Anyone have advice/ideas/going through a similar situation?

tryinhard2lose

So, I'm trying to see if anyone has ideas or advice. I do need all the Friends/motivation I can get, but I'm going through a rut right now. Basically, I work a lot of hours at work due to mandatory overtime. I'm a production supervisor of 35 people so I do lots of running around throughout the night. I work night shift due to the fact that I have 5 kids and someone needs to be there for my youngest(not in school) and the other 4 need rides to and from school. My shift with ot doesn't end until 3am and I'm back up at 6:30am to get the kids ready. I know you need 7/8 hrs of sleep a night but this is not possible until the weekend. My question is how do I get the energy/motivation to workout during the week when all I wanna do is lay there and relax??? I'm open to any advice anyone can give me.

Khalstead0517

Wow....you have a LOT going on! If you arent resting enough your body won't have the fuel necessary to work out. Have you thought about getting a pedometer? I have a fitbit and days when I can't nevessarily go to the gym,it still feels good knowing that housework,taking my 4 kids to school,grocery shopping,even marching in place while cooking dinner (i may do this.....a lot!lol)is still a "workout"...maybe if you had a step counter and saw how much you really are doing you wouldnt feel so bad about not getting a gym session in during the week. There are also videos on youtube that your youngest may enjoy doing alongside of you?

tryinhard2lose

Good thinking. I haven't thought about that. She likes to read during the day so I do sit a lot with her. Maybe now I guess I can have a "gym period"? Lol.
I usually always have my phone on me and there is a step counter there so that helps, but I guess I want to really work out and burn these calories off that I eat to lose the weight, but I'm just so tired. Thank you for the suggestion tho. I haven't thought about that.

Anonycatgirl

Are you dealing with the kidlets on your own? If not, could your partner deal with getting them out the door in the morning so you can get a little more sleep? The best way for you to get more energy is to get something closer to enough sleep. As for workouts, find something like Zumba or another dance-based workout. The preschooler might have fun dancing along.

tryinhard2lose

Yes,I am dealing with them on my own in the morning which is why I am struggling a bit. The sleep deprivation definitely kills the urge to workout, lol.

My_Butt

I work from 4am until 9pm/ 6 days a week. And once I go home, while dinner is cooking, I workout with my weighted hula hoop. That's the only exercise I do during my working months. When I'm laid off for the winter, I added in bo staff training, running, and insanity. It's kind of, do what you can when you can. You're already so busy burning calories with kids.

sodakat

If you are on your feet all night, why on earth don't you consider that exercise? There are many people who are unable to exercise at all for various reasons and they lose weight solely by creating a calorie deficit. With the amount of movement you do just from your job and family responsibility, don't you find you burn enough calories to lose? Are you not losing?

I wish you could get more sleep. I hope the mandatory overtime ends soon!

Out_of_Bubblegum

Personally when I have 0 time to workout and no sleep, I try to do little things - take a 5 min walk as soon as I wake up... do bodyweight exercises while waiting for microwave to beep. Stretch while watching TV. Stuff like that.

I find that getting the blood moving when I am sleep deprived actually helps me focus a lot better - so these little bouts of movement seem to help me get through the day, and they do add up. I also find that over time, I want to replace nonproductive time (especially TV) with workout time, as I try to fit more in the day.

SkinnyGirlFatBody

I understand how frustrating it can be to have a life so jam packed already that it seems impossible to carve out another hour for gym time. Depending where you are in your weight loss, maybe you could just start with focusing on eating healthy and the right amount of calories, food makes the biggest difference for weight loss, especially at the beginning.

When your weight starts to plateau I would then start adding small amounts of exercise, just do five minutes of something a home and bump it up by 5 minutes every week. For me once I start to see some results I get a bit addicted to it.

tryinhard2lose

Unfortunately, sodakat, no, I am not losing the weight. You would think running around all day would help me lose weight, but it's not. So, I just assumed I need to step it up a notch. Also, I would like to do weight training b/c I do need to tone up as I'm losing weight. I have been counting calories as well, and have been staying around 1400 cal a day, but again, no weight loss, so I'm just very confused.

wizzybeth

I would say you are not eating at a calorie deficit...or the sleep deprivation is hindering you. Do you not have a partner? You just have a babysitter for the kids then?

LKArgh

Forget exercising, and make serious plans to figure out an alternative schedule that will not mean you will end up ill soon. You cannot survive on 3 hours of sleep. Look for a different job, look into moving if there are no other jobs, look into daycare or a babysitter for your youngest so you can sleep during the day, look into moving in with family, giving a room rent free to someone to help with the kids, whatever. You are focusing on the wrong thing right now.

kmentzer1985

Sleep deprivation has been known to be correlated with weight gain. For the last 2 years I have worked 65 hours a week and done courses to complete my graduate degree, with a considerable amount of time also spent on commuting for my internship for school.... so your level of fatigue sounds familiar. Sometimes we need to give ourselves permission to just live, and not feel guilty for all the things we feel we "should" be doing. If you're able to make small diet changes or take time off here and there to get a full nights rest, that's where I would focus. For me, taking care of myself is really what increases my motivation level, so sometimes the basic self care things are most important. If you feel like you need more exercise, you could also add in activity during your breaks at work, or walk to the park with your little ones. Hope this is somewhat helpful!

tryinhard2lose

wizzybeth wrote: »

I would say you are not eating at a calorie deficit...or the sleep deprivation is hindering you. Do you not have a partner? You just have a babysitter for the kids then?

I do have a partner. But he works day and I work nights. He's at work by 6:30 am and home by 5. I work 4:30 pm til 1am,but ot is until 3am.
finding a different job is not the issue, it's the hours. Unfortunately those are the hours that actually works with our family. There's not much I can do about that.
On the days I do not have overtime on the weekend, I do sleep. But obviously it's not enough for me to "catch up" from the lack of it during the week.
Thank you everyone's advice. This really helps.