is important to me (I chose not to take one job in part because it would have required a long commute to the burbs), and so it's something I prioritized.2 -
I spend about 2 hours a day commuting, and my job is a desk one. For a given week, Mon-Thu I work 9 hours, then 8 hours on Friday. The following week the Mon-Thu schedule is the same and I have Friday off. I often walk for 15-20 minutes on my lunch break, then 2-3 times a week I do a more solid workout after work. I do realize that I could certainly do more exercise after work, but sometimes it does feel like the time goes by fast once I come home.1
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I could get 2,000 steps or less a day if I did not try. I am getting 8,000-9,000 steps now.
Sure, I can fit some exercise into my day. 30-90 minutes is not unreasonable. It meansnot sitting as much, being less efficient in daily tasks, walking upstairs to tell dd dinner is ready instead of shouting from the bottom of the stairs, walking while the food is in the oven, doing a workout video.
It can be challenging when the family wants to do something less active together because I want to spend time with them so getting 2,000-4,000 steps or doing a workout video in the morning is helpful for reaching my exercise goal by the end of the day. Not aiming for 20,000+ steps or a 3 hour workout just doing more than I was doing.
If you are doing zero exercise aim for 10-20 minutes. Lots of short you tube workouts or you could walk briskly or turn on some music and dance. When you have that in your routine maybe you can do a bit more.6 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I too would struggle if i had a desk job, plus a two hour commute everyday.
I'm quite fortunate because although my commute is stupidly long for how far I live from work (about 6 miles, and yet 45 minutes minimum each way, generally longer on the way home), part of that is always a 10-15 minute walk (or a bit more if I detour to one of the slightly farther grocery stores than the one I pass between my place and closest L station), and I can replace part of all of it with something active. The fastest way to get to work is biking, and for a while I was biking the pleasant way along the lake with an extra loop or 2 -- 13 miles there, maybe 20 on the way home if I could leave where I wasn't fighting the darkness. Lots of exercise without adding much to my commute time. I also often run home (have a backpack for that purpose -- 1 hour, so again not much more than my regular commute and the workout is out of the way). Unlike the biking I do this when it's dark and in the winter too (many people bike in the winter, but I don't). Worst case I can walk part way home and get at least some additional exercise.
Being able to not be cooped up in a car is important to me (I chose not to take one job in part because it would have required a long commute to the burbs), and so it's something I prioritized.
The choice of where to live can be an important factor in this. I'm able to get extra steps by walking to and from work when it's not too cold. I can do this because I specifically chose to live in an area that was close to my job -- I'm just two miles away from my office. I've had longer commutes in the past and I don't like them, so when I relocated for my current job, I made distance to work a top priority in choosing a home.
I have co-workers who have much longer commutes and many of them do talk about not having time to exercise before or after work. Sometimes it's necessary to have a long commute, but sometimes it's the result of choices.
I know there are exceptions to this rule, but when people don't have time to exercise it is often because of choices they've made. When they made the choice they may not have been thinking "I don't want to have time to exercise," but the end result can be the same. Where we live, the hobbies we prioritize, the after-work commitments we take on, what we prioritize on the weekends, these all factor into the amount of activity we can fit into our lives.2 -
heiliskrimsli wrote: »Lots of people don't have three hours a day to devote to exercise. In fact, I would say most people who work full time, particularly in office jobs, do not have that kind of time. Also, based on your math, walking for 75 minutes (4 miles per hour, five miles takes 75 minutes, not 60) each way to and from work means you're spending more like 2.5 hours walking to and from, so we're up to 3.5 hours per day.
She spends an hour a day exercising. Walking around isn't exercise.
In that "don't eat your exercise calories" thread you told us you run a 5K pretty often.6 -
As the successful have stated - it's not about finding time, it's about making time.
I apply the Pareto Principle to this - devoting my energy to the 20% that truly matters and has impact. I intentionally neglect the 80% of lower priority issues that previously clogged up my time.
My wife and I are both working professionals with three active kids. She gets up at 4 am every day to hit the gym for an hour before work, then spend most of her day in a laboratory. I get up at 5 am and do calisthenics or take a quick run/bike, wake up the kids for 20 mins of calisthenics and get them ready for school. 45 min commute to an office setting, but I started up walking meetings for my team. We eat at our desks and use the lunch time for an afternoon workout. For teleconferences I go mobile and walk with an ear bud. My wife picks up the kids after school and starts the evening routine. I hit the gym on the way home and get my lifting in, then we all go for a walk/bike/whatever. Weekends involve hikes, climbing, swimming or something that gets us out of the house and moving.
It's all about prioritization.12 -
janejellyroll wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I too would struggle if i had a desk job, plus a two hour commute everyday.
I'm quite fortunate because although my commute is stupidly long for how far I live from work (about 6 miles, and yet 45 minutes minimum each way, generally longer on the way home), part of that is always a 10-15 minute walk (or a bit more if I detour to one of the slightly farther grocery stores than the one I pass between my place and closest L station), and I can replace part of all of it with something active. The fastest way to get to work is biking, and for a while I was biking the pleasant way along the lake with an extra loop or 2 -- 13 miles there, maybe 20 on the way home if I could leave where I wasn't fighting the darkness. Lots of exercise without adding much to my commute time. I also often run home (have a backpack for that purpose -- 1 hour, so again not much more than my regular commute and the workout is out of the way). Unlike the biking I do this when it's dark and in the winter too (many people bike in the winter, but I don't). Worst case I can walk part way home and get at least some additional exercise.
Being able to not be cooped up in a car is important to me (I chose not to take one job in part because it would have required a long commute to the burbs), and so it's something I prioritized.
The choice of where to live can be an important factor in this. I'm able to get extra steps by walking to and from work when it's not too cold. I can do this because I specifically chose to live in an area that was close to my job -- I'm just two miles away from my office. I've had longer commutes in the past and I don't like them, so when I relocated for my current job, I made distance to work a top priority in choosing a home.
I have co-workers who have much longer commutes and many of them do talk about not having time to exercise before or after work. Sometimes it's necessary to have a long commute, but sometimes it's the result of choices.
I know there are exceptions to this rule, but when people don't have time to exercise it is often because of choices they've made. When they made the choice they may not have been thinking "I don't want to have time to exercise," but the end result can be the same. Where we live, the hobbies we prioritize, the after-work commitments we take on, what we prioritize on the weekends, these all factor into the amount of activity we can fit into our lives.
I used to live very close to my job, and then they restructured and I got laid off. I had to get a new job, and that meant a longer commute. I couldn't just up and move, because I had bought a house and selling it too soon to try and move closer to a new job would have lost me a lot of money.
As a result I have a long work day, and a commute that it's impossible to walk. Getting walk breaks during the day is fairly difficult. If I leave my desk for more than a couple of minutes and I'm not actually in a meeting, someone notices that I'm not responding to instant messages and emails and raises an issue. I can get away with maybe 10 minutes twice a day. Most of the time my lunch "hour" is spent working on the actual work that is prevented by all of the meetings and eating my lunch at my desk.
I do like to be active, though, so I pretty much rush out the door at the end of the day in order to go and get in a run or a ride. I mow the lawn with a push mower, in the winter there is usually snow to shovel instead of the lawn to mow. I get at least an hour of exercise a day, but I would like to do way more than that. As it is I have to relegate the long rides and long runs, the hiking and the kayaking and the camping to weekends, and sometimes what I want to prioritize and what I have to do are at odds. I'd far rather be out riding my bicycle than doing laundry, that's for sure.3 -
As the successful have stated - it's not about finding time, it's about making time.
I apply the Pareto Principle to this - devoting my energy to the 20% that truly matters and has impact. I intentionally neglect the 80% of lower priority issues that previously clogged up my time.
My wife and I are both working professionals with three active kids. She gets up at 4 am every day to hit the gym for an hour before work, then spend most of her day in a laboratory. I get up at 5 am and do calisthenics or take a quick run/bike, wake up the kids for 20 mins of calisthenics and get them ready for school. 45 min commute to an office setting, but I started up walking meetings for my team. We eat at our desks and use the lunch time for an afternoon workout. For teleconferences I go mobile and walk with an ear bud. My wife picks up the kids after school and starts the evening routine. I hit the gym on the way home and get my lifting in, then we all go for a walk/bike/whatever. Weekends involve hikes, climbing, swimming or something that gets us out of the house and moving.
It's all about prioritization.
The average American spends 50 non-work hours a week on screen time:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/30/health/americans-screen-time-nielsen/
Someone has to be a pretty special snowflake to not be able to find an hour a day to exercise.6 -
armchairherpetologist wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I too would struggle if i had a desk job, plus a two hour commute everyday.
I'm quite fortunate because although my commute is stupidly long for how far I live from work (about 6 miles, and yet 45 minutes minimum each way, generally longer on the way home), part of that is always a 10-15 minute walk (or a bit more if I detour to one of the slightly farther grocery stores than the one I pass between my place and closest L station), and I can replace part of all of it with something active. The fastest way to get to work is biking, and for a while I was biking the pleasant way along the lake with an extra loop or 2 -- 13 miles there, maybe 20 on the way home if I could leave where I wasn't fighting the darkness. Lots of exercise without adding much to my commute time. I also often run home (have a backpack for that purpose -- 1 hour, so again not much more than my regular commute and the workout is out of the way). Unlike the biking I do this when it's dark and in the winter too (many people bike in the winter, but I don't). Worst case I can walk part way home and get at least some additional exercise.
Being able to not be cooped up in a car is important to me (I chose not to take one job in part because it would have required a long commute to the burbs), and so it's something I prioritized.
The choice of where to live can be an important factor in this. I'm able to get extra steps by walking to and from work when it's not too cold. I can do this because I specifically chose to live in an area that was close to my job -- I'm just two miles away from my office. I've had longer commutes in the past and I don't like them, so when I relocated for my current job, I made distance to work a top priority in choosing a home.
I have co-workers who have much longer commutes and many of them do talk about not having time to exercise before or after work. Sometimes it's necessary to have a long commute, but sometimes it's the result of choices.
I know there are exceptions to this rule, but when people don't have time to exercise it is often because of choices they've made. When they made the choice they may not have been thinking "I don't want to have time to exercise," but the end result can be the same. Where we live, the hobbies we prioritize, the after-work commitments we take on, what we prioritize on the weekends, these all factor into the amount of activity we can fit into our lives.
I used to live very close to my job, and then they restructured and I got laid off. I had to get a new job, and that meant a longer commute. I couldn't just up and move, because I had bought a house and selling it too soon to try and move closer to a new job would have lost me a lot of money.
As a result I have a long work day, and a commute that it's impossible to walk. Getting walk breaks during the day is fairly difficult. If I leave my desk for more than a couple of minutes and I'm not actually in a meeting, someone notices that I'm not responding to instant messages and emails and raises an issue. I can get away with maybe 10 minutes twice a day. Most of the time my lunch "hour" is spent working on the actual work that is prevented by all of the meetings and eating my lunch at my desk.
I do like to be active, though, so I pretty much rush out the door at the end of the day in order to go and get in a run or a ride. I mow the lawn with a push mower, in the winter there is usually snow to shovel instead of the lawn to mow. I get at least an hour of exercise a day, but I would like to do way more than that. As it is I have to relegate the long rides and long runs, the hiking and the kayaking and the camping to weekends, and sometimes what I want to prioritize and what I have to do are at odds. I'd far rather be out riding my bicycle than doing laundry, that's for sure.
I totally didn't mean to make it sound as if everyone who has a commute made the conscious choice to do so (lay-offs happen, being tied to a particular house happens). I've had times in my life when I had a longer commute and there wasn't anything I could do about it. My point was more like . . . many of us have *something* we can rearrange in order to make time to be more active if that's what we want to do. And it sounds like you're doing that, just in different circumstances than I am.
I apologize if my words didn't convey that or if I seemed judgmental of people who do have longer commutes due to stuff happening in their lives.5 -
janejellyroll wrote: »armchairherpetologist wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »lemurcat12 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I too would struggle if i had a desk job, plus a two hour commute everyday.
I'm quite fortunate because although my commute is stupidly long for how far I live from work (about 6 miles, and yet 45 minutes minimum each way, generally longer on the way home), part of that is always a 10-15 minute walk (or a bit more if I detour to one of the slightly farther grocery stores than the one I pass between my place and closest L station), and I can replace part of all of it with something active. The fastest way to get to work is biking, and for a while I was biking the pleasant way along the lake with an extra loop or 2 -- 13 miles there, maybe 20 on the way home if I could leave where I wasn't fighting the darkness. Lots of exercise without adding much to my commute time. I also often run home (have a backpack for that purpose -- 1 hour, so again not much more than my regular commute and the workout is out of the way). Unlike the biking I do this when it's dark and in the winter too (many people bike in the winter, but I don't). Worst case I can walk part way home and get at least some additional exercise.
Being able to not be cooped up in a car is important to me (I chose not to take one job in part because it would have required a long commute to the burbs), and so it's something I prioritized.
The choice of where to live can be an important factor in this. I'm able to get extra steps by walking to and from work when it's not too cold. I can do this because I specifically chose to live in an area that was close to my job -- I'm just two miles away from my office. I've had longer commutes in the past and I don't like them, so when I relocated for my current job, I made distance to work a top priority in choosing a home.
I have co-workers who have much longer commutes and many of them do talk about not having time to exercise before or after work. Sometimes it's necessary to have a long commute, but sometimes it's the result of choices.
I know there are exceptions to this rule, but when people don't have time to exercise it is often because of choices they've made. When they made the choice they may not have been thinking "I don't want to have time to exercise," but the end result can be the same. Where we live, the hobbies we prioritize, the after-work commitments we take on, what we prioritize on the weekends, these all factor into the amount of activity we can fit into our lives.
I used to live very close to my job, and then they restructured and I got laid off. I had to get a new job, and that meant a longer commute. I couldn't just up and move, because I had bought a house and selling it too soon to try and move closer to a new job would have lost me a lot of money.
As a result I have a long work day, and a commute that it's impossible to walk. Getting walk breaks during the day is fairly difficult. If I leave my desk for more than a couple of minutes and I'm not actually in a meeting, someone notices that I'm not responding to instant messages and emails and raises an issue. I can get away with maybe 10 minutes twice a day. Most of the time my lunch "hour" is spent working on the actual work that is prevented by all of the meetings and eating my lunch at my desk.
I do like to be active, though, so I pretty much rush out the door at the end of the day in order to go and get in a run or a ride. I mow the lawn with a push mower, in the winter there is usually snow to shovel instead of the lawn to mow. I get at least an hour of exercise a day, but I would like to do way more than that. As it is I have to relegate the long rides and long runs, the hiking and the kayaking and the camping to weekends, and sometimes what I want to prioritize and what I have to do are at odds. I'd far rather be out riding my bicycle than doing laundry, that's for sure.
I totally didn't mean to make it sound as if everyone who has a commute made the conscious choice to do so (lay-offs happen, being tied to a particular house happens). I've had times in my life when I had a longer commute and there wasn't anything I could do about it. My point was more like . . . many of us have *something* we can rearrange in order to make time to be more active if that's what we want to do. And it sounds like you're doing that, just in different circumstances than I am.
I apologize if my words didn't convey that or if I seemed judgmental of people who do have longer commutes due to stuff happening in their lives.
Yeah that's what I was getting at. Sometimes it's rough but if you want to do it you find a way to do it. My friends will tell you they never see me because I'm always training for some thing or another. They're not entirely wrong, either. On the priority list, sitting around "hanging out" has fallen pretty far.
The amount of meetings I have to sit through is a different problem entirely.2 -
Packerjohn wrote: »As the successful have stated - it's not about finding time, it's about making time.
I apply the Pareto Principle to this - devoting my energy to the 20% that truly matters and has impact. I intentionally neglect the 80% of lower priority issues that previously clogged up my time.
My wife and I are both working professionals with three active kids. She gets up at 4 am every day to hit the gym for an hour before work, then spend most of her day in a laboratory. I get up at 5 am and do calisthenics or take a quick run/bike, wake up the kids for 20 mins of calisthenics and get them ready for school. 45 min commute to an office setting, but I started up walking meetings for my team. We eat at our desks and use the lunch time for an afternoon workout. For teleconferences I go mobile and walk with an ear bud. My wife picks up the kids after school and starts the evening routine. I hit the gym on the way home and get my lifting in, then we all go for a walk/bike/whatever. Weekends involve hikes, climbing, swimming or something that gets us out of the house and moving.
It's all about prioritization.
The average American spends 50 non-work hours a week on screen time:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/30/health/americans-screen-time-nielsen/
Someone has to be a pretty special snowflake to not be able to find an hour a day to exercise.
How on earth does the "average American" manage that anyway? That's 7.5 hours a DAY of "screen time". Does the "average American" neither work or have any other hobbies or interests or obligations whatsoever? I expect imminent collapse of society if this study is accurate or as broad as portrayed.
3 -
Mouse_Potato wrote: »heiliskrimsli wrote: »Maxematics wrote: »Actually, if the before picture is you, you might be able to maintain on fewer calories than the calculators suggest. Studies disagree about whether preserving lean mass helps prevent the "reduced obese" phenomenon, but it does exist - people who lost a lot of weight are found to burn fewer calories than people of the same (current) weight who were never obese.
But THAT much? I'm 5'3", 113 pounds, and I lose on 2000 calories. I truly think, depending on how long he's been at this, he's being impatient or highly underestimating his food intake. I'm leaning toward the latter even though he says he weighs everything in grams. Do you have cheat days?
Do you run a daily half marathon to get that kind of burn?
I'm 5'3" and about 120 pounds and I regularly burn 2200-2300 calories a day. And that's being over 40 with a desk job.
Are you including BMR in that number? and I think I just found some ones
Sorry for the delay. I didn't realize this discussion had branched off. Yes, of course I am including my BMR in that number. I can't begin to imagine the amount of exercise it would take for me to burn 2200 above my BMR.
And save your ones. They won't buy much food.
0 -
Packerjohn wrote: »As the successful have stated - it's not about finding time, it's about making time.
I apply the Pareto Principle to this - devoting my energy to the 20% that truly matters and has impact. I intentionally neglect the 80% of lower priority issues that previously clogged up my time.
My wife and I are both working professionals with three active kids. She gets up at 4 am every day to hit the gym for an hour before work, then spend most of her day in a laboratory. I get up at 5 am and do calisthenics or take a quick run/bike, wake up the kids for 20 mins of calisthenics and get them ready for school. 45 min commute to an office setting, but I started up walking meetings for my team. We eat at our desks and use the lunch time for an afternoon workout. For teleconferences I go mobile and walk with an ear bud. My wife picks up the kids after school and starts the evening routine. I hit the gym on the way home and get my lifting in, then we all go for a walk/bike/whatever. Weekends involve hikes, climbing, swimming or something that gets us out of the house and moving.
It's all about prioritization.
The average American spends 50 non-work hours a week on screen time:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/30/health/americans-screen-time-nielsen/
Someone has to be a pretty special snowflake to not be able to find an hour a day to exercise.
How on earth does the "average American" manage that anyway? That's 7.5 hours a DAY of "screen time". Does the "average American" neither work or have any other hobbies or interests or obligations whatsoever? I expect imminent collapse of society if this study is accurate or as broad as portrayed.
Game of Thrones, Kim Kardashian's *kitten*, Honey Boo Boo, and, well, that's as much as I'm capable of naming off the top of my head, but you get the idea. These are the average American's hobbies and interests.1 -
NorthCascades wrote: »Packerjohn wrote: »As the successful have stated - it's not about finding time, it's about making time.
I apply the Pareto Principle to this - devoting my energy to the 20% that truly matters and has impact. I intentionally neglect the 80% of lower priority issues that previously clogged up my time.
My wife and I are both working professionals with three active kids. She gets up at 4 am every day to hit the gym for an hour before work, then spend most of her day in a laboratory. I get up at 5 am and do calisthenics or take a quick run/bike, wake up the kids for 20 mins of calisthenics and get them ready for school. 45 min commute to an office setting, but I started up walking meetings for my team. We eat at our desks and use the lunch time for an afternoon workout. For teleconferences I go mobile and walk with an ear bud. My wife picks up the kids after school and starts the evening routine. I hit the gym on the way home and get my lifting in, then we all go for a walk/bike/whatever. Weekends involve hikes, climbing, swimming or something that gets us out of the house and moving.
It's all about prioritization.
The average American spends 50 non-work hours a week on screen time:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/30/health/americans-screen-time-nielsen/
Someone has to be a pretty special snowflake to not be able to find an hour a day to exercise.
How on earth does the "average American" manage that anyway? That's 7.5 hours a DAY of "screen time". Does the "average American" neither work or have any other hobbies or interests or obligations whatsoever? I expect imminent collapse of society if this study is accurate or as broad as portrayed.
Game of Thrones, Kim Kardashian's *kitten*, Honey Boo Boo, and, well, that's as much as I'm capable of naming off the top of my head, but you get the idea. These are the average American's hobbies and interests.
You forgot sitting in front of the computer reading the MFP forums
I'm assuming screen time also includes computers/phones/tablets. 11
This discussion has been closed.
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