Right now is a really complicated time in my life and my time is scheduled beyond belief. I've never been as busy as I am right now. I know it's only for a couple of more months, and being busy is actually great for the food aspect, but not great for getting exercise in.
So, my question is if starting the exercise several months into the change in eating is going to be a big problem. I thought it would be good in the aspect that it will help jump start things partway through, but of course it would be better if I could get in good workouts now. It's just not possible until May.
I know the immediate inclination is to say that I need to prioritize myself, but the fact is that all of the other things in my life right now are prioritizing myself and I just don't have anything that can take a backseat to exercise. I'm trying to be more active when I can, but scheduled workouts are not in my future for a couple more months.
I did. Each person is different of course, but for me I saw a stall on the scale when I added the workouts, then it started moving again, but more slowly, then back to nearly where it was. However, I was having to tighten my belt and get new jeans (and panties and bras) more frequently. Now every time I up the ante at the gym the scale slows a bit, but then it speeds back up. I feel better when I exercise too, so I don't worry about the slowing down.
When May comes around, if the scale slows don't let it make you stop. As for right now goes, just try to get something in when you can and don't worry about it so much. All you can do is all you can do. One way I manage to get some calories burned when I'm uber busy is to step/march/jog in place. I do it while watching a movie, while cooking dinner, while waiting in line, while waiting for some slow computer program to do what it is supposed to do, whenever, wherever. And yes, people look at me funny when I do it in public, but I don't care.
From other posts on here and in my opinion, losing weight is 80% food and 20% exercise. I had a lot of food issues (emotional eating, overeating) so when I started my lifestyle change I worked strictly with my food issues because if I tried to change too much at once I knew I'd get overwhelmed and quit. By dealing with my food issues alone I lost a lot of weight (50+ lbs). After a few months I started an exercise schedule and for me it seemed to re-jumpstart my weight loss and my weight loss has sped up a bit, plus all my flab is finally starting to tone up! If you can't incorporate exercise right now you can still lose weight, just realize that while you're losing weight you aren't gaining any muscle so you'll still be pretty flabby.
Yes, Gracie is right - I used to think exercise played an equal part, but it doesn't - I thought it was my workouts that helped me lose 10lbs (back when I thought needing 10lbs was a lot to lose, I miss those days), but now I know that it was just the fast metabolism of youth. Exercise is very important for health, but we burn far fewer calories from working out, (even working out hard) than most of us realize. For many, it's almost better to wait until losing some weight through diet first, because it will be less strain on the joints.
I decided to wait on excercise. When I first started losing, I was at least 286 lbs. My joints hurt all the time. I got winded walking half a block to the store on the corner. Doing a 30 minute video one day would make me want to do nothing but sleep the next day. It wsa depressing and discouraging. So I've been making food changes, and slowly increasing activity levels in my everyday life - more active playing with the kids, walking upstairs to get something I forgot as soon as I realize it instead of waiting until I'm going up anyway, getting up and getting things myself instead of asking my kids to bring things to me, etc. 30+ lbs down, and now I'm starting to consider more formal excercise. I also think it's good to have excercise in your back pocket to pull out in the event of a plateau.
I guess I just felt guilty because I had been so awesome with exercise for the last week of December and first week of January, but then my life started back and with more force than ever. I had even RUN on the treadmill. I can tell I'm getting healthier, though, and I'm having an easier time getting up in the mornings, so I may be able to start squeezing some morning exercise in sooner than I think, I just don't want to feel like a slacker.
I know exercise doesn't burn a lot of calories, but I'm just going for health. I am glad that I'm not the only one to delay, though.
I have absolutly no time for working out. However I will clean a stall, move a few bales of hay around, that sort of thing, but it's not true work out. What I was doing at work til I started more farm chores was go up and down the stairs they have here. Tons of people say just get out and walk. Walk around the building, walk inside the building. I hope to get excersize in the picture someday, but right now, there is no budge room in my schedule. When the weather gets nice for me it will be different, cuz I can take my daughter on walks around the neighborhood.
My experience has been just like Fitgirlygirl's. I lost 30 lbs in two months without exercise. Then I added exercise purely because I didn't want to get to goal with flab. The weight stalled. But it will pick up again, I know. And my clothes are fitting better. I put on a shirt that I swear fit perfectly last week and this morning I feel like it's huge! Yeah!
No Exercise
