how do YOU do it? getting fit with a crazy schedule...

syntax_terror

hi everyone i'm new here and have been creepin on yr message boards for awhile, so i thought i'd say hi. i just turned 30, and have never been happier.... i've spent the past few years dealing with some major **** that resulted in a significant weight loss followed almost immediately by a significant weight gain.. at my lowest, i was probably 140-145, but too out of it to notice or weigh myself.. at my highest, i was up to around 230. before that, i always hovered at between 165-185 and am aiming right now to settle right around the low end of that (i'd like to lose at least 30 pounds in my 30th year)

my primary motivation isn't weight loss so much as finding ways to incorporate being active and healthy into my everyday life, in the hopes that weight loss will naturally follow. part of that, for me, is being more mindful about what i eat and how active i am to begin with, so i bought a fitbit and am using it in conjunction with this site to track calories in and out.

my life is hectic - i'm finishing school while working 30 hours a week at a job i absolutely love (direct service with at-risk teens at a drop-in teen center), and after this summer, i'm going to start training to become a midwife.

with so much to do and so many changes on the horizon , i am interested to hear from those of you who have managed to incorporate fitness into your crazy, hectic lives :bigsmile:

tanyaleblanc

I too have a hectic life, but I get up extra early to work out and if I don't finish my whole workout in the morning, I'll squeeze it in at night, plus, I don't have to work out as long as night because I already did most of it in the morning and if I find I have extra time, I'll workout in the morning and again in the evening.

Good luck, just do something, no matter how long, keep your heart rate up and your body moving.

You'll do great! Have the battle is in your head and you've already conquered that!

syntax_terror

I guess it's time to just suck it up and start setting my alarm a little earlier

sjdaubs

I'm Sandi & a single parent of two kids that are heavily involved in activities. I am constantly on the run & barely have an evening without something going on. I go into work a little early & take a longer lunch to workout then. I'm fortunate enough to work 3 blocks from our local YMCA and have a group of co-workers that walk over with me. Most days I take the fitness classes but if I don't have a full hour, then I do either the eliptical or treadmill for as long as I have time for. I sweat a lot, take a quick shower & head back to work where I eat lunch at my desk. I don't have the motivation to workout in the morning and lunch time works best for me. Plus when you have friends to work out with, they make you accountable.

Embera

if u have the time or life close walk to the store i walk up to the corner store alot and its about a mile total but if you can to that theres a store about 2 miles away ive walked to it and when i get there i have someone pick me up

also find ways to incorperate things into daily chores like do trunk twists while doing dishes

ive also seen recomanded alot do sprints or something during comershals at night

lolabluola

I get up at 4:10 every morning to fit they gym in and plan ahead! But my life doesn't sound as hectic as yours!

ladypenelopemk2

Hi, im a early morning workout gal. i get up really early in a morning and run or go on my exercise bike either that or ill run and pop down the gym to do some weights as it doesnt open earlier enough for a full morning workout, if im doing an earlier start at work ill finish off my workout after work in the gym. i do try to walk places which are closer rather than taking the car and i try not to be lazy in general, just think of everything i do will entitle me to a few more treats! :-)

lesskathy

I work 8:30 to 4:30 Monday to Friday but our evenings and weekends are consumed by minor sports for the kids.
I walk with a co-worker every day (weather permitting) for 20 minutes, on our 1/2 hr lunch break. My next goal is to fit in one 4 mile walk per week (about 1 hr ?) so that might have to be an early early morning!

I need to get some information on crock pot meals or something I can prep on weekends and freeze. We usually only have a 1/2 gap afterwork and before we head out for lacrosse. Otherwise we end up grabbing take out or we are eating supper at a restaurant at 9 pm.

iWaffle

I guess it's time to just suck it up and start setting my alarm a little earlier

That's exactly how it's done. Plus if you get up before anyone else needs you then no one can interrupt your time for the most part. Also plan your meals out the night before as much as possible. I have breakfast, lunch and a snack lined up and planned the night before. I usually enter my food diary for most of the day before I even eat a single thing.

aerinayden

Hi, I'm also new to this. About a year ago, I got motivated enough to lose 20 pounds. Unfortunately, I got off track due to some very serious stresses in my life and I have gained almost all of it back. I'm a stress/emotional eater, so through all the bad, I gained everything I had worked hard to lose. I, too, have a very busy life. I'm a single mom who works 40 hours (which unexpectedly can go much longer than that each week), and my child is heavily into all kinds of activities. More often than not, I find myself too tired to cook dinner (especially since my child is an unbelievably picky eater and planning meals is hard), so we hit up fast food restaurants while dashing between work and my child's activities or my own activities. At work, there is a ton of food, unfortunately it is all candy bars and sodas. Health food is a four letter word there. I know exactly how you feel with the being too busy.

Now that I've realized I've gained everything back that I had worked very hard at losing, it's time to get back on track again. The way I did it before, and the way I plan to do it again, was to just fit it in wherever you can. I plan out my meals now. I've managed to take one day a weekend and cook a ton of meals so that I have them on hand whenever I need to eat. I put them in individual serving size containers and they can easily be taken with me wherever I go. Changing my eating habits alone has already helped. I'm eating planned out, healthier meals and snacks and I'm not even tempted to eat all the junk that I'm surrounded by. Being able to take my meals with me, I'm not tempted to stop at the fast food places either. Not only is it sparing inches off the waist, it's saving money. By planning out pre-cooked meals I can pick from a variety, so I'm not bored with the same meals for a week. On my work breaks, I go for short walks. I have found myself just moving more and getting up from my desk more so that I'm not sitting as much. During my child's activities, I also find little things to do to get myself moving. Sometimes it's a walk, other times it's stretches. I also work on getting my child involved. We have Wii game challenges, which get you moving too. I park farther away when on shopping trips or at activities. I take the stairs rather than elevators. No matter what you do, the little things will add up. The more I did those things before, the more time I started seeing that I had and started doing more things, and even finally managed to hit the gym at times. Start with small changes and build from there. At least that is something that has worked for me, but you have to play around with different ideas before you know what will work for you.

CCJ13

you can friend me. Looking for more friends, especially people who understand crazy schedules. I have 5 kids, one is in a wheelchair. I have to do everything for him but he does go to school during the day. I also work part time as a bookkeeper for my husband's company. And I am working part time for a petsitting company. And I am looking to be a substitute teacher in the fall. I am always busy. And when I'm not, I have the 2 youngest (ages 3 & 2) under my feet or wanting to exercise with me. Or they are flooding the bathroom. That just happened. I try to get a workout in everyday & most days I do. But it is hard. I lost 63lbs & gained back 38 this past year. It was a tough year, lots of sickness including a hospital stay for my husband. I gained 23lbs just in March & April. Trying to get it all back off plus lose the rest to reach my goal. It would be nice to have other friends who are busy too. My husband gets up & works out at 5:00 & I have to start getting kids up at 6:00. So I can't workout in the early morning. I try to work in myt exercise during the day at some point because I am exhausted at night. Did I mention my 2 year old still doesn't sleep through the night? I swear I would lose more weight if I could just get some sleep. It's all I can do to try to keep up with dishes & cleaning. Thank goodness my husband has been taking care of all the laundry.

bcattoes

I read a quote once that said "It's not about having time to exercise, it's about making time to exercise".

It is nearly impossible to remain healthy without regular exercise. Either being healthy is important enough to make the time, or it's not.

pdworkman

Agreed, you do have to just suck it up and make the time. I work full time, homeschool my 13 yo special needs kiddo, am in charge of the children's ministry at church, cook all from scratch due to dietary restrictions, and fit in time for reading, writing, and helping others in support groups. I get up at 5:30 and from then until 7:30 I am working out. I also try to fit in walking errands at lunch when I don't have other work to do, walk a couple km to the bus, etc. In training right now so I also have long runs Saturday mornings.

Come the fall, I'm going to have to rearrange my schedule again as kiddo will be taking religious instruction 6:00-7:00, right in the middle of my normal workout time. So I am planning ahead for that now, putting tax refund money towards getting a membership at the pool/weight room near the church so I don't have to waste another half hour driving home to work out and then back to pick him up again, and also working on the habit of preparing my breakfast and lunch the night before, to gain back another 20 minutes in the morning. It takes some work, but you can do it!

brian90

i get up early to wokrout. I usually wont workout late at night after work so i get up around 5 and workout before work.