Exhausted before I even start working out!

I dont have kids so dont know if this will work for you but why not try getting to bed earlier and do your workout first thing on a morning. I find I do better when I get up an hour early (5.30-6 ish for me) and workout then rathen than when I get home from work when all I want to do is eat and sleep lol
If I get to be before 10 then the early morning doesnt seem so bad and if I were you I'd have the days you leave extra early as rest days :-D

To be perfectly honest, when you are that tired, working out could be counter productive. Can you workout the days you are off? I would suggest strength training on the 1st and 3rd day (assuming you have 3 days in a row off) with some low intensity cardio on the 2nd day.

If you can get a walk in during your working days, great, but I would not do it at the expense of sleep.

What do you work as? If you are sedentary at a desk I understand it's annoying because you probably do need to integrate an exercise regimen into your life. If however, you are on your feet all day or on the move, I would forget the exercise. The activity you do during the day is your exercise, so just concentrate on your diet if that's the case.

Bump!

I know what you mean. If you can't get workouts in try just doing 5-10 mins at a time, turn it into a game with your kids.
Dont be too hard on yourself hang in there.

Any chance you have or can get a fitbit? Caring for 4 kids is HARD WORK, and I bet you're getting in more activity during your nanny hours than it seems. Perhaps focus on smart eating first, and see what that does for your energy levels? Is walking with the kids an option during the day? (Not sure if they have a stroller for 4, but it's an idea.)

Editing to add that we posted at the same time and now I see the walking issue, heh. Will keep thinking!

Editing to add more: Can you open your food diary so we can take a peek and offer suggestions on that end?

I don't know how long it takes for you to get ready in the morning but I highly suggest waking up early and working out... I take a pre-workout that really helps get me going when I don't want to in the morning but as a mom I really find that to work out the best because I definitely understand how tiring it can be at the end of the day.

You work 4 days a week, so you are off 3 days a week. So workout on your days off.

This.

Just starting out, don't try to do a really long or really hard workout. You want a workout that's a challenge for your level (makes your heartrate go up and/or breaks a sweat), but doesn't make you fall on the floor with exhaustion!

It might be easier to talk yourself into a shorter workout, and you may find that it will actually invigorate you and give you more energy as you sweat out some of the toxins in your body. As you start to feel better or your workout starts feeling easy, you can add time and intensity.

When I started exercising, I walked the treadmill for 20-25 minutes, then walk/jogged and finally got to where I could jog for that whole time. Since then, I have increased the speed and the length, but I'd never be where I am if I had expected myself to do too much all at once.

Good luck!

two of my friends just did the fit test for insanity. they're brothers, and have been in pretty decent shape from playing soccer all their lives, but have lost it a little due to life. anyway, they did the fit test wednesday, and were spent! they had to pause the video to rest a little longer, and the more in shape brother nearly puked.

so don't be too discouraged.

I have 3 children, I don't work and I did the insanity program. It really is too much. If you really want to do it then do it only on your days off. I tend to run to the park and back with the kids on their bikes and stroller and that's my "gym time" Maybe you could do something like this on your days off.

As for the days you work, do some strength training for 20mins when the kids have gone to bed, you'll find you are not so exhausted but feel some burn the next day.

OP probably doesnt eat enough for insanity.

I'm guessing 1200?

Do you have your settings set at sedentary but really live a moderately active life?


Edit:

I'm a nanny for 7 month old triplets and a just 2 year old. So not breaks literally. Can't take them all put for a walk as they only have a triple pram and the 2 year old isn't capable of walking an distance .

Got it here actually.

Probably have improper settings in MFP and isnt nourishing the body correctly.
Can you open your diary so we can have a peek at your Macro settings?
I'm guessing you eat the amount of protein a mouse needs.

i have a similar day. i work 3-4 days a week, twelve hour shifts, and then i have 3-4 days off. i also alternate between night and day shift, 6a-6p or 6p-6a. i also have an hour or so commute each way.

on day shift days, i've resigned myself that i can't usually work out on day shift days. it's too early in the morning for a work out, and i usually get home tired and want to spend time with the family. occasionally i can get some cardio in after work, but that is the exception, not the rule. i've turned these day shift days into mandatory rest days to counter my hardcore work out days.

on night shift days, i find that i can usually work out first thing in the morning, and then pass the eff out afterwards.

on days off, i wake up almost at the same time as i normally do to sit and watch tv and have breakfast. then i'm out the door by 7:30 to go work out. i actually do two work outs a day on my days off, to make up for my days that i don't work out.

basically, i found the time to work out, made my schedule work for me, and bust my *kitten* when i can.

I normally work out when my daughter goes to bed, but it can be tricky when she has been running around alday and i get tiered. It does make you feel great though when you do manage to get a workout in. I just go out walking with her in the pushchair if i cant get a workout in. I know exactly how you feel as i run an online jewellery shop, and i work at a supermarket over the weekends. Its tough. Just try and get in 3-4 workouts a week and i think you will do really well with your weight loss. Good luck with yor journey xx

I would go with what some of the others have said and leave your workouts to your days off.
You could workout for a little longer perhaps, just make these workouts count.

Insanity isn't really a beginners program. It's an advanced program. I'd find something else, set aside the DVDs and come back to them later, when you're ready.