Hello everyone...I haven't posted in awhile. I am still struggling with losing this weight. I let other things let me lose my focus. But I was reading through some of the threads and thinking....maybe I am just lazy. And I know that sounds like a simple concept to understand. But my whole life all of my friends and I would talk about losing weight. But we would never do anything about it. I make excuses for not working out because I am so heavy or my body hurts too much. Its way easier to grab the chips or pizza than get up and make a good healthy meal. I am starting to see all the excuses and things I have not done towards weight loss. And I am really starting to see that it could be because I just have been lazy about losing weight. Its not really because I am unable to work out or cook a good meal. Its because I don't feel like it ( being lazy). I hope this made sense ...but I am trying to come to grips with what is blocking me from losing weight. Have any of you realized you were just being lazy? How do you change? I hope all this made sense.
For me, some of it is laziness but I think that is really the smallest part of it. I think it is primarily the belief system I have put into my head that I am not worth it, that I don't deserve to be happy. I constantly bombard myself with negative thoughts so it is only natural that I wouldn't do something good for myself, like exercise.
I am slowly realizing that I have a lot of issues that I am not acknowledging. The issues are still there but are getting stuffed down with food. So I'm really trying to hard to deal with things head on and not using food as a "remedy".
oooh, if I could wave my hand wildly in the air, I would I'm definitely a lazy bum, particularly when it comes to exercise. I get home from work and sit at my computer for an hour or 2, then make dinner, then watch tv an/or doze on the couch till bedtime--why don't I exercise at all in all that time? Because I just don't wanna...it's easier to sit at the computer or watch tv or decide to try some lengthy new recipe for dinner instead of just throwing some chicken in the over or turkey burgers on the indoor grill. I'm not always as lazy when it comes to food--I go in spurts. For example, yesterday I got bored, so I made enough soup to freeze 6 servings to use as lunches during the week, and I also cooked up a couple pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast with veggies and put it in a big container in the fridge to use on a bed of lettuce for salads. However, there are other times (usually when I'm tired) where instead of doing that, I end up just having pizza, Chinese, and Subway all weekend long.
Now, how to get over it? I've done it before, and just fell out of the habit a while ago. How I did it: suck it up and do it! I made it part of my normal routine. If anyone could complain they didn't have time to exercise, it was me--I was getting up at 4:45 every morning to work mu full-time job from 6am-2pm, then I worked Monday-Thursday nights from 4pm till about 11pm at a restaurant and was lucky to be home, showered, and in bed by 12:30am, only to get up at 4:45 again the next (err, that same?) morning.
Oddly enough, this was when I stuck to my schedule best of all. I actually joined a gym close to my jobs and would go for an hour in between jobs (just cleaned myself up as best I could before the restaurant shift--no time for a full shower), and I brought all of my meals and wouldn't even eat dinner at the restaurant. I would spend my Sundays cooking and dividing food for the whole week so I wouldn't have to do it each day. I was on a roll!
But now I have a new higher-paying full-time job and no longer work an evening part-time job, so here I am with more spare time, which for me is really the evil I just need to get off my butt and start again--I know if I do it one day, then the next day, I'll think, "well, I could do it yesterday, so I know I can do it today, too," and so on until it's in my routine again. I just need to do it once to get the ball rolling...
Mechell, I totally understand what you're saying. Laziness isn't my main reason for not getting on the diet sooner (for me, it's self-control when my appetite is wanting junk food), but it's definitely a factor. Coming home and cooking something healthy vs. grabbing something easy to make or worse, from McDonald's... many times I've given in to laziness on that!
One way I've gotten around it was to plan a cooking session on the weekend and make a few dinners at once. Then I freeze them in individual portion containers and when I just want to grab dinner, I grab one of the healthy containers. I also take them for lunch. And as I get more used to cooking, it's easier to get myself to cook during the week.
And then there's the way my mother used to do it. When she wasn't up to cooking, she'd "just throw a chop in the oven." (steak, veal, lamb chops, pork chops).
A friend once suggested using my laziness, and sometimes it even works! As in, "Oh, I don't feel like getting up for that snack right now, I'll read some more first" or whatever.
Re exercise, laziness is definitely something I have to fight. I love walking, but I don't live in an area that's easily walkable, so I have to drive to get to one, and that sometimes means I feel too lazy to go. When I could just get up and walk out the door, there was no problem. Doing a workout routine is even worse. I'm trying to get myself to do it at the same time every day, so I know that when it's time, I must get up and work out. (I haven't gotten the time set yet.)
But here's the thing: You don't have to diet and exercise perfectly. Take it in small steps. Start by reaching for an apple instead of chips, by buying some healthy/diet frozen dinners instead of getting fast food. Do a five-minute exercise routine before going whole hog. Things like that.
Add me to the lazy list. I prefer to take the path of least resistance in pretty much everything. When it comes to exercise I just force myself to do it and it's not too bad because I used to play a lot of sports so it's not exactly new territory.
When it comes to food my laziness usually works in my favor. See, I live by myself so I make sure I don't have any junky food in the house. So when I'm sitting here about to have dinner and think "gee I really want some chinese food" I then realize I'd have to get in my car and drive all the way there to pick it up. This is far too much work so I end up reheating some chicken breast and rice.
I think there are many reasons I became overweight and laziness could definitely be a small one but it wasn't a major reason.
Lazy described me to a T. All of my interests centered around activities that required little or no movement, and my eating habits had degenerated to pre-prepared frozen meals and fast food restaurants (faster, less work, no dishes). I had never in my life been an active person- even as a child I spent the vast majority of my time reading and studying.
I just decided that I was no longer going to be that person. Instead, I would be an active, even "sporty" person, take up cooking as a hobby and start engaging in a lot of different activities. It was a 100% mental change, and really was amazingly easy to make (I guess I was ready for it). Then I just followed up that change with the actions that were needed, each day, every day.
It feels strange that, after all of my life defining myself as lazy, I find that I really do enjoy this new lifestyle. I never suffer from boredom, because I have so many more things I can do "when there is nothing to do", and the food I get to eat at home is restaurant quality without the cost. My health has improved greatly in several ways, not just my weight- and of course that has improved greatly as well.
My advice, from one lazy person to another: look for enjoyable forms of exercise, don't try to force yourself into a routine. Don't just "cook food", cook excellent meals. I find that the extra immediate reward of enjoyment is needed to keep us from falling back into our old patterns of (non)behavior. Be strict, but flexible with your plan, and focus on behaviors and not their outcomes.
Oh my, lazy, yes! You betcha! I consider myself very lazy, especially with exercise. But, I have made commitments to it, which I started slowly. And I keep telling myself that I'm not that person anymore. Though sometimes it feels like I have to FORCE myself to exercise...
Be strict, but flexible with your plan, and focus on behaviors and not their outcomes.
I think we were posting at the same time, but I just wanted to highlight this sentiment -- that's exactly what I would have said!!!! (well, you know, had I thought of it!! )
I lableled myself as lazy for a really long time. It would have been closer to the truth to say that I was depressed - mostly because of my self image. I'm not talking a dibilitating depression. But, I wasn't enjoying life. I was sitting around, wishing I was thinner, talking about being thinner but not actually doing anything about it. When I finally made up my mind to lose weight I actually had to FORCE myself to move. I don't mean exercise, I mean MOVE. As in I had to resist the temptation to ask DH to bring me something from another room so that I wouldn't have to get off the couch. Gradually, though, that extra movement turned into dancing around with my kids, which turned into a walk down the street, which turned into a full blown gym membership. And, out of the blue, I was ENJOYING life again. Honestly, I still have to talk myself into formal exercise but I am 100% more active in general and that makes a big difference in my attitude (and weight loss efforts).
So, yes, I was (am) lazy to a degree but it wasn't a personality trait. Let's face it, being fat is physically and emotionally tiresome. However, I wasn't fat because I was lazy, I was lazy because I was fat. As soon as I started taking care of my body and moving more, the "lazy" disappeared.
When my doctor told me last summer that I had to lose weight and exercise, I was shocked. Didn't he see I was too sick? What he saw was that I could do more than I was doing. I was sick but I was lazy too. I was depressed also due to my illness and body-image. I had no faith in my ability to lose weight or exercise. I started slowly with walking and gradually improved. I'm no athelete by any stretch, but I can move a little now. I get up and get things myself now instead of asking DH or children to bring it to me. I still have to force myself on the treadmill each day, but I do it. Walking isn't near as difficult without all those extra lbs. dragging me down. Yes, I admit that I was a lazy one too.
I immediately could see labeling myself as lazy when I read your question. When I kept reading other posts, I can see part of it as being depressed and negative about myself and what I could do.
I agree with doing the exercise/movement you really like to do, and eating what you really enjoy eating (and making an effort to make it tasty for you).
I've tried to make it as easy as I can to fall into a groove of healthy eating and exercise. I know in the past it's been incredibly easy for me to talk myself out of exercise, so I've worked on adopting a just do it way of thinking about it (I try not to let the debate of do it or not even come up in my mind).
there's a lot to be said for positive momentum. Once you get part of the ball rolling, it's much easier to attack other aspects.
I think that the trait of being lazy is a habit, and one that is reinforced by the physical realities of being fat. Before I started my new way of life, I didn't do much moving. I drove everywhere, and didn't walk unless I absolutely had to. I was having troubles with my left knee. I hate to admit this, but it was getting to the point that those little "riding carts" they have at walmart were starting to look like a good idea.
One of the first, and most important changes I made when I started was to make a rule that I would exercise at least 10 minutes a day 5 days a week. 10 minutes? That really wasn't so hard. It didn't take too much time out of my other routines and didn't leave me feeling dead afterwards. But it quickly did become a habit. And it wasn't too long before I started building it up to moving more simply because I wanted to.
WOW! Thanks so much for ALL of your input and adivce! You girls are great!
I also will say I know that its not all because of laziness. To be more specific I also have had a really bad time with deep depression. And also a lot of health problems...thyroid, severe joint pain...etc. But I was trying to be honest with myself and the other day I really asked my self why didn't you do that walk at home tape? And I started thinking well a treadmill would be so much easy...I started to think that well I need to buy a treadmill before I worked out!!!? I realized wait a minute you are just being so lazy! And also I agree the food has a lot to do with self control. But I am horrible at not wanting to cook! And I realize I am lazy in that area as well. Once again thanks so much for giving all of you input! I appreciate it!
So, yes, I was (am) lazy to a degree but it wasn't a personality trait. Let's face it, being fat is physically and emotionally tiresome. However, I wasn't fat because I was lazy, I was lazy because I was fat. As soon as I started taking care of my body and moving more, the "lazy" disappeared.
Oh wow you said this SO well... same here! When I was younger I was always extremely energetic and athletic. But when I gained so much weight and it got harder and harder to move around... and I was embarrassed to even be seen in public... I kind of gave up. But now that I am back in the habit of exercising it feels SO good.
That does not mean I always WANT to get out and do it! A LOT of the time I try every way in the world to talk myself out of it. Yet when I actually get out there, I really enjoy it, especially since I have lost some weight and am so much stronger and feel healthier. I try not to focus on how far I have still to go except in the sense of looking forward to how much better I can look and feel this time next year if I keep this up!!! There comes a time when the price we pay is worth the results.
Lazy...?
I'm definitely a lazy bum, particularly when it comes to exercise. I get home from work and sit at my computer for an hour or 2, then make dinner, then watch tv an/or doze on the couch till bedtime--why don't I exercise at all in all that time? Because I just don't wanna...it's easier to sit at the computer or watch tv or decide to try some lengthy new recipe for dinner instead of just throwing some chicken in the over or turkey burgers on the indoor grill. I'm not always as lazy when it comes to food--I go in spurts. For example, yesterday I got bored, so I made enough soup to freeze 6 servings to use as lunches during the week, and I also cooked up a couple pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast with veggies and put it in a big container in the fridge to use on a bed of lettuce for salads. However, there are other times (usually when I'm tired) where instead of doing that, I end up just having pizza, Chinese, and Subway all weekend long. 
I just need to get off my butt and start again--I know if I do it one day, then the next day, I'll think, "well, I could do it yesterday, so I know I can do it today, too," and so on until it's in my routine again. I just need to do it once to get the ball rolling...
