HAVE you turned LAZY in EARLY RETIREMENT ??

[Ready]

I replaced my busy work schedule with a busy exercise schedule. I now consider exercise to be my "job", so I get at least two hours of exercise a day. I use the "Lose It" app on my IPhone to track my calories as well, so I guess that's another job responsibility of mine in ER. I lost 20 pounds and have been able to keep it off with my routine. If I went back to work, I know I would not get as much exercise, but I'd be sure to get at least 30 minutes or so a day. It's pretty important to make exercise a part of your daily routine, just like showering and brushing your teeth. I never considered exercise to be optional.


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[CyclingInvestor]

I retired 9 years ago (at 48) and while still lazy, have had the opposite results.

I exercise much less than when I worked, but eat much better. My highest weight ever was in the month I retired. Since then I have lost half of my excess weight, at a slow but steady rate.

 

[mh]

I bought an easy to maintain city bike and do daily small grocery shopping runs instead of one big one a week in the car. I go to the library , mall , bagel shop, etc on the bike also. Takes a few weeks to get your bike legs but once you do , it's more fun than taking the car. Less drudgery than doing the gym thing also


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[Sea Kayaker]

I have lost 60 pounds since I FiRE'd just over a year and a bit ago. I am probably fitter now in my early 40's than I was in my late 20's...which was my last FIT PHASE. Cardio and weight training 5 days a week...lots of sea kayaking and hiking in the Summer.

Being active and fit are just essential aspects of my FIREd life. This has probably been the most pleasant surprise of ER so far.

 

[Sunset]

Yes, I skip shaving for days.

I'd tell you more, but it's too much effort

 

[Ozstache]

My laziness level hasn't changed with FIRE, but I am fitter and thinner.

 

[Tree-dweller]

I'm discovering I am less ambitious than some ERs, more than others, but every now and then I get a cold hard slap to remind me my time on this side of the grass should be embraced. Most recent case in point: a same-age ER friend just suffered a stroke, thankfully minor. Her lifestyle certainly contributed. She was an overweight, inactive smoker. She says she has learned her lesson now. I hope so, but it's a cautionary tale for me, to remind me why inactivity, sometimes so welcoming, must be counter-balanced. Thankfully my wife, and my new Fitbit, keep me going. Strokes scare the bejeezus out of me.

 

[donheff]

I am naturally lazy and have to combat the tendency to skip exercises. For weights I use high intensity sessions that are short but efficient. I only need two a week which I can handle. I don't like walking for walking's sake but DW and I took up cycling in ER and luckily we both like that. We get plenty of exercise from that during the season and I make a couple of trips to the gym each week for short sets of sprints on an exercise cycle in the winter. The exercise, combined with dropping most processed food and both DW and I are in our best shape in decades. It takes some discipline but soon becomes fairly habitual (notwithstanding the bunch of freshly baked holiday cookies I ate yesterday).

 

[Ronstar]

My laziness is about the same after retirement as before. But I am eating healthier and getting a little more exercise during the winter in retirement.

During my last few years of work, I augered down from 3 work days a week to 1. During the last year of part time, I geared up my running to where I was running 4 miles a day, 6 days a week. I went from 210 lbs to 185. But I developed knee and hip injuries and quit running shortly before retiring.

I have increased biking, hiking and weight exercises slightly since retiring. This, coupled with a better diet is keeping me at 185 lbs.

 

[ArkTinkerer]

I've only been FIREd since August. I never was much of one for exercise but my physical activity level seems higher and sitting in a chair surfing the net eventually bothers my sense of self. Net result is the loss of 5-10 lbs.

 

[HadEnuff]

Being brand new to this I also have a concern regarding the possibility of happy hour creeping earlier and earlier in the day. After posting on this thread yesterday I was motivated to do some yoga and take a nice long walk in the gloaming. I felt a million times better.

 

[razztazz]

I've always been lazy. That's why I retired early. All I ever really wanted to do was whatever I did on my days off when I was working.

 

[Sea Kayaker]

FIRE allows for an incredible opportunity to become the fittest version of yourself...some of the stuff I'm reading here is a bit of a head scratcher...I guess some folks are...just actually LAZY.

 

[sengsational]

After reading all of these, with a good majority saying they exercise as much or more, I'm wondering how much self selection bias there is. A bunch, I suppose. If I were a total couch potato, before and after ER, I'd probably not contribute those facts to the forum, hehe!

 

[Danmar]

After reading all of these, with a good majority saying they exercise as much or more, I'm wondering how much self selection bias there is. A bunch, I suppose. If I were a total couch potato, before and after ER, I'd probably not contribute those facts to the forum, hehe!

Good point, and probably true. As far as the original question goes, quite the opposite for me too. Lost 20 lbs, fitter than ever. Motto is "burn calories". Strenuous workouts almost every day. Usually burn 600-900 calories per workout. Almost fanatical about working out. If I miss a day, I feel guilty until the next workout.

 

[frayne]

Don't want to brag but I could kick Chuck Norse's ass. Of course I'd probably suffer a round house kick and die an early death but, it's all good.

Actually, I walk about five miles a day, work out regularly and have an adonis type 24 year old body. OK, all the single financially independent ladies, feel free to email or call me at 423-867-5309.

 

[kcowan]

In March 2014, I seriously injured by left plantar fascia by stepping on a submerged rock in the beach sand. I struggled with the pain until September when I got a big lift with acupuncture. Then in March 2015, I got a very bad spider bite in the same leg (8 days in the hospital). Then I broke a small bone in the left foot. So I had a command performance getting ready for our month in southern Italy in September. It really brought home the problem of restoring fitness once it is gone.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I got quite lazy last winter. Fortunately last winter it snowed frequently so I made a point of shoveling.

It was only when I got back into my favorite activity that I really began to make headway into the laziness. Fid me that is swimming. But I spent a ton of money making that easy..put in a new deck and swim spa.

Here are a few suggestions, take your pick:

Find something you enjoy for exercise. Walking, running, swimming, using an elliptical while reading or watching sports. Start the day with an activity, such as cleaning something or exercise. No electronics/media except music until that activity is finished.

If you haven't done this, also consider cutting out alcohol and really looking at the diet. I've been finding that along with swimming, increasing the fruits and veggies, and no alcohol these past three months has made a ton of difference. I had a couple of drinks a week ago and I felt de-energized. Not worth it.

I'm addicted to iPhone games. Working on that one myself. I just dumped a bunch yesterday.


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[HFWR]

I'm still employed for a few more days, so my activity level in retirement is theoretical at this point. I've been a walker, jogger, and bicyclist, and usually do weight machines twice a week, so other than having a schedule that doesn't involve w*rking around "w*rk", I plan to continue being reasonably active, maybe even more so.

Don't really have a weight problem; well, could stand to redistribute a couple of pounds of belly fat... It's doubtful I'll get into single-digit bodyfat percentage, but maybe.

As my ex-BIL used to say, if you want to lose twenty pounds of unsightly fat, cut off your head...

Having said all that, I don't feel compelled to be "productive" every waking moment.

 

[rkser]

"Start the day with an activity, such as cleaning something or exercise. No electronics/media except music until that activity is finished."

That is what I need to do, I am guilty of checking my emails in the mornings.

Thanks East West Gal, some great pointers on the forum.
I am learning, hope fully I will get my butt in shape, back again towards a BMI of 23.

Best

 

[MRG]

My changes in diet and exercise have payed dividends. My BMI has gone from "obese" to "normal" over the past six months. My DW's did the same.

I'd been on BP meds since '92, cholesterol meds in '02, plethora of other junk for GERD, cluster headaches, allergies ..... Today I take nothing!

I haven't had a cluster headache in over six months. That's a five year record! I don't even snore anymore, nor does DW!

I don't consider going back to the old ways, don't want to feel like crap ever again.

 

[Lsbcal]

Below is my gym in the winter. Goal is 5 miles daily, with alternating running days and walking days.

 

[GravitySucks]

In March 2014, I seriously injured by left plantar fascia by stepping on a submerged rock in the beach sand. I struggled with the pain until September when I got a big lift with acupuncture. Then in March 2015, I got a very bad spider bite in the same leg (8 days in the hospital).

Plantar fascia injuries are a bear. Weight just piles on when walking is an issue.

Do you mind sharing what kind of spider bit you?

 

[irishgal]

I've worked out forever so that did not change at all. I think I'm more likely to blow off things that I simply don't want to do more now than when I was wo*%ing.

So maybe not so much lazy as just not as crazed about always being on the move


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[RunningBum]

Don't want to brag but I could kick Chuck Norse's ass. Of course I'd probably suffer a round house kick and die an early death but, it's all good.
.

What about Chuck Norris?