Exercise!! ;) ???? Must I really?

I went to the treadmill once last week and I was so proud of myself. I hate it. It is so boring. I live in a third floor apartment with no elevator and at work on breaks we have to climb another three flights of steps. I work three days a week and we get our breaks every hour and a half. At the end of my three days my legs hurt from standing and walking so much I use that as an excuse not to go exercise at the fitness center. I can't seem to push myself yet.

I'm wondering with what I have said in this letter if someone would be able to tell me if I follow my calorie counts every day and continue with the monitoring I might still see some sort of weight loss? I would love to hear if this is possible. Thanks, Michelle P.S. I am up to a size 18 from what I was 30 years ago weight 145 was my good weight. I really don't think I'll see this again.

Yes, you can; however, you will need to watch your food intake and make sure you choose healthy foods. You are getting some exercise with the stairs. But, exercise is a great benefactor to your weight loss, as well as improves energy and wellness. What you should do is figure out what you would have fun with and make special exercise time for that. Maybe walking would be enjoyable if it's with a friend, hiking through a scenic area. Maybe you would enjoy dancing or swimming, bicycling or rollerblading, jumping on a trampoline. Maybe you would enjoy something competitive, where team sports would be your thing or challenging yourself with a charity walk, run or marathon. The point is, find what activity would most give you some joy & do that. Then, not only will you contribute to your weight loss, energy and wellness, you will also have a good time and an extra accomplishment you can be proud of yourself for. And, when you are a size you do not want to be, it's hard to ever imagine being a reasonable weight again. But, believe in yourself and put in the effort, and it's amazing what you will accomplish.

You can lose weight without exercising, it will just take longer.

 

But the benefits of exercise extend far beyond weight loss. Why would you not want to do something that extends your life and betters your quality of life?

Any exercise that bores you is not a good match for your long-term; and you seem to be getting sufficient walking through your job and home. Is the treadmill your only option for exercise, or are you doing that as a sort of fitness baseline?

 I consider walking one of the foundational elements of fitness - works a treat for recovery after intense exercise, and to just burn extra calories in a low impact manner that doesn't drain your recovery capacity. But it does function best as an add-on to something else - what other options do you have, and is there anything you're not doing right now that sounds intriguing to your sense of fun?

If I didn't enjoy working  out it sure wouldn't be something I could continue to do for the long haul and weight loss is a long haul and then the maintaining too will take work.

I find steady state cardio machines a bore as well.  I will do a rower sometimes, but only with a metabolic type workout- go all out for 30 sec dial it back for 30 and back up again for 10 - 15 min

Look into some low impact bodyweight exercises.  Do some bodyweight squats as fast as you can for 30 sec rest for 30 sec then rinse and repeat - do that for 8 - 10 min then do push ups the same way - then your downstairs neighbors won't be upset because they won't be hearing any thuds or bouncing around etc, and you will still be getting in a good cardio and weight routine- of course as the weight melts off you may have to add some weights to your squats.  Maybe invest in some kettlebells and do KB swings- I love those and again its quiet

You could also do walking lunges- taht would be quiet and work the legs differently.

While going up the stairs - maybe run them or do 2 at a time.  Grab those kettlebells and do step ups on those stairs. 

Grab a gallon of milk/ water and use that to walk the stairs a few times.

 

A paraplegic can lose weight, as long as calorie expenditure is greater than calorie intake.

Your legs don't ache from standing because you exercised them, standing around for hours isn't exercise.  Neither is going up/down three flights a few times a day.  Your legs ache from standing because you are not in good enough physical condition to stand for that long in the shoes you are wearing. 

Find something physical that you like and do it a few times a week.  Try different things until something clicks with you.  Go with a friend, listen to music while you are exercising.  Exercise shouldn't be boring, it shouldn't be something that you hate to do.  It should have some element of fun. 

If you're not interested in:

• minimizing muscle loss as you age,
• preventing bone loss and osteoarthritic disease as you enter menopause,
• declining strength and grip,
• deceasing your loss of function - ability to carry things like suitcases or heavy boxes, or get up easily from a chair, ability to get things out of low cabinets/drawers by squatting rather than bending at the waist,
• decreasing your susceptability to alzheimer's/dementia
• improving your cardio functioning or any of the other physical benefits associated with exercise

then no, you certainly don't have to exercise. 

 

 

Original Post by despinamb:

• minimizing muscle loss as you age,
• preventing bone loss and osteoarthritic disease as you enter menopause,
• declining strength and grip,
• deceasing your loss of function - ability to carry things like suitcases or heavy boxes, or get up easily from a chair, ability to get things out of low cabinets/drawers by squatting rather than bending at the waist,
• decreasing your susceptability to alzheimer's/dementia
• improving your cardio functioning or any of the other physical benefits associated with exercise

then no, you certainly don't have to exercise. 

 

 

I would also like to add reduce hot flashes to your list!  I don't know if there are any scientific studies to prove my theory, but for me I never have hot flashes anymore.  I lift weights and do intense interval training and feel great.  I have a coworker who doesn't exercise and she is constantly complaining about the heat, she is always putting ice chips down her shirt.  She is never comfortable for longer than an hour before she starts turning on the fans she has in her office.  I tell her all the time to start exercising -

We both work for an OB/GYN and she won't take hormones because she said it made her boobs hurt- I don't take them because I don't need them!!

Happy mothers day everyone!

I hate exercise also but I know if I want to lose weight I have to get back into it. Getting started is the hardest part. Once you decide what you want to do(I prefer walking early in morning so I can watch sun rise) just start at 1- 3 min and up it by a min. every 4 or 5 days, whatever you are comfortable with, before you know it you will have worked your way up to 1/2 hour and pretty soon you will start to not hate it so much. I also take sundays off. I am up to 15 minuets right now looking towards 1 hour. Lifting weights along with the walking is good. If your arm strength is not good (mine is terrible) start off just lifting the bar and slowly add weights as you build up your muscles. Youtube has lots of videos on how to begin a weightlifting routine and you can google all kinds of information on finding what is best for you.

They say it takes 3 weeks to make something a habit but I gotta tell you I wake up every day hoping its raining so I can skip my walk; good thing I live in the desert where we have very few days of rain!  Good luck

I've read that weight loss is 80-90% diet/20-10% exercise and believe it. I didn't lose anymore weight doing vigorous exercise at the gym 4 days than I do with daily PT chair exercise with 3 days of weight lifting. Lots of swimming in the summer.

As previously said, exercise will promote a healthy body and is part of new lifestyle. Good luck.

Exercise is not restricted to doing repetitive things in a closed room. Find a sporty hobby which you would enjoy (hiking, biking, team sports, etc.). As for running, it' much nicer to go for a run in a park, see some blue skies and foliage, and breathe fresh air, and get some vitamin D from the sun. It can even feel invigorating to go running in whatever weather.

I too hate exercising, but what I found works for me is a couple of things. 1. I found walking outside vs the treadmill works better for me. I listen to a book on tape while I walk and I really like the alone time. 2. I keep my sun visor and sun glasses by the door so I don't have to look for them and I make a BIG glass of ice cold lemon water and have it ready for when I get back from my walk. It's all in the little things. 3. If I do walk on my treadmill I watch a show that I really like and only watch it while on my treadmill. Get a series from Netflix that you like. 4. I try to do some mild yoga while my husband watches the news. I found that watching the news on a daily basis really upset me so while he watches the news I just do my yoga. I'm so much happy and calmer.

Just a few suggestions what works for me. Good luck to you.

Not sure what types of shoes you wear at work, but try looking at flats (be sure there's enough cushion for your feet!). For walking around/ walking home, get a nice pair of tennis shoes (and carry your dress shoes). Personally, I find treadmills to be the most boring piece of equipment ever -- I do enough walking around as it is. Exercise doesn't have to be formal or a burden -- try walking around the block (or walking two blocks up , two blocks over, and then back home); get a pedometer and work on increasing your steps daily; look up some basic exercises online (i.e., stretches, beginner weight lifting), find exercises that look workable for you and try them out. Currently, I'm rotating between three routines at home (15 min each): beginner weight lifting, body weight exercises set 1 (crunches, leg lifts), and set 2 (twists, side bends).

1,000 per cent correct!  You don't have to do the same thing all the time either.  Actually, I think it's supposed to be better if you don't.  You will loose though, no matter what you do, but do something!!!  Activities are broken down in CC, so make sure you record yours.  You will see that activities can be doing dishes, as long as you can record how long it took.  The more you loose the more you need to move, if you want to keep loosing.  I find myself becoming more motivated to become active and calorie count when I loose.  Good luck on your journey and don't ever give up, even if you have a bad day.

 

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Sorry, but weight loss is as simple as calories in and calories out. There are places that will show you how much your daily calorie burn is. Then do the math. But more importantly, the desire for a healthy weight and lifestyle needs to become important to you. The roller coaster  that a lot of women are on; extreme weight loss and gain again is so damaging in so many ways. You have to be convinced of who you are, why you are deserve to live a healthy life and what you are going to do about it.  You have to be convinced heart, mind and soul to succeed. Good luck.

I love how so many people above said that you need to find something you like doing. It's true, you definitely don't want to hate going to exercise every time you do it, because you won't do it for long.  If the treadmill is the only option you have - can you make it more fun? I dislike the treadmill out of all the cardio options there are, but when I have to use it, I try to find an interesting podcast or a great music set, or a TV show that I like to watch (if there's a TV option).  There are downloads of lots of great educational podcasts out there... besides iTunes, NPR has them too. 

It's not great for you to lose weight just by dieting because you'll also lose muscle in the process.  That's why exercise is so important - so you keep your muscle while you lose the fat.  If someone is not losing any more weight with diet and exercise than they did with just exercise, it's because they are also adding muscle to the equation, which = mass = lbs. This is why it's important to have other ways to measure success (the way clothes fit, the way you look, the way you feel) - the scale doesn't tell all! Plus, you'll look much better with a little muscle on you than with none - believe me. 

Finally, I also agree with those above that say the reason your legs are tired are because the standing and the few times you walk the stairs are the only exercise you do.  If you put your legs through a more intense exercise on the days you are off, then they'll get used to the higher intensity.  After doing that for a while, your legs won't feel much pain on the days you work because that'll be nothin' compared to what you do with them at home. 

This may sound awfully dumb, but have you tried reading? That is - if that's something you like doing, and if you can multitask.

I love working out, walking, and running - but I have to use cardio machines in the winter/when the weather is foul. And yes, that was somewhat alienating. Until I bought myself a Kindle. I have read lots of books while walking/jogging, and found it was less heavy on me to get to my 10k daily jog. It distracts me, and makes me feel less fatigued.

I know it is something that can be hard/uninteresting for some people, but that worked for me.

Hi Chelly, I hate the treadmill too! The idea of running in the same spot for an hour bores me to death! Same with the elliptical, stationary bike, etc. BORING! Even if I have a tv to watch or my ipod to listen too. So I do a different yoga video everyday.... and not easy yoga, yoga that actually makes me sweat a lot! I get to choose my hour workout everyday so I never feel bored or like I'm doing something I don't want to do. Plus the teachers on Yoga Today are wonderful and try to make the videos light-hearted and  fun. 

Exercise should be a 4 letter word just like Diet.  Diet, for the vast majority of us who have a life long struggle with weight, is the wrong concept...

For those that generally and naturually stay at a heathly weight but occassionaly need to lose 5-10 pounds to stay within that weight..diets work great.  Twice a year they "diet" to loose 5 pounds here or there.

For those of us that if they eat "naturually" would gain 20 or more pounds in a year...we cant diet...we have to change our life styles.  Diets are the boom bust stupid thinking that gives us that roller coaster.  For those of us that must chainge their lifestyle to stay at a healthly weight the concept of watching what you eat for 2 months then going back to "normal" and being fine for a long period of time...dosent work.

Exercise is the same thing...  Exercise is an activity you do outside of your normal routine that is specifically for "getting fit" or "loosing weight."  From my experience Exercise sucks...  It is not something I can do and sustain.

Becoming active on the other hand is something I have built into my life.  I play sports.  I go on nature walks with my kids.  I built stuff in my basement.  I do lots of stuff to stay active.  I don't exercise ever.  Don't exercise...think of ways to become more active.  

I hope that helps.  You can loose weight without exercising or becoming more active...but its really really hard to maintain.  1600-2000 calories needed to maintain weight let alone loose weight would make me, at least, feel constantly deprived of food...which leads me to just give up on my diet...plus weight loss is SLOW.  

This, of course, comes with the normal disclaimers.  I am not not a doctor, this is my own experience.  Maybe I am unique but I sort of doubt that.

My advice...become more active.  Change life style.  Get healthy.  Stay healthy.

But you know what they say about free advice.

HI Chelly,

 

I hate to add to the growing number of responders who say you technically "can" loose weight with little or no excercise, but you are also losing muscle if you do so.  I can tell you that when I started my lifestyle change back in Oct I actually thought I got enough excercise by playing tennis about 8 hours a week, and I am not talking slow easy tennis, very high level doubles with a lot of running around. Needless to say even with all that tennis, I still managed to gain a steady 5 pounds a year the last few years.  ANyway, when I added cardio and weights to my life and changed my eating habits the weight did come off.  But the truth was regardless of what good shape I "thought" I was in, it hurt like mad that first month.  My body ached a lot from the epiliptical and various machines.  I want to say it was a good month before I actually stopped hating the gym.  Now at 6 months later I have dropped 50 pounds total.  I have stopped my gym membership but have enough confidence with my body that I go for jogs/runs out on the trail near my home.  I bought a set of hand weights and work with them also at homeas well.

For my body, eating better alone could not have dropped the weight I needed (and still have about 30 more pounds to go).  I need to have consistent regular excercise.

Eventually your body won't ache like it is now.  Eventually you might even crave the feeling you get after a good hard workout (I know I look forward to how I feel after).  But it takes time.  Stick with it and dont' stop or give up.  Trust me, seeing those numbers go down every day kept me going.

sincerely

kathy