In my profession as a medical bariatrician, the most often cited reasons for not exercising is time and money. For some this may be an excuse, however, for many this is a reality. We live in a world that is constrained by time and money. As a physician, I can provide lots of things to my patients; lab analysis, diagnoses, treatment options referrals—but I cannot provide them with time or money. What I can provide, though, is advice on how to have weight loss success despite these barriers. Let us dissect these two constraints further.
The time, the time, who’s got the time?
Watching Alice in Wonderland as a child I never quite understood why that Rabbit was in such a hurry. However, as a full-time mother, wife and physician, I can completely relate. It’s hard enough to juggle family life, work life and all the in-betweens (the oil changes, doctor visits, yard work) and then your doctor slaps you on your back at the end of your yearly visit and says “oh yeah, and I want you to lose a few pounds.” “Oh sure” you mutter, with what time? If I told you I could provide you with the time, wrap it up in a fancy box with a big beautiful bow would you accept it? Sure, you might be a little skeptical at first, but once unwrapped, I could introduce you to a world where minutes feel like hours, one that I know very well because It is exactly what I do in my personal life.
Time is what you make when you have evaluated every aspect of your daily life and routine. I cannot define it for you because we all have different lives, demands and schedules. So I will provide you with a methodical way to carve out time in even the busiest schedule.
Analyze.
From the time you wake up to the time you go to bed, keep a log of your day. Search for gaps in that day where you can be active. Can you go to bed earlier and wake up earlier? We all for the most part would be able to find these time gaps and be able to utilize them as potential opportunity for some calorie expenditure.
Eliminate.
After you have analyzed your day, look for areas you can eliminate or cut down. Watching a marathon of CSI Miami is probably not very productive, nor is it a good way to expend calories. Liking everything on Facebook or spending precious time “pinning” everything from recipes to console tables on your Pinterest boards may be fun, but it is also very time consuming. I think you get my point, it doesn’t mean you can’t do these things any longer, it just means don’t spend as much time doing them.
Plan.
Once you have eliminated, you can then prioritize and plan for your day. Planning ahead is a key to success. For instance you may say, I will wake up 15-20 minutes earlier and do jumping jacks and sit-ups in the morning. Planning makes what you are trying to achieve more tangible and makes it more likely that you will adhere.
Act.
You have now analyzed your day, eliminated wasteful hours, and planned for success—now is the time for action. There is no doubt in my mind this is the hardest part, but once you start you are closer to it becoming a habit. The very definition is “a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior.” Exercise does not have to be long to be effective. There are many new methods of exercise to partake in; Tabata, High Intensity Interval Training, CrossFit. There are even exercises DVD’s that corner the market on time, and promise a short but effective fat burning experience. These are very easy to research on the internet and get a general understanding of how to start.
Now for the money part, believe it or not you don’t have to go all out on a gym membership to get in much needed exercise. Here are some money saving tips for incorporating exercise into your everyday life.
Use what you have.
Using your own body weight alone can help you to burn a lot of calories. Use the stairs in your home or apartment. Use a chair to perform dips or step-ups. Do squats or lunges. There are a lot of exercises that can be performed in your home with no equipment at all.
A walk in the park.
Go for a walk or a jog. Utilize resources such a “mapmyrun.com” and you can actually quantify how many miles you are planning to walk in your own neighborhood. In addition, the outdoors in general exposes you to elements you wouldn’t normally have in a gym, such as wind, hills. This allows you to work harder and burn more calories than you may have anticipated.
Use technology.
There are a plethora of DVDs, smart phone apps and games that market on the fitness industry and expenditure of calories. If you already have the means use them. If not you can often purchase these things used without breaking the bank.
Discounted gym equipment.
With Craigslist and EBay it has become quite affordable to own used gym equipment at a discounted rate. As a matter of fact my husband and I, struggling with time, incorporated a home garage gym that was essentially furnished by multiple sellers on Craigslist. You can find small gym equipment, such as medicine balls, weights, resistance tubing at your local value stores such as Wal-Mart and Target for surprisingly low prices.
In general the constraints that time and money present are not going to disappear, they are here to stay, what matters is that we learn to work with what our finances and schedules allow. Hopefully the advice I have given you today will show you that it is possible and give you the motivation to start exercising. The sooner you start, the sooner you will be on your way to a fitter and healthier life.