So, I've been neglecting both exercise and diet because I've had a lot of things going on over the past year, but about a month ago, I decided to re-commit to losing weight. I joined this forum because I don't have much support in my day to day experiences of this process. I spent two weeks being very good about my routine. But then...

For the past two weeks, I've been overwhelmed by deadlines. I'm scrambling to catch up on work and seem to find very little time to do much else. When I'm very stressed about deadlines, grading lots of papers, and spending a lot of sedentary hours at the desk researching and writing, doing any other kind of work (like exercise) seems to feel like punishment or procrastination. I keep telling myself that I'll do it in the evenings, but every evening, I just put it off again.

I walk about 2-3 miles at least three or four days in the week, but that's kind of my usual thing and so I'm sure it's not contributing to weight loss. Putting exercise on hold seems like a bad idea when my deadlines won't let up until the end of the month. And, thinking of my default motivations is only putting more pressure on me (by making me think of what's at stake if I fail, again!) and not motivating me at all.

So, my question to you all is...how do you make time to exercise when you feel very stressed out and overextended and when your schedule is really hectic and sedentary? How do you motivate yourselves to make it a priority and not just put it off?

I schedule it just like any other appointment and just keep that appointment. For me, working out first thing in the morning works best, so that's where I schedule it. It's a matter of making it a priority.

I can relate to the busy life -- I have a more-than-fulltime job, a husband, two teenage boys with activities, and am an active volunteer at the school and at church. But, I find that working out actually helps -- makes me more efficient because it reduces my stress level. I always feel better after exercise, and that translates over to my other daily activities.

Your walking certainly does count! If you want to get more calorie burn "bang" for your time, then you can always increase the intensity by throwing in some jogging intervals during your walk. If you get your heart rate up higher, you'll burn more calories.

I'm having a similar problem, also because I started hating going to the gym so would really prefer to shoot at myself than got there.
But just yesterday I was going surfing when I found something like the 'prosoner workout', it sounds good to me and I think I'll give it a try. All you need is yourself, no tools no machines, and a spare 15 mins...I think it's a good idea for myself when I'm in no will of gooooing...to the gym.

I make it a priority by saying to myself: "The more stressed I am, and the more deadlines I have, the more tension & anxiety I feel. I really, really need to work that off somehow. I had better exercise."

My reason being that, historically, this was when I was most likely to eat unhealthily. I would tell myself that I **deserved** whatever thing I was putting into my mouth, and I was entitled to as much as I wanted, because life was hard for me, and I should take whatever comforts that I could to compensate myself. I was thinking, "I worked so hard today, and I'll work just as hard tomorrow. I should treat myself to something."

Not good. Not good. But since I know my mind works that way, I have been trying to think of other ways to calm my agitation. The best way I know is to schedule in a hard workout. Maybe it's the endorphins that help me. I don't know. All I know is that when I start the workout, my mind's in a whirl, nearly spinning out with things I must do & that I'm fearful of not getting done. And yet somewhere along the way, life gets much simpler. It's just me there, sweating, working my body. My mind settles down & I can see that it's just a series of things to do & the world won't end if they're not all done immediately.

Also, I think workouts help me think about tasks. A workout is a task. When I start it, I feel overwhelmed -- I'm not sure I can finish. I look at the digital read-out on the machine or up along the pathway & I think how far I have to go. But the only way to get it done is to start. So I start. And the minutes roll past. The path goes on underneath my feet. I'm one-tenth of the way done. I'm one-fifth of the way done. One quarter. And so forth ... The only way to get through it is to actually do it. To be in the moment & do the best you can. I believe this way of thinking has transferred over from my workouts to the way I handle other tasks at work.

Hey there. I spend a lot of time being a "single mom" because of my huband's work. If something comes up at the house, with the kids, whatever I have to take care of it in addition to my normal schedule.

I was a couple of months into my weightloss when I decided I would move it to the very top, yes the VERY TOP of my priority list. Otherwise, my nutrition, sleep and exercise just doesn't happen. This is so counter intuitive to what I had been living for the last decade +. You know what? I couldn't have given--not only myself but everyone around me--a better gift.

I implore you to move your nutrition, exercise and sleep to the very top of your own "to do" list. I think you will be happy with your results.

To be honest, I'm still working on that myself. I have a pretty stressful job that demands my full attention and provides no stable time as far as when I will get off work.

I was so exhausted after my last few shifts I really started to understand the toll it was taking on me. All I remember is eating dinner at work recently and doing it with my stomach all tense and I couldn't even taste my food. I just ate because I knew I needed to (at least it was healthy stuff, which is a step up).

I think part of the key may be remembering how good exercise feels. How good it feels to be moving. How relaxing it is to know you've done it. And how it has positive affects mentally as well. Maybe scheduling it -- even if it means stopping in the middle of something and going back to it -- and keeping how good it feels in mind would help get things going?

welcome to this forum! i understand home-work crazyness! what helped me the most is i first realized that my motivation to lose weight is huge. So with that i set down and tryed to fit couple of hours a day into my busy life. Looked like every day at 4pm sounded good for me. So every day at 4 i am heading to the gym.

If you are really focust on losing weight then try to fit exercise in your day to day life. And go to the gym or outside for exercise just as if it was your special appointment... and in a way it IS a special appoinment of yours with YOURSELF! Enjoy the time of pushing your body to the limit

Hey Ragdoll!

I am an academic as well, so I know what you mean about this time of year! I am currently prepping...let's see...three (possibly four) conference presentations, one community presentation, and two journal articles, plus coding data for another project, grading a stack of essay exams and trying to complete my dissertation proposal.

What works for me is to exercise first thing in the morning. I get up, work out, shower, make my coffee, THEN start my work for the day. I actually find that I have more energy through the day this way, plus the workout is done, so I'm not constantly worrying about when to fit it in. Then if I have time or need to procrastinate, I can do a walk, and then in the evenings, if I'm not still working, I can do whatever I want without feeling guilty!

What field are you in?

Su-Bee,
I'm in Literature & Writing. I'm a doctoral candidate and mired in the dissertation writing; I might be defending in late September, which means writing the entirety of the dissertation (except the one chapter I've nearly completed) over the summer. It's a LOT of sedentary work at this point; but I feel so busy and exhausted anyway.

I slacked off my workouts when I was doing my dissertation proposal last year (trainer twice a week, but no other exercise) and started this awful weight gain cycle then. It sounds like you're more disciplined about making the workouts a priority. Do you exercise at home or at a gym?

I like your idea about working out in the mornings before getting to anything else. I teach at 8am, so it might be a tactic I'll try after the semester ends this month!

Your deadlines sound crazy! And they sound rather similar to mine. It's good to meet a fellow academic. What field are you in?

-Ragdoll.

It sounds like most of you just prioritize exercise highly and therefore evade the motivation question altogether. Making an appointment and sticking to it sounds good.

I used to be very organized and planned everything all the time, but lately, I'm not able to stick to my plans as easily (illness in the family and I've had to travel frequently with little notice) because my day to day life is so variable. It makes sense to put a workout right at the start of things to avoid running into that problem.

MBN, Saef, Thighs be Gone -- Thanks for the tips on making an appointment with yourself. It's useful to know that this strategy actually works in real life rather than just being a good idea. I tend to make personal things my last priority, eat sweets to compensate for stress, and skip the workouts in favor of other "tasks", but I guess making this seem equally or more important a task than the others seems to be the right way to think about it.

Rainy, chickiegirl, unwanted37pounds -- Thanks for the encouraging words. I often feel most like a failure because I'm having a hard time sticking to my commitment of weekly exercise. People around me seem to make time for it and I just wonder how in the world they have time for everything and exercise, too. It helps to hear that other people struggle with motivation, too.

I always feel great after I've actually finished a workout, but I often feel a sense of dread before it. Like, it's hard to justify taking the time away from "work" to do it. But, increased energy is a good reason to make it a priority and I guess I'll just have to reason with myself and stick to it!

I've also found that it's easier for me to stick to a work-out routine when I'm not behind on other tasks. But, I guess discipline is an acquired thing in this arena as in all others!

Thanks, everyone, for your comments

Hi Ragdoll -

I am in psychology. I'm finishing the 2nd year of my PhD program & hoping to get my dissertation proposal approved this summer.

As far as where I exercise - I have an elliptical machine & some free weights (nothing fancy) at home, & then I also go to a yoga studio just a few blocks from my house. That is what I do 95% of the time. I occasionally use the gym at the university, but I found it a real pain to either drag all my stuff there & try to shower & get ready in their crappy change room, or to drive there, work out, drive home to shower, etc. I do most of my work at home rather than in my university office anyway, so having the elliptical right there makes it so easy that I really can't make an excuse NOT to get on it for 30 minutes in the morning.