[Suzll]

Does anyone ever have too much time on their hands?

I do! I spend more time surfing the web than exercising, working, or doing anything at all! It's obviously negatively affecting my weight loss too because of sheer time spent sitting on my backside...

I know that the obvious answer is to get up and DO SOMETHING but I've been less than motivated lately... and what exactly do I do?

The problem is that my summer job has sparse/sporadic hours while everyone else I know has a normal nine-to-five job, so I'm left alone for many hours during the day twiddling my thumbs! It's starting to depress me that I'm alone for so long during the day when I'm used to going to school and being constantly surrounded by people and friends...

I know I need to increase my activity level and get out of this slump or this summer is going to be sad and unproductive (especially weight loss wise...) What should I do to become more active on a day to day basis and keep myself occupied?

I've always lead a very sedentary life so changing is hard and I'm finding myself at a bit of a loss at what to do with myself...

I'm sorry if this doesn't really make scene... I was having trouble explaining how I feel...

Has anyone ever ran into something like this?

[cornellchick]

If I were in your shoes, I would try to start with something simple: go for a walk. Just get up and take a stroll around the neighborhood for 20 or 30 minutes and see how it goes. Sometimes I can get a lot of quality thinking done while on a walk or a bike ride; and I always feel better afterwards for having moved around a bit and gotten out of the house. It's something you can do any time, for any amount of time, no equipment required (other than your shoes).

Really you're just taking a short break from your web surfing; you'll be right back to it soon enough. So what've you got to lose? You might even run into some neighbors with unusual schedules as well…

[Suzll]

I have considered going for walks but always make up an excuse not to go... I'm awesome at making up excuses! Its always too hot or its getting dark or something or other.

It's definitely something I'm going to work on though, I'll go for a walk tomorrow and see how it goes. =)

[sontaikle]

Now I have the Styx song stuck in my head !

What motivates you? If you're like me and find that moving your ticker is really motivating, then you might try adding another ticker to your signature (try going to the tickerfactory or lilyslim) where you can update the amount of times you've walked, the amount of minutes you've walked, etc. Because it's RIGHT THERE in your signature you will be broadcasting to everyone that your goal is to walk x amount of times or x minutes; it'll probably feel really awesome to update it.

[twinieten]

Originally Posted by Suzll

I have considered going for walks but always make up an excuse not to go... I'm awesome at making up excuses! Its always too hot or its getting dark or something or other.

It's definitely something I'm going to work on though, I'll go for a walk tomorrow and see how it goes. =)

I live in Arizona! Hot is my biggest excuse! LOL!

I'm full of excuses too. I know and understand that isolation, and that lack of motivation! It's like self sabotage for some unknown reason! I used to be a SAHM and I'd work at night. I'd be home alone all day and I'd often be so exhausted, I couldn't bring myself to do anything but stare at my computer all day. Not good.

I joined a gym and found that to be very helpful. It would get me out of the house a few days a week. That worked well when I had the time. When there wasn't time, then what? I was a slug.

The majority of my problem has always been time. Time to get to the gym, workout, come home, shower, etc. Now that I work full time, my time is that much more limited and valuable! I bought my own exercise equipment and I work out at home. Now if I only have 30 minutes, I don't waste half that time going to the gym. I can hop on my treadmill for a quick 20 minute run, or life weights for 15 minutes or whatever. Easy peasy.

I think it's just a matter of you have to just do it. Maybe a visual aid will help you. Put a red X on the calandar on each day you work out and see how many red X days you can have in a month (I think this was a Dr. Oz thing). I use Weight Tracker at Medhelp.com to track my pounds, and my exercise. It helps!

So here's some ideas-

- Join a gym. A big traditional gym or a smaller interval training type of gym or boot camp or some other fitness type of business. This will get you out of the house and around people. Most places have a month to month contract so you're not committing yourself to more than you think you'll use.

- At home you can do jumping jacks, squats, push ups, sit ups, yoga.... maybe you can bounce on a ball while sitting at the computer instead of sitting on a chair. Great for the abs. Do an exercise video, learn how to belly dance, buy a set of weights at a used sporting good store, or a kettle ball....

- Go to meetup.com and see if you can find fitness groups. Maybe there's a walking group or a running group in your area that you could join. Sometimes finding a group where you know they're going to meet on X date and time helps. Then you have the motivation of others too.

Just do it. Even if you do just 15 minutes, you'll feel better, and it will help motivate you to do more.

[Raven132]

Get a pedometer. I live on a small lot and don't have anywhere to walk, but with my fitbit every little bit adds up. It's super motivating to see every step on that little display. So, even though I am walking in laps and my neighbors probably question my sanity I get a couple of miles in each day, with the goal being five. I just started a couple of weeks ago, but still love it. Oh, and I'm a stay at home mom so time is all I've got. I just happen to share all of it with my little men.

[Natasha22]

You just need to find something motivating enough. Do you have a gym subscription? How about getting a pet or borrow a friend's dog and take him out for a walk in the park? I'm thinking about taking French classes, it would keep me busy and I'd learn something and feel better about myself.

[Brid]

I have far too much time on my hands! One of the side effects of being unemployed. And I put on three stone in the year and a half after graduating, just from that sedentary life. Motivation to go out and walk has always been difficult. Thankfully, my grandad bought an exercise bike back in the early nineties and never really used it, and I managed to get my hands on it. It lives in the spare bedroom, so now all I have to do is motivate myself enough to get off the computer and into the next room two or three times a day.

So, my advice is: find some exercise you can do at home! It may be difficult at first, but I've found, in exercising terms and in general, that once you start doing something regularly, it gets easier to keep doing it. Keep track of what exercise you manage to do, and feel proud of yourself for what you achieve, and with a bit of luck you'll want to feel even more proud and so you'll start doing even more. Good luck!

[Suzll]

sontaikle, *singing* Too much time on my hands *clap clap* and it's ticking away with my sanity* lol Well the song does hold true!

twinieten, I do feel that it's a form of self sabotage! I just have to fight it; unfortunately I don't really have the resources to join a gym right now... but I love your idea about looking for local fitness groups! That sounds like exactly what I need. I have trouble making myself do things but if I know that I'm supposed to be at a certain place at a certain time to exercise I can do it a lot easier! Is that meetup.com reliable? I'm iffy about internet meet up groups for obvious reasons (single girl in the city and all) but I'll definitely look into it!
Thanks!

Raven132, I had a professor last year who wore a pedometer, and he was stick skinny! Maybe I'll look for a cheap one, sounds like something to easily monitor activity level at least! Thanks!

Natasha22, Unfortunately I don't have the monetary resources for a gym membership... But I do like walking around parks! There's this pretty lake/park area that I don't get to go to very often; side effect of not having a car; it is possible to bus to though, maybe I'll go sometime. Thanks!

Brid , I agree that I need something to do at my house, I was thinking aerobic videos or walking around the neighborhood, I just hope that I can stay motivated and keep doing it! Thanks!

[LockItUp]

Maybe start with little things like every hour on the dot get up and do 30 jumping jacks, walk around the entire house, do 2 pushups, 10 squats, a few lunges, or things like that. It'll only take a couple minutes but over the course of the day that adds up. You don't have to leave the house, you don't need money to do it, and it'll only take up a teensy bit of time. Start there and see where it goes.