Hi everyone,

So I've been trying to lose weight for about 3 weeks now, and lost 3 pounds, and gained 2 back. This is the most frustrating experience ever, having that feeling of successfuly losing 3 pounds!! And a week later gaining 2! What!

I'm wondering if anyone else is battling anything else that's demanding? Like work, or school? And how are you getting through it? I go to university, and I NEED t keep on top of my homework, and studying, but I can't find the time to exercise every day or two. I mean, I walk to school, and back, but that's only 3 days a week, and I feel like the rest of the time I'm dong homework - assignments and studying. I just feel so overwhelmed and crappy that I want to give up, lol. But I hope I won't, beause really, REALLY, want to lose weight, but there isn't enough TIME..

Thanks for listening!

I understand, I work full time as a teacher, I am finishing my PhD, and I am a coach. I am always busy and never have any time. But it dawned on me that my health has to be my number 1 priority. So I get up and work out first thing in the morning before I can give myself any excuses and I pack healthy food to take with me for the day.

I know it's hard but stick with it when you can

Not sure I have any practical suggestions, but I wanted to give you some support because its tough sometimes isn't it??

How organised do you feel you are? Do you make schedules and to do lists? Sometimes, taking 15 minutes out to list what you have to get done over the next week or so, writing down in detail when you have the time free, is helpful because you know what's going on when.

There will never be a "right time" for you, Adot! I totally agree with Ella-- I am also a teacher, coach, and PhD student-- and I could have gone on the way I was going FOREVER, but I chose to make taking care of myself another job. I literally write my workouts into my calendar and take them as seriously as I do my other commitments. As a result of putting myself first, I am doing better job in all of my various roles, as well as becoming a healthier version of myself. Make the choice to make it happen!

Yeah, that's crazy, because that's what I'm going to school to be - a teacher!! So I suppose that being a teacher, I will still have "homework" and things to do outside of my regular "work" hours, so I need to figure out my strategy now, and keep it going, throughout pretty muh my whole life.

And my situation doesn't seem as difficult as the ones described here! Thank you!!

First of all, I hear you!!! I'm in a theatre conservatory and we work insane hours at times--like, haven't showered or eaten anything but peanuts for 2 days kind of hours. It's terrible and discouraging and I feel your pain.

It is really hard to stay on-plan when you're busy--exercise is difficult to fit into a schedule and it's tempting to grab fatty, sugary foods when you're tired.

What works for me is:

a) I wake up early to exercise. If I have a 10:30 class, I wake up at 8, get some exercise in, shower and groom, have a leisurely breakfast, and go to class. It sucks to wake up early, and I have to drag myself out of bed, but it really does energize the rest of my day.

b) I exercise at night. Even if it's only for 1/2 hour, it's always good to take a break from studying and a workout is a more productive break than vegging in front of the TV or computer.

c)When I'm really strapped for time, [I exercise for very small amounts of time frequently. This is good for me--I work out in short 5min bursts a few times a day during really, really busy times.

d) I said a formal goodbye to procrastination. I realized procrastination is my number one enemy at school--if you stay organized and on top of things and budget your time well, you can get so much more out of a day than if you're unmotivated and putting things off.

Like everyone is mentioning it really is all about having priorities and planning accordingly... or not sleeping much which I did for a while and would not recommend!

What works really well for me now is doing my reading at the gym, it took me a while to be able to work out hard while retaining the information without getting distracted by everything going on around me, it is a skill I'm very happy to have mastered!

I agree with all of these great pieces of advice. I am a resident in orthodontics. At the end of the day I just can't bring myself to work out. Instead I get up around 6 am and work out before school. That way, my work out is done and out of the way for the rest of the day. I force myself to get to bed at a decent hour so that I am not tempted to sleep in and skip my work out.
I read somewhere on 3FC in someone's post that homework has a funny way of taking up your entire night regardless of what time you start it. So you will be doing homework/studying all night regardless of whether you work out or not. Plan to do a short work out (30 min) and that way you dont' feel guilty neglecting your school work and you don't have to feel guilty for not working out.
Good luck. It is hard but you can do it!

I'm in med school and I've lost 50 lbs. you can find time if you want to. I get up at 5 am and go to spin class. I think it's 90% eating and 10% working out. Taking time to work out might have lowered my grades, but in the end grades really don't matter and being a healthy doctor is much more important. I realized that I can't expect my patients to take my advice on being healthy when I wasn't

I'm constantly inspired by the 3FC-ers who keep going through all odds....for me being busy isn't really "fattening," but when I go through emotional stuff -- like my mom being sick, sometimes I feel almost paralyzed when I'm overwhelmed.

Anyhow....if you have to get up an hour early or go to bed late, or give up an hour of TV or whatever...there probably is 45 minutes a day in everybody's schedule, definitely there is for me, but some days it's so hard to trade the extra sleep in for a walk or a spin on the exercise bike.

But, whenever I do it I feel sooo much better.

these are really helpful tips.
i am in my final semester for my bs in sports and entertainment management and taking 18 hours! i am at my wits end at the 2nd week of school.

i will definitely begin making lists, and make myself stop procrastinating it is definitely killing my productivity.

Pretty much went through the same thing recently- I had gotten into an awesome routine, I had lost 5 pounds, was feeling great. THEN we moved.

We moved in with my parents, too. So it has been a hard move and extremely hard to get back into the swing of things. And after a week or 2 of non stop fast food, I gained that weight back and have been feeling awful for several weeks now.

But... You just gotta get back on that train and stay determined. You know you can lose that weight- you just did it! SO, just keep moving. Keep working at it. Good luck!

I know how you feel. I'm currently in law school and it seems like I never have any time. But for me it's more about being stressed and eating than it is about not being able to work out. I had dieted my way down to 147lbs and over two months I went all the way back up to 160lbs. When I stepped on the scale after getting back from winter break it was a wake up call. I started dieting immediately.

I've already gone back down 4lbs and now I'm sitting at 156, but it's still upsetting to know that I have to re-lose all that weight! But to be honest, this past week i've had no appetite at all (my Dad lost his job and I've just been really depressed and for the first time ever my appetite jsut completely disappeared). So that's really the only reason I lost weight.

I would say that even if you don't find the time to exercise you have time to diet. Bc as one of the ladies above mentioned, losing weight is like 90% dieting and 10% exercise. So if you don't make it to the gym everyday, don't sweat it. Just eat healthy and make the most of you workouts when you get them! good luck!

im a masters student, and last year was ****. I had 13 assignments due over about an 11 week, and it was very competitive so of course every single thing i did mattered. BUT! Think of it this way- i did 45 min work outs. What is 45mins out of a 24 hour day? Its actually not that much. Think of the benefits to your health though. I also think its good for you mentally- have a break, ponder things during your workouts, i really think it helped me to process things. I managed to train for a quarter marathon and lose 14.1kg- so it IS possible!

In short, you wont find the time to work out. You have to make it.