Hi ladies! So I have an issue. I need to go down 2 dress sizes for my dress. I always have the option of switching out the back zipper closure for a ribbon wrap up closure which is fine but I need to lose the weight I've gain since starting my full time office job. I need help finding time to work out again. I've gained a total of 20 lbs since high school (24 now) and it's not good on a 5' 1'' frame. I currently weigh 145 lbs. I'm a vegetarian and try to eat healthy. My weakness is my strong as hell sweet tooth.
I work about 1 hr 20 mins from home. I love working out but can't find the mental energy and time. Here's my schedule:
Monday-Friday:
Wake up at 6, make breakfast, get ready for work
Leave for work a little after 7 and drive 1 hr 20 min commute
Work from 8:30-5:30 (sometimes 6). Have 1 hour lunch but can't usually get away from my office to do anything physical.
Arrive at home a little after 7pm
Make dinner because I'm hungry, baby!
Work on my online vintage shop that I own, house work, or quality time with my FI (he and I have very diff. schedules since he's a full time college student)
Sleep by 11
I don't like the idea of working out after I get home because a couple of reasons: I'm hungry when I get home and exercise wakes me up which isn't good for when I need to go to sleep in a couple of hours.
Am I doomed to having to wake up even earlier? I thought about hiring a fitness trainer because I need the accountability but I'm saving all of my extra money for the wedding.
Any advice?
Re: Where do I find the time and energy?
Commit to working out on every Saturday and Sunday.
I current do Insanity. I like those workouts because they are fast (30 ish minutes) but they are intense.
Can you pack a snack to eat in the car so you arent starving when you get home?
If you really want to start taking care of yourself, you might want to start looking for a job closer to home, or moving.
This. If you're not weighing (solids) and measuring (liquids) your food - all of it, but especially dense stuff like peanut butter, cooking oil, cheese - then you can easily be taking in 50% more calories than you think, and that will completely wipe out any deficit you've made from working out. You're not tall or heavy so you have a lot less room for error than bigger people do and it is SO EASY to eat an extra few hundred calories a day and have no idea if you're not weighing absolutely everything. Accurate calorie counting (including the stuff like oil to sauté vegetables and cream in your coffee) is what is going to make the difference for weight loss. You cannot out-exercise your diet if you're eating as much as you're burning in a day.
I, too, hate to wake up early. My workouts cause me to wake up at 6...15 and that's plenty early for me.
But I agree with PPs that the key here is time management: I love the idea of finding a gym near work, so you can pop in for a quick workout right after you leave. I love the idea of 30-minute workout dvds. In general, people who are short on time should be looking at high intensity workouts (keywords: HIIT, Tabata, intervals). Short bursts of intense movements at a sprint pace can get you fit in a fraction of the time (some info to get you started: http://www.self.com/flash/fitness-blog/2013/05/fitness-tabata-burns-13-calories-per-minute).
I have also heard great things about Bodyrock.tv which has free 15-minute workouts that you can stream on your laptop/tablet/whatever screen you want.
I LOVE doing this kind of workout--it's so fast that you're done almost by the time you begin, and I really do feel awesome and energized afterward. I feel like a fucking infomercial.
Good luck! I know this shit ain't easy (she said, thinking back on her Christmas week full of cookies, grandma food, and more cookies).
It's always hard when you first change your routine, but once you get into the swing of things then it starts feeling natural. Have fun!