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.

Walk any way. It diesnt matter if you don't have kids or dogs. I see loads of people every day going on a walk past my house. Some are women by themselves, some are men by themselves, some are couple. It doesn't matter!.
Set yourself a circuit to walk. Maybe to a landmark and back or a shop or anything you want. See how long it takes. Over time see if you can do it quicker or increase the distance. Have a target. Every day? Three times a week? 20 mins, an hour? You decide.
Does your council do well bei g sessions. A lot of councils are encouraging people especially those that are overweight or never exercised before to join in with their activities. They are free in my area.
Theres loads of free exercise stuff on YouTube. Everything from never touched your toes to super fit so theres something for you.

Good luck and I hope you find something you enjoy.

You could always try at home videos, such as those bu Leslie Sasone . There's lots, from walking 1 mile to longer ones, from the comfort of your home.

Few years back when the weather was too cold and wet and had baby (so that was my reason for not walking outdoors), I used Leslie's videos.

Really? @VolvicHenry
What’s happened in your gym?
We have every shape and size at the gym, also ranging from the young ones to a few elderly people too. Also I’ve even seen people in wheelchairs at my gym. Never once have I heard people making comments or pulling faces. (All way to busy looking in the mirror or working out to pay attention to others)
Maybe our town is a bit more diverse?

@Singleorigincoffee

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..

Ouch, one video a day was painful enough, can't imagine doing 3 😂

As others have said walking. Start off gently, especially since you are only getting a few hundred steps a day. Take it slowly and try to build up minding your arthritis as you go.

Ways you can get more steps in are to park a mile away from work and walk that mile to the office. Taking the stairs when you can is also a really good form of exercise because you'll build muscle - when I was really ill and couldn't exercise I tried to go up the 4 flights of stairs to my office at least once a day no matter how long it took. I found out one of my colleagues walks up all 13 floors of the building during her lunch a few times a week because she's a single mum with not much spare time.

Good luck with it and try to stay motivated by being gentle and kind to yourself. Getting healthy isn't easy at all but once you do you will find you have more energy and hopefully feel a bit better.

My local council run ‘walk and talk’ and ‘health walk’ groups, and there are a variety of keep fit, Zumba, yoga, Pilates etc community groups in community venues. I think these would be a much better fit for a beginner exerciser than a gym, or trying to do it on your own. Your local Facebook groups are a good source of information on the groups being run locally.

Try to incorporate little changes into your daily routine so they become routine - for example, when you need the loo at work, don't go to the nearest one, go a floor up or down - and take the stairs. When you make a cup of tea, pace up and down while the kettle is boiling. Definitely try and build a walk into your lunch break - even if it's just walking to buy a sandwich from a shop further away than usual. Even a 15min walk will add 1,000-2,000 steps and every little does help to get more active.

When you're at home maybe set an alarm every 30 minutes on your phone to remind you to move - even if it's just walking upstairs and down again.

If you're really only doing a few hundred steps a day then you can make improvements straightaway by working up to getting at least 2,500 steps a day, then work towards 5,000 and so on.

In the evening if you call a friend or relative for a chat then walk around the house while you talk - if you have long telephone calls the steps really add up without feeling like exercise.

All of these things can be done in your usual environment and you don't have to go outside. I'm typing this walking around my house because I don't have enough steps for the day so I'm just walking around (and around) the kitchen.

Once you're more used to being active then you can look at things like C25K and the gym etc but just start small and make being active part of your daily routine.

www.walkingforhealth.org.uk/walkfinder

You don't need to have a dog to walk. Get a Fitbit, set yourself a walking challenge or just build it into a daily routine. It is cheap, even walking for 30 minutes a day is a good start and it will help you lose weight. In reality if you are morbidly obese it is the only form of exercise initially you will be able to do

Just go for a walk, you don't need a dog to walk. It is entirely legal and acceptable to walk alone.

Just walk. Use the step counter on your phone and build up. Get in the habit of going daily. Look round you and notice all the little stuff, or listen to podcasts. It's easy and cheap and habit forming.
Maybe invest in a waterproof and some comfy shoes that don't leak so weather isn't an excuse?

A huge well done for posting this, OhMyDaze. Deciding to make a change is massive, and proably the most important step to turning things around. My advice is to think small changes, and small goals, not big ones.

I've turned myself around like this. A year ago I was obese, sedentary, with arthritis, migraines, high blood pressure and poor sleep. An injury last Christmas was the trigger for me to sort myself out. I worked with very small goals that I could see were achieveable. And gradually, bit by bit, I have lost 5 stone and got myslf fit. My sleep is way better, my blood pressure way down, my arthritis is still there, but far better than it used to be. I've gone from barely being able to walk to doing proper sport. I feel like a totally different person. But it's been lots of very small, achieveable steps. Nothing daunting. There's no way I could have done Couch to 5k, for instance because I would never have believed I could manage it. But working with much smaller goals has meant I have got there anyway.

PPs have mentioned some great ideas, but here are some others:

• Do steps or stretches while cleaning your teeth or waiting for the kettle to boil, when you would otherwise be stood around.
• If watching TV, get up each advert break and walk around/up and down stairs a few times.
• Have something short that you will definitely do every day. Mine was a walk around the block, which before my injury used to take me 15 mins (now it takes 10). Find something similar that you enjoy, that isn't too time consuming so you can always fit it in.
• Look up some youtube exercise/dance/movement videos and have some favourites set up that you can start easily. You can find ones that are only 5 or 10 minutes long for tired/busy days, and longer ones of 30 mins+ for days when you have more energy and time.

Just take it steady, and you can do it!

Horses for courses what works individually.

I don't get on with anything organised, going to gym, doing vids at home etc.

For me the key is to work into day so doesn't feel like effort. And something I like, and has a POINT. I find exercise for the sake of exercise just zero appeal.

I also have mobility prob which means vv limited what can do.

I dropped from 8k a day to a few hundred with COVID as well.

The things I have done that I found worked-

1. Walking lunchtime. Listen to upbeat tunes I love. Either stomp in big loop round shops area. Or go round green space near house. And mission on high street or after green space a must. Buy handwash/socks/lipsyl.. buy something I like for lunch.

That has worked really well for me.

Putting on v energy songs at home and dancing just however. Jumping up and down waving arms about etc.

Trying to use stairs in shops etc that have some. Taking the longer route or steeper one to get to area to buy the lipsyl.

Try to walk fast as can maintain, without looking bananas IE fast walk not 80s speed walk in neon!

Hth good luck!

And DON'T set yourself up to fail.
Be realistic what you will actually do and carry on doing.

Remember that changes exterior slow. But benefit for heart lungs etc are happening.

Increase gradually. For me goals etc do opposite of motivate.

Oh and swimming obv great.

You can walk without a dog... try to gradually increase steps every day

Do you work with someone you like? I go for walk round the office block with a colleague for about 10mins at lunchtime. There's a few of us that do it now and it means we can chat and walk. We've also found that if only one of us is in, we ask someone else who's not part of the group to go for some fresh air, and most people we've asked will agree.

Walking is my favourite way to stay active too. I like the ease of stepping out of the front door and just walking whenever, no need to get to a gym or plan in advance for the timing of classes. On a busy day like today I just do a quick loop round the nearby streets and past the park. At weekends I try to get to the larger outdoor spaces or parks or just explore different streets nearby. Having a Fitbit is great because I'm goal oriented and like to see the steps build up.

Even getting up and walking back and forth indoors or dancing around the living room quickly builds up steps and you can do it while watching the news or listening to music.

OP your situation is my situation. I was overweight before lockdown and have managed to pile on another two stone till now. I’m trying since 1 Jan to do small things. I’m not eating till 12, which has been easier than I thought it would be and I’m trying to go out and walk - no dog, no kids. I’m not pressurising myself to do anything fancy, but if I do 5,000 steps that’s good - if I don’t get to 5 that’s ok too - at least I went out. So instead of taking the car to pick up parcels from click and collect, I walk. If I need milk or bread I don’t go to the corner shop, but one further away. Toying with idea of getting something like a wii fit cause it looks like fun. Good luck and just remember small steps are better than no steps at all!

Dancing to music is fab, no one can see you, it's enjoyable, gets your body used to movement and you used to feeling out of breath, good luck OP!

Get a small pedal machine (the sort you sit on your own chair to use). They are very compact. You could use it at work under your desk, and at home while watching TV. Set yourself small goals- so 5 minutes every hour to start with.

It's gentle and low impact on your arthritis, doesn't cut into your down time, is discreet and doesn't take up space, can go at your own pace and will start building your leg muscles

How about cycling? Exercise bike at home or a regular old fashioned bike for outdoors. It makes a nice change from walking.

You need to try lots of different types of exercise until you find one YOU enjoy. Once you find your thing it's much easier to be consistent with it.
You don't need anything but yourself to go for a nice walk, I see plenty of people doing it. Anybody who openly judges someone for making the effort to get fitter is an arsehole, ignore this kind of person.

I like powerlifting, we have a home set up so nobody to get in the way or worry if they're judging me. We also have a dog and kids so get out walking.

Going to the gym could still be a good idea, OP, if you work with someone who knows about all the medical problems and restrictions you have and guides you through the suitable programs and exercises.
If you don't consider that an option altogether, then think about getting a fitness tracker and set a goal (7-8K steps per day is fine) and try to reach it but taking long walks and exploring parts of your town you've never been or haven't visit for a while.
It also helps if you just play your favorite music and dance to it for a while, it's also much fun!
If you want to motivate yourself into weight loss, here is a trick that worked for me: I edited the picture of myself so that I'd look thinner (basically I made myself look the way I aspire to be) and printed them out. These pictures are now everywhere and they help me stay more or less motivated because seeing your 'future' self really helps. There are photo editors to make you look skinny, like Photoworks or Photodiva (this one is a free body editor) and also tons of Photoshop guides! Silly, but it worked for me .

Some really good advice here. If you are feeling self conscious or worried about walking/getting out of breath, you can build up your stamina indoors with walking exercise videos. I know it sounds odd but I found them on YouTube during the first lockdown and quite enjoyed them! Lucy Wyndham-Reed has some, you walk around your sitting room and do some light exercises at the same time. Getting outside and doing some walking in the fresh air is definitely the most important thing- it's good for your mental health as well as your physical health. Good luck!

I'm not saying that exercise won't help but if you want to loose weight you need to look at your diet more than you need an exercise plan.