Moms - When do you find the time?

glenette1

I work full time and have a 3 and 5 year old. I find it easiest to fit in a workout as soon as we get home (usually between 4:30 and 5:30). If I wait until after dinner, I won't have the energy and/or my food won't be settled. I do a variety of workouts. Twice a week we take the kids with us to the gym (they go in the daycare) and we workout for 90 minutes. They love the playtime. I also make sure they SEE me workout a few days a week (ie, running on treadmill, Jillian Michaels DVD, etc). Often, my husband will hang out with them while I run on the treadmill but they are always within sight so they can see what I'm doing. My kids will workout with me, although they don't make it all the way through. If I have a DVD in, they do parts of it with me. I will also burn a good amount of calories playing Wii Dance for kids with them. If I am out of ideas and everyone in the house is low on energy I will crank up the music and have a dance party - it's a great calorie burn and gets everyone moving. I went through the phase of not taking my kids to the gym because I felt like I was taking them from one daycare to another. Eventually, I realized I was doing a bigger disservice to them by being unhealthy and an extra hour 2 times a week wouldn't kill them - turns out they actually ask to go now.

Depending on the age of your kids, ask them to join you in an activity. My 3 year old is not old enough to go on a jog with me but my 5 year old will. We actually have several 1 mile fun runs we have signed up for this spring and she's very excited about them. My oldest looks at our exercise time as her "special" time with Mommy because it's just her and I.

On days I know I will not be able to workout, for whatever reason, I make sure I do things around the house in as many trips as possible. Essentially, I purposefully decrease my efficiency and take the laundry up one stack at a time instead of a full basket to turn 1 trip into 4 or more. Every little bit counts. Now that the weather is getting nicer, I will come up with silly games to play outside - anything from tag to soccer.

It is hard but try to incorporate them as much as possible. Don't feel guilty taking the time for yourself either because in the end, it's beneficial to everyone.

nicola1141

I have a 7 month old and a 4 year old and work full-time (including commuting I'm gone 7:30-6:15 every day). REalistically, the only time that works for me is before work. Luckily (ha!) my baby is getting up at 5:30-6:00 every morning so I have to be up anyway. Instead of taking her into the tv room and plopping on the couch, I've been putting her in the jumperoo and working out (dvd, or elliptical or Wii Fit) while chatting to her. Sometimes she'll just roll around on the floor with me. My 4-year old sometimes joins us and she plays while I work out. Sometimes she joins in and copies what I'm doing. But if I don't do it then, there's no way I workout every day. Otherwise there's always an excuse at the end of the day, and after the kids go to bed I'm exhausted and usually relax for an hour before going to bed by 10:00 myself.

glenette1

I am 34, mother of 2, ages 7 (girl) and almost 13 (boy). I also work a Full Time 40 hour job and my husband works out of town Monday thru Friday, so I am a single mother Monday thru Friday. If I am not feeling too exhausted in the evenings, I will either walk or play the Wii Just Dance (huge calorie burner and FUN) WITH my kids. It makes working out a lot easier to have them join you. If they do not want to work out with me I may put in an exercise DVD and work out anyway.

In about a month my sons sports will start again and then I will be struggling to exercise with all of the running I will be doing. We live in the country so I have to drive them anywhere they need to go. It is not easy. I think my plan will be to try to go to the HS track and walk while he is at practice, I will just have to make my daughter go with me and she can either play or walk with me.

I do this too. While my daughter is in soccer practice I run around the track. It's very efficient - you will love it.

nicola1141

I am 34, mother of 2, ages 7 (girl) and almost 13 (boy). I also work a Full Time 40 hour job and my husband works out of town Monday thru Friday, so I am a single mother Monday thru Friday. If I am not feeling too exhausted in the evenings, I will either walk or play the Wii Just Dance (huge calorie burner and FUN) WITH my kids. It makes working out a lot easier to have them join you. If they do not want to work out with me I may put in an exercise DVD and work out anyway.

I agree about Wii Just Dance - that's one I definitely do when my 4 year old is up and wants to join in.

filthyfit12

If my gym didn't have a playcare, I would never see the gym.

Alex_is_Hawks

I'm a full time career woman that also happens to be a single mother to my daughter, I am dating someone (so that means dates throughout the week) and my daughter is involved in extra curricular activities...

I find the time.

You will find the time when you want it badly enough.

That's all.

cbeckl

I am 33 yr old mom of 2 girls, ages 7 & 4. Typically I start my day with a run at 330am, while everyone is sleeping. Its just me and my dogs hitting the pavement. I work full time and am a chauffeur to soccer practices and gymnastics. Once everyone is in bed for the night, my husband and I do Insanity. I'm on week 6 and will be taking a week off prior to starting P90X. On the weekends when the weather is nice we have a family hike or bike ride to involve the girls in some outdoor exercise as well! There are plenty of days that I'm dragging, but feel so much more accomplished knowing I've completed my workouts.

1carahmeldiva

Hi there! I can relate to your situation, but like most of the responders, I had to make working out/eating right a priority. I have 2 kids/husband/work 40+ hours a week. I had to work with my husband to create a work out schedule that works for us both. Currently I work out Mon/Wed/Fri for 1 hour after work, and he watches the kids. On Tues/Thurs, I watch the kids and then I take them with me on the weekends. My kids are active and play sports, so my husband and I tag-team so we both get "me" time. Take some time and look at your daily schedule and find that 30-60 minutes what will work for you. If you can't exercise every day, aim for 3 days, and work to increase it. Good luck!!!

jessykab74

I am a single mom to 2 very active kids. One is in hockey and then baseball and my other one is in softball, volleyball and basketball. I work full-time plus hours aswell. I found the best thing that works for me is doing it early mornings. It is way harder to find motivation for me if I don't do it first thing in the morning,even if i could find time. I cant come up with excuses because it is to dang early haha. I think it sets my day up in the right direction aswell.

SaundraM2009

I'm currently between jobs, but when I worked 45+ hours a week and commuted an hour each way, I would wake up and workout before my daughter woke up and we got ready for our day. I work out at home, because that's one less obstacle between me and exercise.

EmmaKarney

30 day shred is only 20 minutes

ChristiSykes

I am 40 years old, a mother of two, and I have a full-time job. I have about 75lbs to lose and I know I need to up my physical exercise/activity. Are there any of you out there like me that just can't find the time? Or just don't have the energy by the time the kiddos are in bed? AND, if there are some of you that have a similar life that have figured out how to work it all in - please give me some pointers!

I go to the gym before my kids wake up or after they are in bed....5:30am or 8:30 pm

mnstrpc

I just turned 40, work FT and have 2 kiddos aged almost 5 and 2 1/2. I'm actually just maintaining my weight right now, but am a runner and generally do workout just about every day. I am another early-morning exerciser. My morning looks something like this:

5:15-5:30am (depends on when husband has to leave the house) - wake up
5:45-6:00am - begin workout
6:30-6:45am -end workout
by 6:45am -shower
between 7:15-7:20ish - wake kids
7:30-8am - kids dressed, fed, feed dogs
between 8am-8:15 - out the door, take kids to daycare, work by 9am
And then I generally eat breakfast (and lunch) at work.

If I wait until after work to try to exercise, I have no energy and no time as by the time we get home at 6, 6:30, it's all I can do to get dinner on the table and kids bathed/to bed by 8:30 or so.

Ed. to add - I don't actually belong to a gym right now - I either run outside or use an elliptical in my basement / DVDs.

Jacwhite22

I need you to help me help you...............

I am 40 years old, a mother of two, and I have a full-time job. I have about 75lbs to lose and I know I need to up my physical exercise/activity. Are there any of you out there like me that just can't find the time? Or just don't have the energy by the time the kiddos are in bed? AND, if there are some of you that have a similar life that have figured out how to work it all in - please give me some pointers!

Are you a single mother? What do your days currently look like?






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CRichards22

I'm another one of these! Alarm is set for 4:45 and try to be at it by 5 every morning before everyone else is awake and the day can interrupt me. Of course I have days like today when I hit the snooze too many times, but that was/has been a key to my success so so far.

I've gone from a size18/20 after baby to 8/10 in 15 months. All in home workout DVDs, never stepped foot into a gym. It can be done but it takes consistency and dedication! You can do it too! :drinker:

Oh, I work full time (family business so very often that means MORE than full time, lol) And I am a mommy of two girls, 1 and 3 yrs old!!

GurleyGirl524

I am 42, work full time, have a terminally ill husband, a 17 year old that is about to graduate high school, and custody of my husband's grandson (the grandchild is 11 years old and is special needs, caring for him is much like caring for a toddler). I usually exercise during my lunch break. I am fortunate enough however to work for a company that provides a "fitness room" for it's employees. I have MFP friends who also use their lunch breaks for exercise. They do it by walking around their parking lot/parking deck, running up and down stairs in the building, or other creative ways or they get up 30 minutes earlier to workout (ick, not me). When I exercise at home, it is generally just turning on some music and moving. My grandson likes when I do this and will join me so we can dance together. He has even been known to bring me my handweights. That is his way of signaling to his gramgram that he wants to turn on some music and dance.

Just remember, where there is a will, there is a way.

WTF7

EARLY when the family is still sleeping...but a most of wieght loss is just cutting back calories... There have been days ( or weeks) when I have not gotten in a work out- but as long as I stay in my calorie goal the weight loss has been steady... Good luck!:glasses:

Tyggress73

I am a 39-year-old mother of two (albeit, only one of them is under 2 years old), and I work 40 - 45 hours a week on average.

I go to the gym in the morning, before anyone else is awake. They are asleep and I am not missing out on spending time with the family. I found I was too tired to go after work, and I wanted to be home to spend time with them. Typical day:

4am: up
4:30am: drive to gym (13 miles from house, but only 2 miles from work)
5am - 6:30am: work out
6:30am - 7:30am: get ready for work (which I do AT the gym, due to it being only 2 miles from my work)
8am - 5pm: work
5:20pm: arrive home, visit with my son/family and start dinner
6:30pm: eat dinner
7:00pm: clean up kitchen,
7:00pm - 8:pm: spend family time
8:00pm - 8:30pm: bath time for my son, pack up gym bag and my lunch for the next day
8:30 - 9:00pm: get to bed

This gets me my gym time, work time, time with family and about 7 hours of sleep a night. I do most of my chores on the weekend. The whole family pitches in and the house is clean in about an hour (sweeping, mopping, bathrooms and kitchen clean, vacuuming, etc) on Saturday morning. I run laundry on Saturdays as well....usually only have 3 loads a week.

ETA: My other child is 20-years-old and watches the toddler during the day. She is my paid daycare at the moment. Once toddler goes into formal daycare, her or hubby will take him each day.

staceypunk

Hi, I usually workout in the mornings. I wake up, make the kids their lunches, load up the coffee machine, etc. This is because I can't just jump out of bed and straight to exercising. Then I do my Jillian DVD workouts. It is out of the way so I don't have to stress about what is going to come up and prevent me from exercising, plus when I get home from work, my family and I are usually starving and ready to eat. I never felt like I really had any spare time, but you have to make room for it. You will actually have more energy overall, so you may not be as tired by the end of the day and be able to fit in a quick chore. I did have to change my schedule so I was waking up an entire hour earlier than before doing daily exercise. I used to only shower evry other day or every two days, but now I sweat and have to shower after working out, so it adds on time from my day.

I recommend starting with Jillian Michael's 30 day shred. It's perfect for beginners and time-strapped people as it is only 20 minutes long. C'mon girl, you can make 20 minutes happen! It's only 10 bucks or less in stores or on amazon, and you don't have to worry about child care arrangements because you do it in your own home.

Jacwhite22

If you can't find time to respond to my questions how are we going to find you time to work out?

I need you to help me help you...............

I am 40 years old, a mother of two, and I have a full-time job. I have about 75lbs to lose and I know I need to up my physical exercise/activity. Are there any of you out there like me that just can't find the time? Or just don't have the energy by the time the kiddos are in bed? AND, if there are some of you that have a similar life that have figured out how to work it all in - please give me some pointers!

Are you a single mother? What do your days currently look like?






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