I HATE exercise

Since you like being outdoors can't you skip the treadmill and walk or run outside instead? I have the same problem with workouts too late in the evening but if I finish by 7 or 8 I am okay.

You could pretty much be describing me before Vet school when i was teching. I hated exercise. I was definitely the last person picked in gym class whenever I couldn't come up with an excuse to ditch. You can certainly set yourself as more than sedentary since working a clinc/ hospital/ shelter/ kennel is definitely a physical job. I

would say, though, that you might look and feel better if you workout. My advice is to ditch the treadmill. I hate them too. Go for a walk around your house in the morning instead if you want to do some cardio, and start doing some kind of strength training 2-3 times per week. I know that I saw better results that way, and I like strength training way more than cardio. Not only is it more fun (for me), it' also got me better results as far as appearance. Good luck!

I don't see why I can't just restrict calories. It's not like I spend every day lazing around.
I'm totally ok with never having to run a marathon. Chances are I can lift A LOT more than most females

There have been lots of people who have successfully lost weight through calories restriction alone and it sounds like you're certainly not sedentary at work.

I don't see why I can't just restrict calories. It's not like I spend every day lazing around.
I'm totally ok with never having to run a marathon. Chances are I can lift A LOT more than most females

You DON'T have to exercise to lose weight. Just don't expect to have a body that looks "firm" if decide not to.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Your job sounds like it's very active. I believe that there is even a set in workout on here labeled walking while carrying an infant that's 15lbs .... something like that, I have seen some other mfp's use it. The lifting is strength training that's for sure. And if you spend a lot of time walking, well that's light cardio. Maybe once during the weekend you can do something like the treadmill to add a boost to the calories you burn.

I have a super physical job too..I asked my dr/dietician if that counts toward my physical activity and he said that 'no, it does not'...so I pressed him for the reason.

His reply was that if you do an extremely physical job everyday, your body sees this as the norm, and starts to get used to that level of activity...when you start wanting to add exercise, you need to up it..because your body is already used to what you do.

That sucks, I sometimes do over 12k in steps and unload pallets. I don't WANT to do more!

And always have. I dreaded gym class and sweating.
For me, getting on the treadmill not only sucks, but it becomes an entire process (30 mins work out, 20 min shower, another 40 to make my hair not an afro) Also, I've found that if I do it at night, I cannot sleep, so it would have to happen BEFORE I go to work, (so getting up at 4 am every day)
I am always sore after work. Its not unusual to not get a chance to sit down in an 8 hour shift. Plus I am constantly lifting, restraining, or walking dogs that weigh anywhere from 2 lbs to 150 lbs. It just depends on the day. Anyway I can just call this my exercise?
I like to hike. I like to boulder. I like being outside. However, when I do these things, its usually an all day, social event, not a reliable work out routine

If walking dogs is your job, I would definitely count that as exercise!!! It's definitely burning calories... I love the gym, but like you don't get off work until too late to be able to sleep, and don't always get up early enough to get out there. DO you have a Wii? The Zumba for the Wii is a TON of fun, and a really good workout, too. You might want to try that. I've been doing mine for quite some time now and have dropped 50lbs since the first of the year. But I would recommend adding in some sort of resistance training, whether it be resistance bands, weights, whatever... OF course I think pulling on the dogs, gives PLENTY of resistance, too!!! :happy:

You don't have to exercise to lose weight--it's your body, so just do what you want to do. If it took me 60 min to shower and fix my hair, I probably wouldn't like it either. I love weight training, so it's hard for me to empathize, but you can lose weight with just your active lifestyle and a caloric deficit--problem solved.

And always have. I dreaded gym class and sweating.
For me, getting on the treadmill not only sucks, but it becomes an entire process (30 mins work out, 20 min shower, another 40 to make my hair not an afro) Also, I've found that if I do it at night, I cannot sleep, so it would have to happen BEFORE I go to work, (so getting up at 4 am every day)

Yep. I hated exercise, too...until I was ready to commit myself to doing it. This necessitated a complete change in my attitude which took awhile. In fact, it took YEARS.