How do you exercise if you have no space or money?

[JammyGem]

I've hit a low point and have realised I desperately need to lose weight. The diet bit I can do (sort of) but I'm so unfit and struggle with any exercise. DH works late hours so I cannot leave the house after putting DD to bed until he gets home at about midnight. We walk home from nursery and I try to take detours so it's a longer walk, but as I pick her up pretty late after work this often backfores because she gets overtired. I am massively in debt and cannot afford to pay out for any equipment, clothes/shoes or memberships. Our house is tiny and there is no space to really exercise either, other than the metre square in front of the hob/oven in the kitchen.

Can anyone recommend any form of exercise I would be able to do? I'm fed up of being this fat ugly useless lump but I have no idea how to get fit. I looked into exercise I can do in a confined space and the only thing that really came up was a book by Charles Bronson (!) but I know Mumsnetters often have brilliant ideas so I'm hoping you can help!

Diet - you can't out-train a bad diet.

Then as others say: walk. Everywhere (also cheap!)

Yoga is also doable in the space of a yoga mat. Try Yoga with Adriene to start with - free on YouTube, and she is sooooo lovely & gentle, a 20 minute practice with her will make you feel great!

So much disordered over-eating is to do with emotion & comfort. I think it's a real female conditioning thing - we associate loving care & emotional need with food. I know what helps me is when I get a craving, I have to literally stop & think: is this a hunger pang or a desire for food because of a difficult emotion I'm experiencing? Usually, it's the latter.

@WitchesGlove
I either use cheap Bluetooth running headphones from amazon (amazing and £23.50) or just have phone on load speaker.
The highly questionable spottify playlist I made is a must to keep me going!!

I need to loose weight too. I did loose weight before lock down just by generally walking everywhere. Started doing stepping on the stairs and be conscious of stomach muscle while sitting, occasionally lifting legs up, stretching, etc.

I live in a v small flat- the only room big enough for a yoga mat is the one my DS sleeps in, so I understand it's hard juggling things round. I'm slim, but very unfit, as I haven't been able to exercise since I had my children, but I have been doing couch 2 5K for six weeks now.
You need the podcast or app(on a phone or music player), a sports bra ("high impact" is best for running- Sainsbury's have these for £14 ATM), trainers (reasonably supportive, not fashion trainers).
I get up an hour earlier than usual, the podcast takes 30-35 minutes, then I do some stretching, shower/wash hair. You do one day "running", one day rest. On rest days I do yoga for runners using Adrienne's you tube videos- she has several, I also do NHS knee strength exercises, to avoid injuries. The most important thing for you is to build up your muscles so that your body doesn't get injured while trying to lose weight.
You can't go out when your DP is at work, so use that time to go to bed earlier- one of my biggest triggers for putting on weight is not getting enough sleep, and then it's a vicious circle because I'm starving because I'm tired, so I eat what's fast not what's healthy, and then feel even more unhealthy and unhappy.

Do you have a freezer where you could store some precooked healthy meals in single portions so that healthy eating is less time consuming?
I am guessing that you're not eating properly for evening meal if there's just you at home?

C25k doesn't cost anything money wise, but it does take willpower to get up early and get out there.

I do agree that much of weightless is about what goes in in the first place. Something like 16:8, where you don't eat for 16 hours and only eat within an 8 hour window could help a lot. Don't forget the 16 hours include when you're asleep
I have 'breakfast' around 11:30, usually porridge with frozen fruit on top.

Good luck

You might not be ready to hear this but weight loss really happens in the kitchen. Calorie reduction. Exercise can help but ok it’s own it’s pretty useless in terms of weight loss

So wrong! I do a run and a walk everyday which means I burn 1000 more calories than I normally would. If I were completely sedentary I would only be able to eat about 1500 calories for weight maintenance, my exercise means that the maintenance calories are over 2000. Now that makes a big difference, a whole meals worth of difference in fact! And before you ask, no I am not over estimating because it works! I have lost 3 stone in the past 2 years and am still losing the last few pounds. Have gone from a size 16 to a size 10

I really don’t think your experience is typical. Most people do NOT burn anything like 1000 calories from daily exercise unless they are training for an elite event. I’m not doubting your figures but I’ve never heard of anyone losing a significant amount of weight through exercise alone if they have made zero changes to their diet. If the OP feels very overweight it is likely her diet is poor. I’m sure if one eats heathy salads and low carb every day then runs off 1000 calories one is bound to lose weight. However, going for a run in the morning doesn’t do much to work off a diet of Jaffa cakes and pasta.

My personal experience if that the only times I have ever lost significant weight (a stone or more) has been through calorie restriction.

The ideal would be to combine the two, of course. But even the best personal trainers will tell you weight loss starts in the kitchen and is finessed with workouts.

The best exercise I did during lockdown was getting the Blogilates (Cassey Ho) app, which costs nothing and following Popsugar workouts via YouTube. Hardly any space required, certainly nothing bigger than a workout mat.

I go to the gym now but have done lots of different stuff from home. A small second hand stepper (the ones with no bulky handles just the base) I think you can get ones with resistant bands attached. It's small & I used hand weights at the same time & watched tv.

A gas lift stepper I mean.

Jogging on the spot. Start by doing just a minute and gradually increase. It's a bit boring but does work.

If you are skint can you do a side job that involves a lot of walking, like delivering leaflets or newspapers. If it were at the weekend you can take your kids too and all get involved and have some fun while you are at it. Essentially the point of this suggestion is to get paid to exercise.

Lucy Wyndham-Read has hundreds of videos on YouTube, you can do most of them in a very small space, even on the spot, they are a brilliant way of getting into exercise, especially the series she has just done for beginners and you can do them in your bra and knickers In the bedroom if no one is looking,

@horseymum

If you are massively in debt, look up CAP ( Christians against poverty). You don't have to be a Christian or any religion to access their services. Tackling the debt will help you feel better too. Good luck with your new regime.

Second this, also the debt help advice on money saving expert.

However bad your situation is you should still have a bit of personal money in order to have a life and sufficient equipment for a healthy one at that.

You could probably get trainers, sports bra a mat and comfortable clothes to exercise in or outside for no more than £100 and that's all you need.

80% of what you look like is about what you eat. Focus on that. I lost almost 2 stone over lockdown by walking most days, reducing portion sizes. You don't need to pay for an app. You can download My Fitness Pal or Lose It for free.

As others have said, so many free exercise classes online and can be done from home in your own time.

Why would you spend £20 a month on an app when there’s a whole world of workouts on You Tube for free??

Have you any room in front of your sofa? Or in your bedroom? Do you have a garden?

On your app store or google store search for "leap fitness group" all free apps that I've used and are great. No money, equipment or space required.

Dance in what space you do have!

I really don’t think your experience is typical. Most people do NOT burn anything like 1000 calories from daily exercise unless they are training for an elite event. I’m not doubting your figures but I’ve never heard of anyone losing a significant amount of weight through exercise alone if they have made zero changes to their diet. If the OP feels very overweight it is likely her diet is poor. I’m sure if one eats heathy salads and low carb every day then runs off 1000 calories one is bound to lose weight. However, going for a run in the morning doesn’t do much to work off a diet of Jaffa cakes and pasta.

I'm nothing special. I started running 2 years ago after thinking I couldn't run at all. I was very unfit with a bad back and had just finished treatment for breast cancer. Then I looked at this on YouTube and discovered I could actually run if I used correct technique.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9L2b2khySLE

From there I built up the time spent running to just over an hour a day now which burns me over 700 calories. So I do that in the morning. In the afternoon or early evening I do an hour's walk which burns about 350 to 400 calories. I use FitBit to monitor calories burnt. Typically FitBit is supposed to be pretty accurate on calories burnt running and a bit over generous on calories burnt walking. So I plotted my route on this site:

https://www.plotaroute.com/mobile/

and checked it against an online calculator. That is how I approximate 1000 cals burnt. Not an insignificant amount.

But yes, I do monitor calories because it is extraordinary how many standard portions of certain foods are. For example a pub meal could be over 1000 cals in one meal. So I tend to make most of my plate salad and non starchy veg, have a handful sized portion of meat as my protein and not many starchy carbs (one medium roast potato for example or quarter of a baked potato in a wedge.) I use the app to calorie count and aim for a deficit of 500 to 1000 cals.

And my level of activity is not as much as an athlete in training would do (although sometimes my DH and I joke we're athletes). They do much much more. Just look at ultra runners or cross fitters on YouTube!

You could probably get trainers, sports bra a mat and comfortable clothes to exercise in or outside for no more than £100 and that's all you need.
Trainers is all you really all you need in the end though. I wear tracksuit bottoms and a tee shirt. I dont have a sports bra, I'm not sure the average person needs any of the frills although I'd assume they make you feel a bit nicer!!!

I really recommend Joe Wicks HIIT workouts on YouTube. They are free and you don't need much space. Loads of different workouts and you should be able to find a few that you like. You can do them barefoot if you don't have any trainers, although it is better to wear trainers if you have them. They don't have to be special trainers.

Walking is good too, and, as others have mentioned, try to eat healthily and cut out sweets, cake, chocolate and bisciuts.

You could probably get trainers, sports bra a mat and comfortable clothes to exercise in or outside for no more than £100 and that's all you need.

The OP has stated in her tutor that she has no money! A £100 upfront investment is not helpful to her. You probably could get that lot for £100, but I don’t believe the OP has that kind of money.

This is a great thread, I'm feeling inspired. I hope you come back @JammyGem to let us know how you get on.

OP honestly in lock down I've done exercise in old PJs cos they're lose fitting & comfortable- and just socks. No need to spend £100.

If you want to exercise outside then primark & asda do cheap n decent workout wear.

I'm normally usually someone who would do a special diet or rave about it, but I started keto not long ago. Not even full keto, around 30g carbs and sometimes more, per day. I'm eating lots and the weight is falling off. And my digestive system is free from issues I've had for years and years. I'm down 1.5 stone, working towards the healthy zone for my height. And I barely move, I'm sedentary taking work calls all day really. So those above saying it starts with diet, I say yes yes to this. Not saying don't exercise, but no point making that the big focus.

Why is everyone telling OP to go out running or walking when she can't go out?

My recommendation is to search for body weight training plus some hiit exercise. joe wicks, fitness blender should have plenty of these, also lots of apps have free training programs. On iPhone I can think of Freeletics, Nike training club, Fiit and peloton also have some free content. Reddit also have a body weight fitness group which has a recommended routine.