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Finding time to Exercise
Replies
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heiliskrimsli wrote: »
Only steps-based activity counts as activity?
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: »
Only steps-based activity counts as activity?
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: »
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: »
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: »
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: »
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: »
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: »
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: »
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.
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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.
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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: »
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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