Wellness Tuesday: The Effect of Caregiving on Weight Loss
Caregiving is hard. Often it is a thankless job! By the time I’m finished, I’m not only physically tired, but mentally wiped out.
Losing weight is also hard!
However, when you combine the two sometimes it seems just right impossible.
As a caregiver I have discovered that although I stay busy cleaning, cooking, bathing, etc. there is still a considerable amount of downtown. However, by the time my day is finished I’m exhausted.
I don’t feel like doing anything once I leave caregiving, but I know that I need to exercise, run errands, etc.
I have discovered some tips that help.
- I can exercise while I am on caregiving duty—at one place I walked circles around the room to get in my steps. I could also walk outside or exercise to a DVD.
- I schedule exercise for immediately before or after my shift—by scheduling the time to exercise and sticking with it I know that I will get it in. I often take time to walk immediately before or after my shift.
- Exercise before going home—I know once I get home I’m going to crash, so I get in my exercise before heading home.
- Explore my roadblocks—this is my biggest issue. Numerous roadblocks from change of schedule, to change of situations,
etc. get in my way and I use these as an excuse. If I deal with them ahead of time and decide how to handle them I am more likely to stick with my exercise routine than when I don’t. - Stop Making Excuses and Just Do It—I can easily make excuses, but sometimes I just have to stop and just do it. Now to remind myself of that one again. I have to stop making excuses and just do it.
Join the Conversation: What works for you to lead a healthy life while caregiving?