I feel like I have zero time to exercise, also I frickin hate it

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Replies

  • elsie6hickman
    elsie6hickman Posts: 3,864 Member
    I hate exercise, always have, always will. But I don't have the excuse of not having time, and now that I have made a lifestyle change, I'm doing it every day. I don't let myself make excuses, because that is one way that I got where I am. Made excuses too long.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,226 Member
    Any form of extra movement burns additional calories. Find some forms of movement you enjoy, and do them.

    Walking outside is one, for sure. There are hundreds or thousands of other possibilities, from dancing, to learning a martial art, to gardening, to playing a musical instrument, to hiking/birdwatching, to Frisbee, to playing with kids, to carpentry/home improvement, and many beyond. You don't have to do the same things every day, either.
    Some activities are hard to calorie-estimate, so you don't necessarily get to eat extra from doing them until you see how it affects your weight loss rate, but they burn calories just the same.

    Besides doing new "big"(ish) activities that involve more movement, there are ways to increase movement in your daily life activities (job, daily chores, etc.), too. There's a thread about that here: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss

    Just try to become a person who sits still a little less, and moves a little more, gradually and increasingly, over time. Eventually you'll be moving lots more, perhaps even including doing things you would once have thought of as (ugh) exercise. ;)
  • MichelleLaree13
    MichelleLaree13 Posts: 865 Member
    I wish someone told me that having workout friends was so dang helpful a decade ago. Now we can do fun stuff that involves exercise. My advice would be to find something you don’t hate and do that for exercise
  • garystrickland357
    garystrickland357 Posts: 598 Member
    Folks here have it covered but I have to add my thoughts. In terms of exercise I always simply try to do something every day that’s food for me. Now - I’m one of those wierd people that actually enjoys running and cycling. That said, sometimes life and work get in the way. On those days I walk, lift kettlebells, swim if it’s an option, whatever. I like the fitness I’ve regained so I choose to do things that maintain that or move it forward.

    I’ve been married for 33 years. My wife has maintained a healthy BMI throughout our marriage while I have done the roller coaster. She DOES NOT exercise. She just can’t justify the time for it (in her mind). As she is aging and our children and I are more fit, she is beginning to question that philosophy - but - it’s worked for her for the last 57 years.

    Just decide what you want to do. There’s no wrong answer.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    edited August 2018
    emmies_123 wrote: »
    aokoye wrote: »
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    emmies_123 wrote: »
    I don't consider exercising itself a "Force of nature," I was referring more to the quote of "who have kids, work a full day, do household chores, etc ". Those are forces of nature as they can get everything done and have a nice happy little household, and judge the rest of us for not being as active/busy/productive as they are.

    It took me forever to change my mindset. When I first started exercising I did a stationary bike because I could do my hobby at the same time (watch a show or play a video game), anything else felt like I was robbing myself of something that let my brain relax after work. It wasn't until my brain switched from "I'm trying to lose a little weight" to "I want to get fit" that I could really commit to exercise, and even now I only do 30 mins a day because any more and I would lose out on "fun time."

    I wish i was blessed with naturally enjoying physical activity. I wish I was blessed with no sweet tooth, or a natural love of fruit/veg. But some of us have a little more of an uphill struggle.

    Ok, maybe this is my own sensitivities coming out, but I have a real problem with that. EVERYONE'S path has hills and valleys. Everyone. Period. Some things that are very easy to you are very hard for me. And vise versa. That doesn't mean that either one of our "hills" are steeper than anyone else's. They are just different hills. You yell about being judged, yet here you are judging others for having easier paths in life. You have no idea what other people are dealing with.

    I think what's actually going on, or part of what is going on, is that there is an assumption from emmies that some people, don't have struggles or, at the very least, don't share similar struggles. I think it's actually an easy assumption to make, especially when some of us are told, "well suck it up because at least you aren't dealing with xyz stresser" I wouldn't call what emmies is doing judging, but I don't think that it's necessarily helpful either. Either way I do think it's pretty understandable.

    wow ok what I was saying got horribly misinterpreted. First off, my first post in this thread was that I did the same workaround as most of you guys, I get up early because I know I won't exercise after a work day. So most of us are on the same page with solution.

    My next post was to ask a previous commenter to not judge OP's statement that they have zero time, as he came on a little strong that choosing a sedentary hobby over physical activity is wrong and completely useless. I disagree as most of us need something for our mental well being, and just because we sit to do it does not make it worthless in the big scheme of things. I may have been misinterpreting his words but such is the way of written conversation, when you lose the verbal cues of how it was meant.

    Finally, I never "yelled" about judgement, there were no caps in any of my posts. Again, someone may be taking their own personal interpretation of my words, as I did with a previous poster, and thought I was hitting a sore point in their lives. I would like to clarify that I have never stated (or assumed) that some people don't have struggles or that their struggles are lesser than my own. That is almost the exact opposite of my original request, to not judge someone for struggling to find time to exercise in their normal routines.

    Not sure where we went so wrong here, hope y'all are having a better night than you were earlier...
    Most of your post had nothing to do with mine. That said this is the quote of yours that I was referring to in my post:
    I wish i was blessed with naturally enjoying physical activity. I wish I was blessed with no sweet tooth, or a natural love of fruit/veg. But some of us have a little more of an uphill struggle.
    By saying "some of us" you're implying that there are people who don't struggle with enjoying physical activity, have no sweet tooth, and/or have a natural love of fruit/veg. That phrase also implies that some people, you included ("us") have "a little more" of an uphill struggle than others. You may not have intended it to be read that way, but that's how I read it and it appears others read it similarly.

    I personally don't find the above quote particularly egregious which is what I was trying to explain in my post. I don't think it's useful to think that way, but I don't consider it a condemnation.

    edit: Let's also not pretend that I only think in ways that are useful to my physical and mental well being. No one is perfect and I can't imagine that there is a person who doesn't think in at least some ways that aren't constructive.
  • workhard304
    workhard304 Posts: 4 Member
    gallicinvasion wrote: »
    Walking outside is wonderful, but I just can't fathom purposeful exercise. I think my attitude is mostly coming from being exhausted after work, and wanting to save my evenings and weekends for fun activities (alone or with friends).

    I guess I should think of ways to work activity into my regular day, but I'm so reluctant to start. Do you guys have success adding in physical activity to your day, besides going to the gym?

    I do really have a hard time I'm a big workout Google and a strong believer in time management the biggest thing is telling yourself from the 7 days out of the week what are the main days you can take either 30 minutes to an hour out of the day and actually make it an initiative to put a decent workout in with people like us in where time is precious high intensity interval training would be the best bet to go to at least keep some shape to our bodies
  • maureenkhilde
    maureenkhilde Posts: 849 Member
    I totally get it, we can find time to fit something in if we find it important or enjoyable. If it does not meet those type of requirements to us. Well it most likely will not happen. I like walking outside, but not so much in the summer that really starts mid may and really runs to end of October. 90 and high humidity do not make for great walking to me. So I finally admitted to myself, to drive myself (6 miles) to the nearby mall about the early mall walking. To get the needed walking time in, and distance. I felt it was important. And gave it two weeks to see was it worth it. I have been doing for 40 plus days now, 4 days a week. Have met some interesting people, got some great tips about exercise, diet, walking, shoes, shoe inserts etc... But it would not have happened, it I did not find it important enough to do. And I think that is something only the OP can answer, what is most important to her to get done.
  • Avidkeo
    Avidkeo Posts: 3,206 Member
    I have 2 young children (4 and 2) and work full time in a hospital. I get up at 5:30am to get a run in (about 45 mins), breakfast, drive to work, get home, spend time with the kids, put them to bed, get 1.5hrs time with hubby then sleep around 9pm. I chose to get a run in at 530am because my evening time with my kids is valuable to me. no one is up before 630 so I get up before them to get my workout in then. I am not a morning person, id rather stay in bed, especially as its the middle of winter here and still dark until 630, but its the only way I can get a run in and not lose time with my kids.

    Also I walk at lunch breaks. I spend all day inside so getting out and getting fresh air at lunch is fantastic.

    Like others have said, you need to decide what you are willing to give up.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    gallicinvasion wrote: »
    Walking outside is wonderful, but I just can't fathom purposeful exercise. I think my attitude is mostly coming from being exhausted after work, and wanting to save my evenings and weekends for fun activities (alone or with friends).

    I guess I should think of ways to work activity into my regular day, but I'm so reluctant to start. Do you guys have success adding in physical activity to your day, besides going to the gym?

    It sounds like you don't really have a fitness goal and thus no desire to do particular exercises. Do things you think are fun or useful activities. Just walk if you like walking. You don't have to ever go to a gym if you don't want to.

    Most of my activity is walking but I do 10-30 minute workout videos from you tube also. There is a huge variety of shorter workouts.
  • funjen1972
    funjen1972 Posts: 949 Member
    Don't feel like you need to start with hour long workouts, which can be overwhelming. Start small and gradually build up, only if you want to. Try a bazillion different exercises to find something that works for you. Maybe add additional activities into your regular day or routine. For instance:

    Planks during commercials
    Body Squats while brushing you teeth
    Walking lunges to the mailbox
    Walk to the corner store instead of drive
    Go dancing with friends
    Take the family to a nature center or metro park and walk or bike the paths
    Go to a water park or pool and swim

    Best of luck to you!
  • makkimakki2018
    makkimakki2018 Posts: 414 Member
    Cycle to and from work daily :smile:
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    edited August 2018
    gallicinvasion wrote: »
    Walking outside is wonderful, but I just can't fathom purposeful exercise. I think my attitude is mostly coming from being exhausted after work, and wanting to save my evenings and weekends for fun activities (alone or with friends).

    I guess I should think of ways to work activity into my regular day, but I'm so reluctant to start. Do you guys have success adding in physical activity to your day, besides going to the gym?

    I guess I'm lucky that a lot of my friends are also runners & triathletes so I get to combine exercise and social interaction to some degree. This sounds counter-intuitive but back in the day when I was a highly accomplished couch potato I was more exhausted at the end of a work day than I am now.

    Walking is a good start. Would it be practical to bike to work a couple of times per week? Do you have any interesting walking / hiking trails you could go to with your friends? Is there a sport you enjoy playing?

    Getting more active doesn't require going to the gym, it's just a matter of finding opportunities to move more.

  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    edited August 2018
    For me I just decided it was a priority in my life. It's essential for good health, especially since I sit on my butt all day at work. Also, the hardest part is getting started. After a while, it became habit. Now I just do it and don't think twice. There's no mental game anymore thinking of reasons why I shouldn't or why I don't have time. There are lots of activities that you can try that don't involve going to a gym and lifting weights or getting on an elliptical. (or whatever it is that you dread so much). You could join a sports team. Take exercise classes. Yoga. Hike. Pole dance lessons lol. Rowing. Paddle boarding. Ride a bike. Tennis. Pickleball. Martial arts. etc. Oh, and walking. Whatever gets you moving.
  • divcara
    divcara Posts: 357 Member
    If you don't typically exercise, I would say exercise is not very enjoyable - it's strenuous, requires exertion, and if you are out of shape, it can be just plain miserable. Well that is how I always felt. I would try something way too hard, have no physical endurance or conditioning to do it, be self-conscious, and not attempt it again for months.... years. Eventually when I got into a routine I liked, and my body became more conditioned and strong, it became something I actually looked forward to doing. Now it really is one of my favorite "hobbies." Everyone has to start somewhere and sometimes you just have to be willing to suck for awhile and stick with it. If you reach a certain level of proficiency, it actually can start being more enjoyable.
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
    I never had time for exercise. Until my health was on the line and I made it a priority. Then I magically found time to exercise. Now I love running, hiking, swimming and walking and always make time to get some physical activity in. I think what helped the most was giving up TV, it just sucks up too many hours for so little return for me and I don’t even miss it. I’ll still occasionally watch a show or two here and there but I’ve realized that TV is a snacking trigger for me too so it’s just easier to stay away from it. I’m in so much better health nowadays I’ll never go back to my old ways and luckily my partner doesn’t care for TV either so we do fun stuff together instead of veging out in front of the screen. Ymmv :)
  • Courtscan2
    Courtscan2 Posts: 499 Member
    I struggle to find time as well as I work full time, am currently in grad school, and have 2 young kids and a fairly needy husband - however I have to make time for my mental health as well as for my body. I wake up at 5am and workout in my garage (I have a bunch of weights, a bench, a pull up bar, some other bits and bobs and a bunch of videos) before they all wake up 5-6 days a week. I don't necessarily love exercising, but I love how it makes me feel and it's the only "me" time I get all day.
  • robbienjill
    robbienjill Posts: 456 Member
    Mental exhaustion can be as tiring as physical some days. So I would suggest knowing the difference and pushing through. I come home on my lunch break and workout on the treadmill mos days. Get creative and get moving. If it’s mental exhaustion, you will be so surprised of the benefits of working out. It helps you lose everything that’s rolling around in your mind.
    You got this!!!! Best wishes on your success.
  • noblsheep
    noblsheep Posts: 593 Member
    h1udd wrote: »
    makkimakki2018 wrote: »
    Cycle to and from work daily :smile:

    This ... I used to hate exercise until one day I queued 20 minutes to get out the carpark, whilst queuing I googled the cost of bikes and realised that a cost of a decent bike was a 3 months parking and fuel in the car.

    I bought a bike

    I became addicted to cycling to work, racing other riders, dragging buses and cars up the hills .. I bought a faster bike so I could sit in the drops and power home .... I bought another bike so I could take shorcuts off road

    I started lifting weights to improve my performance

    I started riding at weekends for fun ..... I bought a turbo-trainer so I could play zwift and ride my bike online and join in races and group workouts with people.

    I got too fit cycling to work that I wasnt progressing in the short journey so I took up running as well .....

    it escalates .... find an activity you like doing .. a sport maybe

    Ditto... one day I was stuck in traffic on the bus across the street from a bike shop. I got so fed up with the traffic that I jumped off the bus at the next stop and bought a bike. I never did get too good at cycling, but I now run ultra marathons (shrugs).
  • Mandylou19912014
    Mandylou19912014 Posts: 208 Member
    I am up early in the mornings to go and work on an office until late, by the time I get home I am exhausted and starving. But I mentally force myself into the gym .. I take pre workout if I’m feeling particularly tired and this helps me to stay alert. I find that once I’m in the gym I love it and spend a while in there and then eat late at night, that feeling you get after a great workout more than makes up for the pain and the exhaustion
  • hmaddpear
    hmaddpear Posts: 610 Member
    gallicinvasion wrote: »
    Walking outside is wonderful...

    Then just walk. To start with. I lost my first sixty or so pounds with just walking more (and making sure I was in a calorie deficit, of course.) I 'signed up' to walk to the next tube stop, meaning a mile, on the way into work, and walking the same back. Then I started going for short walks round a nearby park in my lunch hour. Which then became longer as I became more fit. I then made it a rule that for any journey under 3 miles, I walked, rather than taking the bus. Once I'd lost more weight my sister challenged me to a 5K run. So I did Couch to 5K. I thought I was going to hate it, but I learned to love it. Fast forward 4 years and I'm still running. (I put on half the weight I originally lost - oops - but I'm still running!)

  • bpotts44
    bpotts44 Posts: 1,066 Member
    Keep trying different exercise modalities until you find one you like (strength, kettlebells, crossfit, running, body pump, etc). Walking is perfectly acceptable though.
  • Deviette
    Deviette Posts: 978 Member
    Find a physical activity that you love and you want to fit into your day. For me, that's judo. Yes I have days when I cba, yes I have days when I'm tired, or want to do something else. But I don't, I go and I remind myself every time why I do this sport. I don't do it for health reasons. I don't do it to lose weight. I do it because I love it. Personally I've always hated doing exercise for exercise sake. Gyms? Hate them. It's not for me. But I love doing activities. And many of those activities are physical by their nature. Find something you will love doing. It may take a while, but it'll be worth it.

    Feeling tired after work is completely normal. And yeah, when you start doing a new activity it will seem like hard work, it will seem super tiring and like you can't be bothered, but it does get easier, it really does. Once habits become established, you'll find that that difficulty to find the energy for something fades. It will be there sometimes, and sometimes you'll burn out, but most of the time it'll not seem so hard.


    Out of interest, what kind of activities do you do normally that you do enjoy?
  • gallicinvasion
    gallicinvasion Posts: 1,015 Member
    edited August 2018
    Packerjohn wrote: »
    gallicinvasion wrote: »
    Walking outside is wonderful, but I just can't fathom purposeful exercise. I think my attitude is mostly coming from being exhausted after work, and wanting to save my evenings and weekends for fun activities (alone or with friends).

    I guess I should think of ways to work activity into my regular day, but I'm so reluctant to start. Do you guys have success adding in physical activity to your day, besides going to the gym?

    What do you consider the fun activities you want to save your evenings for, vegging on a couch watching a tube? If so, don't say you don't have time for exercise.

    There are plenty of people who have kids, work a full day, do household chores, etc and still have time for purposeful exercise.

    If you are too tired after work, workout before you go to work.

    I fully understand there are busier people than myself. I didn't say I don't have time for exercise, I said that I want to save my time for stuff I find enjoyable (which is not exercising).

    In short, yes I love vegging on a couch. I love knitting, I love sewing, I love playing piano, I love playing bass, I love reading.

    My question is less "please tell me to work out!" and more "I'm interested in hearing your suggestions and ideas for fitting natural physical activity into a regular day."

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