How to Lose Weight When You Have No Time to Exercise

Guest post by Amy S. Cook

It’s an excuse most of us give when we’re asked if we exercise – I have absolutely no time to spare. My job keeps me occupied throughout the day, and when I get home, I’m so tired that all I can do is cook dinner for my family and hit the sack. I can’t get up early because if I do, then I tend to doze off at the office, and if this happens during an important meeting, my livelihood is in jeopardy. And so on and so forth. If these excuses ring a bell, then you’re in a majority.

We want perfect bodies, but we’re not willing to work hard for them; not because we don’t want to, but because we have other things to focus on that are more important. But where there’s a will, there’s always a way; so if you want to lose weight badly enough, you can fool time and find clever ways to sneak exercise into your day by:

• Being more active: Even if your job is at a desk, find ways to be more active. Walk to work or if it’s too far, park half a mile away from your office so that you’re forced to walk to and from your desk. Take the stairs instead of riding up the elevator (and if you tend to sweat, be prepared with a few handy wipes in your bag), and as much as possible, walk to the desk of a colleague instead of picking up the phone or sending an email to deliver a message or receive/give instructions.


• Taking advantage of a five-minute break: When you have ten minutes to spare, use five of them to strengthen your muscles. The best part about strength-training is that you don’t really need fancy equipment or too much time – it takes less than five minutes to complete three sets of 12 squats or lunges. You could do both sets of exercises if you have 15 or more minutes. This exercise routine, when done four times a week, works wonders for your metabolism and helps you lose weight faster.


• Investing in an exercise bike: For those of us who don’t leave our homes to exercise (because we don’t have the time), an exercise bike is the best workout investment you can make. It’s small enough to be moved from room to room in your home, and you can pedal away while you cook dinner, watch television or supervise your kids’ homework for 10 to 20 minutes. Also, cycling is one of the safest exercises for people of all ages and all sizes since it’s a non weight bearing workout that does not stress out your knees.


• Including interval training: Interval training is the best and fastest way to exercise – it not only takes the least amount of time, it also provides the maximum benefits. All you need to do is warm up for two minutes, then get on your cycle and pedal as fast as you can for around 2 minutes (your heart must be racing when you stop), then take a breather for around 30 seconds, and then pedal as fast as you can again for 2 minutes. If you repeat this cycle continuously for 5 or 6 times, at least four times a week, your legs become stronger, you become fitter, your stamina increases, and you lose weight faster than before.

So you see, exercise does not have to be for an hour or more – even a few minutes will do if you really want to do it.

Author Bio

This guest post is contributed by Amy S. Cook, who writes on the topic of LVN to RN. Amy welcomes your comments at her email id: amy11s.cook@gmail.com