Need help changing my lifestyle

[Jeff7181]

Op, do you have a follow up? Has anything changed in the last week?

Thanks for all the advice, everyone? I've been out of town for the past few days for work and didn't really make healthy choices while eating out. I haven't put on any weight though.

Going to do some grocery shopping today and get some healthier things to pack for lunches instead of going out to lunch and having less control over what I'm consuming.

We did finally cancel our TV service, so hopefully that will motivate my girlfriend and I to be more active if I can't just flip on TV and sit down all evening.

 

[Kaido]

Thanks for all the advice, everyone? I've been out of town for the past few days for work and didn't really make healthy choices while eating out. I haven't put on any weight though.

Going to do some grocery shopping today and get some healthier things to pack for lunches instead of going out to lunch and having less control over what I'm consuming.

We did finally cancel our TV service, so hopefully that will motivate my girlfriend and I to be more active if I can't just flip on TV and sit down all evening.

A big thing that worked for me is setting a clear goal of what I wanted to achieve.

I've seen a lot of my friends say "well I want to be more in shape" and eat a salad once in awhile and go for a jog, but not really do anything consistent, so they didn't get consistent results. I've always found it easier to make decisions when I know what I'm going after. Not sure if something that specific is what you have in mind, but fwiw that method helped motivate me a lot.

 

[blackdogdeek]

what do you do during lunch?

i've always found that i need the most motivation to workout either after a long day of work or early in the morning when it's not even light out (this is mitigated during the summer when the sun comes up earlier). i've started working out during lunch and then eating lunch at my desk and i find that it's easier than the other times.

if i had to choose between working out in the early morning vs working out in the evening i would definitely go with early mornings, though. it was always too easy to skip an evening workout if i was too tired or if work ran late or if i had to spend time with the kids or something. early morning was the only time that i could consistently have time dedicated solely to myself. and getting enough sleep to not be exhausted that early in the morning was for the most part entirely under my control.

but if you're having trouble getting the motivation to do anything maybe you're thinking of the whole working out lifestyle change as this really big thing which can be really daunting. it might help to aim much smaller and just try to do 1 workout this week. maybe once you see it's not that bad then the following week just aim for 2 workouts. hopefully, this will make the transition not so extreme and possibly keep you on track to where you want to get.

 

[Jeff7181]

what do you do during lunch?

i've always found that i need the most motivation to workout either after a long day of work or early in the morning when it's not even light out (this is mitigated during the summer when the sun comes up earlier). i've started working out during lunch and then eating lunch at my desk and i find that it's easier than the other times.

if i had to choose between working out in the early morning vs working out in the evening i would definitely go with early mornings, though. it was always too easy to skip an evening workout if i was too tired or if work ran late or if i had to spend time with the kids or something. early morning was the only time that i could consistently have time dedicated solely to myself. and getting enough sleep to not be exhausted that early in the morning was for the most part entirely under my control.

but if you're having trouble getting the motivation to do anything maybe you're thinking of the whole working out lifestyle change as this really big thing which can be really daunting. it might help to aim much smaller and just try to do 1 workout this week. maybe once you see it's not that bad then the following week just aim for 2 workouts. hopefully, this will make the transition not so extreme and possibly keep you on track to where you want to get.

I go out to lunch with coworkers. We go to local restaurants and get something cheap... a few of my usuals are a turkey pita, grilled chicken olga, burger and small fry, subway club.

 

[blackdogdeek]

I go out to lunch with coworkers. We go to local restaurants and get something cheap... a few of my usuals are a turkey pita, grilled chicken olga, burger and small fry, subway club.

i meant that if you were willing to forgo lunch with the coworkers a couple of times a week you could use that time to go to a local gym. you wouldn't be as tired as you would be after work or early in the morning so your probability of working out might go up.

 

[preslove]

Sprinting... jogging... my meniscus doesn't care. It's still 225 pounds basically crashing down on the joint.

Stationary bike.

Join a gym and hire a personal trainer.

How old are you?

 

[Jeff7181]

Stationary bike.

Join a gym and hire a personal trainer.

How old are you?

A stationary bike is a low impact workout, yes. I'm 30.

I know how to exercise - I have P90X and P90X2, which I can do (most of the exercises) despite the lingering issues with my knee. What I'm really looking for is some advice or maybe someone else's personal experience that will set something off in my mind that will make me finally do what I've been wanting to do for the past 2 years.

I woke up this morning feeling so lethargic/tired/unrested that I went back to sleep instead of working out. I got home last night after getting a page from work on the way home and spent some time fixing a problem. By that time it was 7:30 PM and I hadn't eaten. So I gave up on the possibility of working out last night and went ahead with dinner.

 

[Cookie]

I think what you are looking for is the motivation within yourself. No one else can give you that. YOU have to REALLY want to do it, and you likely have to give up something else in order to succeed. You have to (or at least I had to) make it a priority and just do it.

When I started I made working out (and soon after, nutrition) my first priority. I passed up going out for lunches with co-workers, I stopped going out for drinks and wings as often in the evening. I say no thank you when treats are offered by friends and at work (even though I sit 10 feet from the table everyone leaves all their desserts, etc). I started dating people who would rather go for walks or on hikes or playing a sport, rather than movie and dinner dates, and many, many times I said I couldn't go to 'random passive social event' because I had to go to the gym or do p90x or run, etc. I also stopped hanging out with friends who were not helpful towards, or worse, detrimental to, my quest, and started hanging out with motivated physically active people. I stopped doing overtime at work so I'd have time to work out, but to be fair that was easy since management was also trying to get us to do less. I started ignoring the voice in my head that said - too tired - not enough time - you're not good enough - too much work - too sad - too hot - too cold - you'll never succeed - what's the point...

I'd like to say it wasn't easy to do... but really, once I made that my priority, it was not only easy, but addicting. I spent a year or more, like you, waiting for that motivation to start and wanting to get in shape, but not really wanting it enough to actually make the effort.

Another thing that kept me motivated after I started was tracking my progress each week on a graph. Every Monday I weighed myself and added it to the graph. Sometimes I went up, usually I went down, but over time it was stunning watching the general trend of the graph. I started this about 3 months before I actually got moving, so it may not help you get started, but it sure helped me keep going through the times when I started to lose motivation. Highly recommended.

Find your goal. Make the effort. It'll be worth it.

Oh! One other thing that might help. Start small. It's overwhelming changing everything at once. Pick one thing and start with it. If time is your main concern, start with modifying your nutrition. Or start with exercising on the weekends.

I started by going to the gym with a friend 2-3 times a week. I had no idea what I was doing there, I ran a bit, a little core, then weights, then we'd go swimming. But it got me moving and got me started and, most motivationally, it got me results which only made me want to do more.

I feel like I'm just repeating what everyone else said now:
1) You have to REALLY want it.
2) Set a specific goal that will motivate you.
3) You may need to sacrifice other things.
4) Start small if it helps get you started.
5) The first 3-4 weeks are the hardest. Push through the lethargy.
6) Track your progress.

 

[preslove]

A stationary bike is a low impact workout, yes. I'm 30.

I know how to exercise - I have P90X and P90X2, which I can do (most of the exercises) despite the lingering issues with my knee. What I'm really looking for is some advice or maybe someone else's personal experience that will set something off in my mind that will make me finally do what I've been wanting to do for the past 2 years.

I woke up this morning feeling so lethargic/tired/unrested that I went back to sleep instead of working out. I got home last night after getting a page from work on the way home and spent some time fixing a problem. By that time it was 7:30 PM and I hadn't eaten. So I gave up on the possibility of working out last night and went ahead with dinner.

Any workout that puts your heart rate above a certain range is high intensity. Most modern stationary bikes will take your heart rate. Many will also tell you the minimum rate you should try for.

How long is your commute. Consider moving somewhere closer to work and a gym.

In the end, there is no magical solution. It just takes will power and the realization that your health is more important than the size of your apt. or house, your favorite television shows, and video games.

 

[Jeff7181]

Any workout that puts your heart rate above a certain range is high intensity. Most modern stationary bikes will take your heart rate. Many will also tell you the minimum rate you should try for.

How long is your commute. Consider moving somewhere closer to work and a gym.

In the end, there is no magical solution. It just takes will power and the realization that your health is more important than the size of your apt. or house, your favorite television shows, and video games.

My commute is at least an hour each way. I'd like to move closer but currently can't afford it.

 

[preslove]

My commute is at least an hour each way. I'd like to move closer but currently can't afford it.

How big of a house/apt do you live in? Your commute is terrible. It adds 2 hours of sitting on your ass to 5 out of 7 days of your life. Are you sure you can't downsize and afford something closer?

 

[Jeff7181]

How big of a house/apt do you live in? Your commute is terrible. It adds 2 hours of sitting on your ass to 5 out of 7 days of your life. Are you sure you can't downsize and afford something closer?

1100 sq/ft, 2 bed, 1 bath condo. Downsizing isn't really an option for my girlfriend and I.

*EDIT* I should add that my car payment (2009 Jetta) is higher than my mortgage payment.

 

[preslove]

*EDIT* I should add that my car payment (2009 Jetta) is higher than my mortgage payment.

I don't know what to tell you, dude, other than that you made a whole bunch of dumb decisions to get to where you are. You should have bought something closer to work and made do with a cheaper, used car.

I can't imagine trying to work out after a 1 hour commute home.

 

[Jeff7181]

I don't know what to tell you, dude, other than that you made a whole bunch of dumb decisions to get to where you are. You should have bought something closer to work and made do with a cheaper, used car.

I can't imagine trying to work out after a 1 hour commute home.

At the risk of straying completely off-topic...

I am where I am because of decisions I had to make, not because I made bad decisions. If I hadn't gone to school I wouldn't have gotten my previous job (and in turn, my current). If I hadn't bought this condo I'd be living with my parents (renting is more expensive than a mortgage). If I didn't change jobs I would have lost my previous job (Borders announced Chapter 11 less than a month after I switched jobs).

Could I have found a job closer to home? Maybe. Then again, maybe I would have lost the condo and my car if I waited to find a job closer to home.

I'd like to move closer to work. Unfortunately I work in a place that's surrounded by upper-middle class, high class, and ghetto's. Finding a place in between that hasn't been beat to shit by the previous owner before being foreclosed on is difficult. I can afford a bit larger mortgage, however, my condo has dropped in value about 50% since I bought it just over 2 years ago so getting rid of it will be difficult. The condo bylaws don't allow it to be rented out. And banks don't care how much money I'll be saving on fuel by reducing my commute.

*EDIT* Oh, and I have no significant savings to put down on a new place to live because I used that for a down payment on my current condo.

 

[TwiceOver]

I may have missed it somewhere, but is there a gym near your workplace? Maybe you could commute - work - gym - commute and that would be easier on you. It makes for a long day, but well worth it in the end. After a week or so of working out you'll start sleeping like a log and get deeper more worthwhile sleep.

Currently I'm working around my wife's schedule and our son's schedule, but I still hammer out two hours at the gym 6 days per week.

 

[Jeff7181]

I may have missed it somewhere, but is there a gym near your workplace? Maybe you could commute - work - gym - commute and that would be easier on you. It makes for a long day, but well worth it in the end. After a week or so of working out you'll start sleeping like a log and get deeper more worthwhile sleep.

Currently I'm working around my wife's schedule and our son's schedule, but I still hammer out two hours at the gym 6 days per week.

I'm not real interested in joining a gym. Regardless, after working and having finished lunch 5 hours or more prior to leaving work I feel like I need to eat before I can give an honest effort at a gym or working out myself at home. I've tried a power bar and banana on the way home and it still doesn't feel like I've eaten enough.

This week I've been focusing on drinking enough water throughout the day because I know there's room for improvement there.

 

[rga]

A "power bar and a banana" is not a meal. Power bars are just chocolate bars, maybe with whole grains or something to make it seem healthier. Bananas aren't much but sugar, either. Maybe a tiny bit of fiber in there somewhere. When you make your supper at night, make a little extra and bring that for your afterwork meal. You know you're going to be hungry at this time, so seriously just think ahead a bit and pack an extra meal. Take 5-10 minutes to sit down and eat it instead of rushing out the door to get home.

 

[blackdogdeek]

A "power bar and a banana" is not a meal. Power bars are just chocolate bars, maybe with whole grains or something to make it seem healthier. Bananas aren't much but sugar, either. Maybe a tiny bit of fiber in there somewhere. When you make your supper at night, make a little extra and bring that for your afterwork meal. You know you're going to be hungry at this time, so seriously just think ahead a bit and pack an extra meal. Take 5-10 minutes to sit down and eat it instead of rushing out the door to get home.

Or since OP eats out with co-workers a lot, either get something to go to eat later or split lunch into two meals.

 

[spamsk8r]

1) Learn to cook. Pack a lunch (maybe even 2) each day so you don't have to worry so much about getting hungry.
2) Kill your TV.
3) Start simple. Go for a half-hour walk in the morning or evening. Trying to change a ton of stuff at once is a recipe for failure.
4) Go to bed earlier so you feel more rested. 8-9 hours a night in a pitch black room (i.e. no lights at all, not even alarm clock).
5) Eat foods that don't make you sleepy/lethargic/etc. This means ditching anything with sugar, starch, grains, sugary fruit and getting more meat/veggies in.

That's enough to get you started. Once you can nail down some better daily patterns you can expand and try adding more things in.

 

[ZOOYUKA]

I'm not real interested in joining a gym. Regardless, after working and having finished lunch 5 hours or more prior to leaving work I feel like I need to eat before I can give an honest effort at a gym or working out myself at home. I've tried a power bar and banana on the way home and it still doesn't feel like I've eaten enough.

This week I've been focusing on drinking enough water throughout the day because I know there's room for improvement there.

It seems like you are full of excuses! It will not just magically happen. If you're not going to make an honest effort quit wasting people's time that are trying to help you!