AIBU to ask for ways to stay active if you don't have children or a dog to walk?

[OhMyDaze2022]

Just that really.
Don't have children.
Don't have a dog to walk.
Don't have any hobbies.
Office job sitting on arse all day.
Asthma and arthritis.
Morbidly obese and need to lose weight before it kills us.
Partner in a similar situation.
How can I lose weight without walking a dog or going to a gym - I'm too fat so I'm not humiliating myself.
Ideas, please?
YouTube channels? Games? Silly tricks people do? I do have a step counter and I'm only getting a few hundred steps in a day at the moment. I sit on my bum at work, drive home and then I cba to exercise coz I'm tired. I need to start taking action!

Please don't me cruel in the comments. I'm asking for help not pitchforks.

Don't be cruel that was meant to say.

Find an active hobby that you enjoy doing, may be trial and error. But finding something you enjoy will give you the motivation to do it even when you're tired.

I personally quite like hula hooping. I can do it in the comfort of my own home and can stand in front of the tv doing it. Even 10 minutes a day is beneficial. Weighted hoops are actually a lot easier to use so many people that think they can't hula hoop, actually can when they try a weighted one

Have you thought of getting an imaginary dog to walk. They are much better behaved and no poo picking.

Tomorrow just walk 1,000 steps. Write a card to an old friend and walk to not the nearest post box to post it. Take the imaginary dog with you.

We've got a Ring Fit for the Nintendo Switch - big outlay but it's been brilliant for me as someone who has never exercised in her life.

Walking is great exercise. Just start small and build up. Don't go mad and set out to walk 10 miles, just walk up and down your street or round the block. Remember that even baby steps will still move you forward.

Just walk. Every day.

If it's pouring or windy and you don't want to walk outside then there are some great walking vids on YouTube - search "Get Fit With Rick". I used to do his walking vids in my kitchen on wet lunchtimes when I didn't want to layer up and head outside. Sometimes I'd do them during really long boring team calls!

Walk without a dog. Set yourselves a challenge of walking the distance between two places you know in a month and track it off each time you go for a walk. You will start to sleep better and gain more energy the more you do it and it’s a more gentle form of exercise for your arthritis.

Can you walk to work?

Challenge yourself to do a certain number of steps a day? Join an online challenge? Couch to 5k? Try and commit to doing something with a friend to make you accountable

Go to the gym.

You're unlikely to be the biggest person in there (I'm not, even when I was at my largest, I wasn't) - and even if you were, you'd be the person making a change for themselves, which is never humiliating, it's something that's respected and admired by other gym goers.

If you go to one with a pool/steam room/sauna, it's more of a treat and you're more likely to go, too. You can do things that are safer for your joints, strengthen your muscles, improve your posture and avoid injuries that are far easier to sustain when you're exercising at home without expert advice.

Don't see exercise as punishment, it should be fun.

Find an activity you absolutely love doing. One that you cannot wait to do again and again.

Unless you really enjoy it you won't carry on doing it past the novelty factor.

Join a social sporting activity in the evening, walk to the shop for bread/milk, errands etc, do something active at lunch time………..

If you won’t because you cba, then nothing will change……..

Definitely about finding something you'll enjoy so you stay more motivated. Swimming and walking are the only exercises I find really enjoyable so I try to go swimming as often as I can.

You can go walking without a dog though, get yourself a Fitbit and keep track of your steps, set yourself a goal of how many steps you want a day (try set yourself two goals so how many for your days off and how many for your days at work which will probably be less).
I found this more enjoyable by trying to find nice scenic walks nearby.

Watch what you're eating aswell as that's a big part of it.
I would also try to get up every so often so if I'm watching tv, whenever the adverts were on I would get up and move, that can be anything - I used to quite like dancing to the songs on the adverts when I lived myself as no one could see me, or walking on the spot, star jumps, walking up and down the stairs. Every little helps!

Sorry I don't have much advice other than that but best of luck!

You don’t need a dog to walk, take yourself out for the scenery!

If not, how about a compact treadmill you can store under the sofa and watch tv while you walk on it?

Hey OP,
First of all, kudos to you for recognising the problem and wanting to take steps to do something about it. I couldn't read this without responding, although I'm sure others will be along with far better advice.
A few thoughts:
You can go for a walk without kids or a dog, or even any purpose at all. It might be nicer to do for a wander in a park, but you can have quite a good meander just around your local streets.
Can you do any of your work calls on a mobile phone away from your desk? I try to fit in at least one "walk and talk" or "walk and listen" call on any days when otherwise I'll completely miss daylight hours being stuck at my desk. It's hard to do to begin with but the walk passes quickly and you feel much better afterwards.
There's loads of great workouts on YouTube, including some targeted at people like you, who are very out of shape. There's even some great chair-based workouts to help manage joint pain. Have a go. You don't need to buy weights to start with: a couple of cans of baked beans work well when you're just getting going.
Don't let feeling self conscious stop you joining the gym. Check out your local leisure centre. No one goes to look at everyone else...they are all there to work on themselves.
Challenge yourself to do something (even just 5 mins) every day. Maybe at lunchtime. You'll be amazed at how quickly you build up some stamina and how your energy levels start to feel higher. If you feel too tired at the end of the day, fit it in earlier on.
Finally, remember that everyone has bad days. If you miss a day, or two, or even three, don't give up. Get yourself going again.
Be kind to yourself.
Good luck!!

You could get a Fitbit, find out your usual number of steps and then set yourself a target of, say, doubling them? Then try to incorporate walking into your daily routine - for example a walk on your lunch break, taking the stairs instead of the lift, parking the car a walk away from your office instead of in the office car park etc.

However, if you have a lot of weight to lose then realistically most of that needs to come from reducing calories not increasing exercise.

Is your partner onboard with the idea of getting healthier? Good luck

I second "Get Fit With Rick" on YouTube - he's great! There are also some very good dance/exercise videos on YouTube which are great for getting active but they don't really feel like you're exercising!
Good luck with it and well done for making the decision to get fitter.

Go to the gym, people don’t stare at “fat people”, we admire them!!

Loosing weight will help with asthma, trust me!

I find getting out for a walk at lunchtime is the best option at this time of year - you're never going to feel like it after work when it's dark. Could you drive part way to work and walk the last 15 minutes or so?
I also try to go for an evening or weekend walk with a friend sometimes rather than a drink (or sometimes walking to a pub for a drink). Or me and DH go a walk after work together in the summer. Building walking into being how you get to places you need to go seems to work best I find.

If a dog would give you the motivation to go for a walk, you can always walk someone else's dog. Go on Borrow My Doggie or put a message in a local shop offering to walk someone's dog.

Walking is good to start just build up how far you go and try to vary your route to stop boredom settling in.

Try the gym, you'd be surprised just how little attention people pay to others, they're all there for their own reasons and really they don't pay any attention to others.
Swimming? Swimmings great all over exercise.

You just have to be determined to stick to it when you start out so that it becomes a habit and you keep going. Find something you enjoy and it doesn't feel like a chore.

Could you park a bit further from work than usual so that you are adding walking that way?

Another one in the camp of "just go for a walk". I'm in my 60s and walk about 2 miles a day in addition to shopping and other errands and the steps can really mount up. Mostly I just walk around my local area but sometimes I'll drive somewhere more interesting and then walk.

Can you/would you go for a walk at lunchtime or before/after work? You don't have to have a dog to walk! Is there an exercise class you'd consider attending (I know I'm more likely to exercise if I've already paid for a class)? Do you have a friend or someone who would exercise with you for moral support (or guilt-tripping you into doing it!)?

Regarding the tiredness thing, is there anything you can do between leaving work and getting home? Or deposit the car at home and immediately go for a walk? That way you don't get in and just spend the evening on the sofa. I always feel like I have more energy generally when I get into good exercise habits, so it makes it easier to keep doing it.

Regarding the gym etc. - don't let your size dictate how you choose to exercise. Ask around (e.g. on your local Facebook groups) to see if there are any activities that seem particularly welcoming - I teach aerial arts and we have people of all sizes and ages in our classes, for example. Also, most decent people in a gym would see someone who was trying to make a positive change, nothing to be embarrassed about! Good luck!

@Gymrats

Go to the gym, people don’t stare at “fat people”, we admire them!!

Loosing weight will help with asthma, trust me!

You and I clearly go to a different gym.

I used to do 3 Chloe ting videos a day and then an athleanx video before I got pregnant.

I hate cardio so invest in dumbbells and weights as the more you do, the more you burn..