[PhotoChick]

i cant commit to behavioral goals such as working out 3 times a week and stuff because i have a HUGE family and i am already very busy....

You mean you won't.

With all respect and caring here .. I call BS on the "I can't" train of thought.

I own my own business which is my full time job (including weekends), do part time contract work, volunteer for 2 other organizations, and manage my household. Many other women here have children and work, or care for parents and work or work two jobs or go to school and work and care for children ... or any combination of the above.

The idea that YOU are so much more busy than any of us that you can't manage to commit to 3x a week of working out ... is, in a way, kind of arrogant. And please note that I'm saying this with a smile ... because I think that just about every new person on the board has said it at one time or another - my life is so busy that I can't.

But you know what? There are hundreds of women on this site who DO make that commitment every single day, every single week. And for people to come on the board and say "I can't because I'm too busy" is kind of like saying "obviously the rest of you aren't as busy as *I* am ...! "

Everyone is busy. Every one of us has things that we struggle with. Very few of us have struggles that are *that much* more or worse than anyone else's.

A friend once said something to me that at first I thought was kind of mean, but the more I thought about it, the more I realize he was right. If something is important to you YOU MAKE TIME. If you keep talking about "finding time" then it's obviously not that important to you. And that is very true.

So if it's important to you to workout, then MAKE TIME for it and COMMIT to it. You can. We all have.

.

[katiejames]

i will give a general breakdown of an average day for me....
4:45am - wake up and wake all four of my children up ages 2, 4 ,7,9 and get then up and dressed for school/daycare
leave my home at 5:00 and drive the half hour to daycare and drop my younger two off and drive another half hour to work.. i start at 6am.. i work until 10am.. i then have to rush to my internship at the local homeless shelter. i am there from 10:15am until 6pm... i do not get a lunch like normal 9-5 so i eat between clients that is how social work is... after i get home at 6:30 i have to help make dinner and spend time with my 4 children.. discuss my day with my fiancee and kids... then we all eat about 7 or so... after dinner it is clean up time.. i maintain a clean home so clean up is important.. after we clean up its usually 8.. that means shower time for the kids... so all the kids get in the shower and brush teeth and get in bed by 8:30... then i work on homework or paperwork for my job until i am ready to fall alseep ( usually 10) and then start again.. mind you i have not even added in my class schedule this semester which is 4 classes on top of what i have going on and they are not internet classes... last semester i had 6 classes and all this going on.. so if there is time i would like to know where.. arrogant? hardly.. i am just realistic...

[JayEll]

Wow. Just wow.

OK. Little things you could do.

- Park the car farther from your work building so you have to walk farther to and from work. (But stay safe!)

- Take the stairs whenever possible.

- If you have time open up between clients, go for a short walk instead of catching up on paperwork, etc. Just once a day, or twice a day.

- After the kids get in bed, could you do a 20-minute workout video before starting your homework? Just 20 minutes... Or some stretching, stair stepping, something like that.

Also, my goodness, is there any way you can cut back on some of your burdens? Do you have to take all those classes at once? Can your fiance help more with the cleanup and kids? Just some thoughts.

I'm kinda worried about your stress level!

Jay

[WarMaiden]

Just to offer a little bit of a different perspective...if you are THAT busy right now and really can't find the time, the truth is that you may not need to exercise at all in order to lose weight. For the first 6 months of my weight loss effort, I did not exercise, and I had no problem losing about 45 pounds in that timeframe. That is perhaps less weight than I could have lost had I also been exercising, but it's still a pretty good amount of weight!

It's very tempting to get into the "all or nothing" mindset and say "I must do X, Y, and Z in order to lose weight" and "I must have this weight lost by X time"...but...that kind of mindset is often less productive in the long run than just figuring out what small changes will work to produce progress. Maybe your progress for right now will just be in your diet, and when summer comes and you're less busy (if that's true of your schedule), then you'll be able to add in exercise as well.

[katiejames]

yeah my schedule is always on overdrive... and that doesnt even cover the chaotic stuff like sickness and doc appointments and countless other loose ends.. ( someone has to clean the toilets!) lol... my fiancee has made it possible for me to go for at least an hour each day the past few days if not more.. so i am using this to my full advantage...

[Andi18]

Have you tried Weight Watchers, South Beach Diet, Jenny Craig, or anything similar to those? As it was said previously, you may not need to exercise right away when you are starting out. Are you counting calories? If not, I would suggest starting. I will admit that when I started on my weight loss journey, I started working out right away and started journaling my food/water/exercise to help keep me accountable. I have a friend that started Weight Watchers and she did not exercise for the first 3 months of her weight loss journey. Guess who's lost more weight? She has.

You will want to look at your options and find what works best for you.

[sacha]

katiejames,

I work in the same field & go to school fulltime as well so here's some goals I made to help me get started:

- park far from campus (or farthest in the parking lot) and walk to class
- only cook healthy food (if you are cooking anyways)
- only pack healthy food and snacks for work (& make sure you have them with you!)
- always carry water bottle

[katiejames]

sacha... great minds think alike!! lol! i already do those things

[katiejames]

andi, i was on WW before but i like to go to the gym.. it makes me feel good! i just want more time.....

[teawithsunshine]

In addition to having your fiancee pitch in and help out, have you thought about spending a few hours on the weekend, cooking/preparing meals for the next week that can be easily microwaved/heated up on the stove? That would give you the hour or half hour you need every day during the workweek for you to exercise after you come home in the evenings.

For I'm sure others have said it already, but after a certain point on a new eating programs like weight watchers or jenny craig, you will have to include a certain amount of exercise each week in order to keep seeing the pounds come off as you said you wanted to.

My 2 cents, and good luck!