Do you think it would be easier to lose weight if you had more time ?

[kitchenlover]

I am really really struggling to sort myself out with this.

Are these all just excuses though ?

I have lost weight successfully in the past, but I've also been exhausted by the whole thing.

I need to be super strict and spend around 2 hours in the gym a day, ( 5 days a week at least ) in order to see a change in my body. It's exhausting.

I have a full time job, two preschool aged children and a completely absent H, due to his work.

I also suffer from a condition which causes fatigue. So I start off with less energy than most people anyway. That is not even taking account the fact that I do all night wakings with my kids.

I just can't do all of this AND spend the time shopping/ meal prepping and going to the gym a lot.

How do people manage ? I really need to get back to a healthy weight and the only way I can see this happening is if I just don't work for a bit. I can afford to do this and yes I posted about this the other day. However I keep thinking- what if I take some time out from work to sort myself out and then I don't even manage to lose weight ?

Am I just making excuses ? How do people with so many responsibilities do it ??

I need to be super strict and spend around 2 hours in the gym a day, ( 5 days a week at least ) in order to see a change in my body.

come again?

No, you do not.

How much do you have to lose?

I need to be super strict and spend around 2 hours in the gym a day, ( 5 days a week at least ) in order to see a change in my body.

Why?

No. The opposite. In general you just need to eat less, not go to the gym. I’d say going to the gym is more to gain weight/muscle/fitness.

you started a thread asking about giving up work in order to lose weight?!

Exercise is important but it’s not actually that useful for weight loss. It’s nearly all about what you eat and staying generally active. If you eat less and stay fairly active you will lose weight so actually being busy is good. You don’t need to spend 2 hours in the gym.

Yes, especially if you drive a lot.
Can you start walking almost everywhere?
I'm on my own and start work at 9:30 so I can walk (walled the kids to school when they were young). I lose 30 mins pay but gain masses of exercise and fresh air.

You can lose weight without doing any exercise at all. You're using that as an excuse.

Its mostly diet..ridiculous to "have to" spend2 hours per day in the gym.

Look at what you eat, eat less or differently.

If you suffer from fatigue, all that exercise is no good.

Being too busy to prepare and eat one meal a day is a fantastic way to cut out calories and works well for me.

Yeah but if I don't go to the gym and do weights and cardio, I will just end up all saggy. I think you definitely need to combine a good diet with weights and cardio, as you need to maintain muscle mass.

It helps to have enough time (though too much and I find I eat more)

You are busy but have some money so take some short cuts

Get a PT for a while - spending 2 hours in the gym is lunacy so you need a better programme

Get a meal delivery service for a bit, at least for dinner. if you don’t want to do all meals then write down 2 weeks of breakfasts/lunches, rotate and automate your shopping. Or just get someone to cook and fill your freezer.

Get more childcare help - a mother’s help who can do an evening or two or maybe even cover a mid week night so you can sleep solidly. Get more household help if you need it. Make sure your husband does his bit at weekends - doing one night and sharing time off equally with you.

Don’t be so all or nothing - you can get there, just maybe not as fast as when you were 25 and didn’t have so much on your plate

Don’t give up work because you won’t to lose weight, it’s embarrassing, just work out a routine that suits your life now.

I'm incredibly lazy. When I need to lose weight I just go without a meal

Have never worked out or gone to the gym - people assume I do though, because I'm slim and hourglass shape

Yoga and pilates will tone and give muscle definition. You don't need to go to a gym.

I lose weight when I’m crazy busy because I eat less. If I look back over my life, I’m always at my slimmest when I’ve been going through a busy period at work.

You don’t need 2 hours a day in the gym to tone up. That’s ridiculous.

I actually think too much time will make this harder. When I look the best I'm busy and don't have time to eat much

I eat less, do some short strength training sessions at home with dumbells, do a bit of yoga and walk where I can. That's all you need really. I'm definitely not saggy despite having lost 4 stone last year!

Well guys, I've lost weight before and really changed my body shape- and it needed at least 1 hour 30 minutes in the gym - 5 times a week at minimum.

I also ate very little and did intermittent fasting.

My body is very very very difficult to shit pounds from. I wish it was as easy as just skipping a meal for me, it's not.

Weight loss is at least 80% down to what you eat. You really don't need to spend 2 hours a day in the gym to create a calorie deficit. Hiit training is your friend here for toning and fitness.

You sound quite stressed and overwhelmed by your routine OP, totally understandable. If in theory you were to give up work you would have a lot more time but also a lot more exposure to food, and possibly feeling guilty for not losing it faster. I gained a lot of weight when home full time as I was constantly picking so be aware of the double edged sword.

But if you already have a health condition that causes fatigue, you're just going to end up doing more damage in the long term. I do too and I have to not do certain types of exercise (eg running) because it means I can't do other things.

theres a good saying "weight loss happens in the kitchen not the gym"

if we don't put the food in our face we don't have to burn it off basically.

You can tone up once you've lost a decent amount. I often think it's a mistake to do any kind of intense exercise when really overweight because of the strain on joints - a little bit of extra walking, swimming or anything light is more than enough but even that is not essential.

weight loss takes no time, it's just eating a bit less than what your body uses - try myfitnesspal or nutracheck to track your calories.

My body is very very very difficult to shit pounds from

for goodness sakes OP stop this thinking.

it's 100% what you eat.

But this is what I mean. I can't do as many things, so exercise is the most important thing for me to do. I don't run either, it's too much. I can't do HITT either, it's too much. I do slow and steady weight training with dumbbells and also the weight machines. After which I do a long cardio session, but nothing super brutal. That's probably why it takes so long. But I really had good results last time.