[irishcanary]

This may sound silly. I have just moved back home with my parents after finishing college. I am 22 and am currently looking for a job.

It may sound silly but because i am no longer in college or the fact i am not working. I feel as if i will never lose weight. It feels like i am doomed to a fate of becoming more and more overweight.

That being said, i have at the very most 14lbs to loose. I have joined a gym and already had the "don't feed me with love " talk with the folks. They are very supportive of me and buy me whatever food i need.

Anyone else feel similar?

[JohnP]

Unfortunately no, you can't. This has been well researched and study after study shows that when you have lots of free time to work out and prepare healthy meals you simply pile on the weight.

I suggest you get a job ASAP so you can start losing weight again.

[Candeka]

When I am out of school and/or not working full time, I slack. I have the mentality of "I'll just do it later since I have all day" then it never happens. Repeat again and again and before you know it, a whole week has gone by. Then a month... We hit month number 4 and now I am back in school.

However, I am now facing the opposite. I am in school full time, plus working full time - something I have never done before. Before it was always full time school plus part-time work. Now I am putting it off since I have no time due to more urgent commitments. Learning to balance is key.

Last semester was perfect. I had just enough to do that I had a schedule to keep, but it was also flexible enough that I was able to commit to working out 5 times a week without being to overwhelmed.

Good luck with finding the perfect rhythm for your weight loss!!!

[irishcanary]

Thanks
There is a cross trainer out in the shed which i go on in addition to the gym. I have set a goal of doing 140 minutes a week on it (20 minutes per day). I also try and get off the bus stop one stop after my own stop, since it is an extra half hour walk and i really have nothing to do anyway.

[Samantha18]

I'm currently trying to loss weight without a job also. It's a good time to learn how to cook and there is nothing to get in the way of working out. I just suggest upping the exercise a tiny bit more then you would normally do, to make up for not moving as much as you would at work.

[Atarimae]

*Hehe, I sense some sarcasm above.*

Anyway, truthfully I noticed that it was much easier to lose weight without a job (and having someone so supportive as to be willing to buy food for me). It made me quite bored that I'd actually want to do something after studying, and the extra free time let me go onto these boards as well as other sites to find interesting new recipes.

Also, I noticed that at my job, I ended up gaining like 10 pounds, because of the fact that faculty members on a college campus really appreciate our work...by giving us sweets. Our office rule is to never deny free food, so where else does it go? Into our mouths or into the trash.

Haha, rambling aside, I kind of wish I didn't HAVE to worry about having a job on top of taking my classes, because it'd give me much more time to focus on weight loss. That said, that thought is completely unrealistic, as once I'm done with school, I'll be looking for a full-time job. However, if you're able to maintain the right mentality, you should be able to do well!

[Brid]

I've been unemployed since graduating three years ago. Certainly I spent a lot of time sitting around doing nothing because there was nothing to get me out of the house. Once I finally got my head in gear at the start of February, I rather enjoyed not having a job to get in the way of my focus on healthy eating and exercising. Shifted 59lbs before finding out I was pregnant in July. So I'd say yes, it's definitely possible to lose weight while not having a job. Go forth and get cracking, and good luck!

[mountain walker]

Hi, When I was working full time in a stressful job I did not have the energy, the time or the inclination to devote to myself and my well being. ( Iwas a single mum of 2 at the time)
Now I am not working for a while I actually have the time and the energy to cook every meal from scratch,take my dogs on a long walk every day and spend quality time with my kids and wonderful hubby. Everybody wins....apart from my bank balance but I am willing to accept that in the short term as the price for having the opportunity to turn my life around.

[gardenerjoy]

I'm not working by choice and I think it's easier, in most ways. I bake my own bread in a bread machine, maintain a small vegetable garden, cook food from scratch, shop at farmers markets, and exercise at least 45 minutes a day. I could do all that while working but it would take nearly all of my free time.

That said, there are challenges. I have to be very careful what food I bring into the house because I'm here almost all of the time. I carefully schedule the bread baking so that it's done at meal times -- when I was working, I could schedule it to finish during the day when I wasn't home to smell it. I have to be quite structured about my food plans and exercise plans in general, because there isn't a job that is imposing structure on them. When I was working, I took a walk at lunch and went to the gym after work. Now, I need to plan those things or they don't happen.

I make a to do list every day. And this is going to sound nuts, but I have an evening check list that helps me make the next day's to do list. It has things like "plan exercise" and "create a food plan" and "plan food prep" and "plan gardening chores." That way, I make sure that I get in all the things I need for my healthy lifestyle.

[Kymish]

I'm a stay at home mom but my daughter is in school all day so I find myself with 7 hrs of freedom per day I use it to go for walks/ do workouts/ make healthy recipes, since deciding to lose weight 50 days ago I went down 22 lbs so yes I think u can lose weight even thou u have lots of free time but it is easy to fall back into old habits as well.

[guacamole]

It's funny that you posted this, because my question is the opposite - "Can you lose weight while having a job?"

When I was working full time I piled on the pounds. I had absolutely no time for me - I worked one full time job during the day at the office (sedentary desk job in front of computer all day) and another full time job at home at night/weekends taking care of my husband and kids (yes, it is totally a full time job!). I got laid off in 2011 and finally was able to have some "me" time. My level of stress decreased (I didn't realize how much pressure and stress work created in my life because I always like my job) along with my level of stress eating. I had time to research weight loss topics, search for healthy recipes, shop for healthy ingredients. This year I really amped up my exercise, and there is no way I would have the energy or time to go on 20 mile bike rides if I went back to working full time again. None of my household/family responsibilities have changed or diminished. The only thing that has changed since I started losing weight is not working outside the home. I don't know if I will be able to afford to not work indefinitely, but I feel like I want to reach my goal weight and maintain for awhile before seriously entertaining any thoughts of going back to work. So far, nothing on the job front has turned up as a serious possibility, so it's working out. I actually view losing weight and getting healthy as a job - it's been my pet project for almost the past 2 years. I give so much credit for working moms who are able to stay on plan and lose weight while juggling it all.

[LockItUp]

Sounds like maybe you thrive on structure and now that that's gone you feel a little out of control of things?

Of course it's possible (you already know that)! You just have to get used to the new way things are. And then once you do gain employment you'll have a new set of challenges. It can be hard when our surroundings, and daily activities, change.

[kaplods]

Before I went to college, I thought living in the dorms would make weight loss easier.

When I was in college, I thought it would be easier to lose weight after college.

When I was out of college and working, I thought it would be easier to lose weight if I had more free time and didn't have to work so much.

When I became disabled and couldn't work and was virtually housebound, I thought that it would be easier to lose weight if I didn't have so much free time.

It's never easy, and it's never impossible, you just have to work with the circumstances you have.

[DisappearingActs]

Yes you can! My husband is stationed here at Ft. Bliss (El Paso) and if you don't speak spanish, it's very hard to get a job and with my 3 month old, it's not like I'd have time to work anyway, so I'm basically home a good deal of the day. I've still managed to drop 16 pounds this month just eating less.

So it's totally possible and in fact, maybe easier. You don't have people at work and school bringing you little treats or trying to get you to go out with them to lunch or for drinks, so you have more time to really focus in on what you're trying to do.

[linJber]

If you're concerned about having too much time on your hands, why not volunteer somewhere and be busy doing something that benefits others? Or ask your folks if there is a job (clean the attic, rearrange the garage) that needs to be done at home that they don't have time to do.

Lin