Want to lose weight, but feeling “too busy” to exercise? You’re never too busy to do something good for your health.
It’s a common misconception that busy people have no time to exercise. In reality, you can exercise in any time slot over the course of your day. You can even exercise is during your commute and at work!
In fact, exercise is one of the easiest things to slip into your day’s activities. It only takes a few minutes to exercise, but your body will feel better and have more energy to keep on moving the whole day through.
The best time to exercise if you’re “busy”:
Traditionally, early morning has been seen as the best time to exercise but that may not always be possible.
Waking up to an alarm, brushing our teeth, morning coffee, breakfast, etc. may leave no time for exercise. Waking up earlier than usual may not be an option. In fact, lack of sleep can often contribute to weight problems.
So the best time to exercise is within the windows that our work day affords. You’ll be astonished to see just how much time you can make in the day to exercise without disturbing your schedule.
It’s easy to get caught up in your phone or other work-related tasks. But taking a few minutes to move your body can be a great way to burn some serious calories and make your day a little bit easier.
Make exercise a group activity.
How often does your bonding time with family, friends, and even pets, involve eating and just sitting there? Or how about laying around looking at your phones together?
Think about how much seated/reclined time you could trade for active time each day. Try to add a half-hour of physical activity that you can do as a group, to your weeknight schedule.
Ideas:
- Go for a walk or jog after dinner (definitely include your dog!)
- Take the kids to the park and kick a ball around or run the bases
- Play your favorite game or sport in the driveway or backyard
- Do a physical activity together that needs to be done – like shoveling snow, cleaning up the basement, or gardening
- If it’s warm, take a quick dip in the pool.
Stretching counts as exercise.
Stretching and breathing, when done properly, is very nourishing to the nervous system.
Use your downtime after lunch to do some yoga or stretching. Be careful though, never do vigorous exercise on a full stomach.
Another smart wellness practice: Wind down your evening with stretches before bed.
You’ll offload the day’s tension and bring your body into a rest-and-repair mode, which is perfect to do before heading to bed.
