single mom can't find time & motivation to work out

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  • MissyBenj
    MissyBenj Posts: 186 Member
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    Excuses. Everyone has time for excerise, you just have to make it. I have 2 toddlers, 2 & 3 years old. I work 4 days a week and I don't have every other weekend to myself. Buy a stroller, take her for a run with you. Pop in a work out DVD while she colors. Put her in her highchair with an activity. My kids are super active so the hairchair didn't work with them, I close the door to my office and we all play around in there while I do my excerises. They do some moves with me, play trains, barbies, whatever they desires during that time. Get up earlier to squeeze in a 20 minute session or stay up a little later. I go to the gym every lunch break also. Portion your meals, cut the processed foods out. Don't eat sugars and excess fats...70% diet 30% physical. Start making it a habit, it'll become a routine. You DO have time - find it.

    Good luck :)
  • jcpmoore
    jcpmoore Posts: 796 Member
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    Take a minute and ask yourself- Why are you doing this? Why do you want to work out? What is your goal and why is it important? Now write it down. Place that wherever you find yourself spending time instead of working out. It doesn't matter if it's cleaning the kitchen, resting on the couch, or the morning alarm clock. Put it there. Or put a copy on all three. Whatever you need. YOU are important here. How are you going to be the best mother you can be if you aren't taking care of yourself? Write down a daily affirmation that includes WHY this matters to you. Say it every morning when you get up and every night before bed.

    Now schedule it. You say you get up at 5:30. What time do you take your child in? I take mine at 7:30, but I know some open at 6. Prep as much as you can the night before to save time, then get up earlier if you think mornings are your only time. It will be HARD the first week. But after that you'll find yourself going to bed earlier and then it'll get easier. But schedule it. When you find yourself about to do something else, remember why you want to do this.

    VMgals has a good point too. Walking at work is a definite good start. If you just cannot find another way to put it on your schedule, do it at work. Take your lunch break and go walking. I lost my first 30 lbs doing nothing more than eating right and walking 30 minutes a day. Take sneakers and some shower wipes if it's hot out. No biggie.

    The key is to remember WHY you want to do it and then you'll find that motivation you need.

    HTH
  • Kerri_is_so_very
    Kerri_is_so_very Posts: 1,005 Member
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    Do you want to make excuses or do you want to lose weight? Sorry, but you need to want to do this. I work full-time, own a house and a single mom to 2 girls ages 4 & 7. Yes, my life is insanely busy....but I burn at least 400 cals a day and some days as many as 1000. Get a bike with a bike trailer, go to a gym with child care, videos at home at nap or bed time. If you absolutely can't get up before the little one in the morning, do it after you put the little one to bed. Bottom line, make room for this in your daily routine or accept how you are, it's a choice.
  • tmoore_20
    tmoore_20 Posts: 49 Member
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    I am a single mom of an almost 10 month old. And when I say single, I mean nobody is helping me at all. My schedule is a lot like yours. Up at 5:30 to get the baby ready for daycare and me for work. I have implemented walking during my breaks at work and I get a total of 40 minutes of walking before I even get home. I also bring my resistance band to work and I do a few reps of arm, back, and leg exercises at my desk so that I can also tone up. The 30 day shred is something I like to do as well because it only takes 25 minutes of your time, also Billy Blanks has a Taebo dvd where he has 10 minute workouts. Sometimes I don't have energy to workout but guess what I make myself do it anyway. You may not be motivated and might not have the energy but I say just do it anyway because the motivation will come once you start seeing changes! Good Luck
  • Jesseca118
    Jesseca118 Posts: 26
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    I am a single mother of 2 girls 2 and 4. I also work full time and wake up at 5am. I found what works for me is doing a video as soon as I get home before I make dinner and before sitting down :). I like P90x but after 2 and a half months I lost motivation. Now im doing Turbofire and I really love it. I think the main thing that works for me with these videos is that there is a monthly schedule so it tells you what to do on each day. If try to just pick what Im going to do each day I wont do it. Also with TurboFire they have HIIT videos that range from 15 min to 25. The time is there you just have to make it. I know how you feel.
  • Rosannep1
    Rosannep1 Posts: 32 Member
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    I try to do exercises while I am doing chores. It probably looks funny, but when I'm doing dishes I will get some squats in or do leg exercises. When I watch tv at night, I do a couple exercises at the commericals, jumping jacks, push ups, crunches.....etc. Good luck!
  • Cwilliams8676
    Cwilliams8676 Posts: 300 Member
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    I'm a full time SINGLE mom with TWO children. If I can find time, you can too.

    yes yes yes
    I am a mom to 7 kids I work out daily. I make no excuses for not working out for myself I also dont allow myself to use my kids as excuses..
  • AmberJslimsAWAY
    AmberJslimsAWAY Posts: 2,468 Member
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    I'm a full time SINGLE mom with TWO children. If I can find time, you can too.

    yes yes yes
    I am a mom to 7 kids I work out daily. I make no excuses for not working out for myself I also dont allow myself to use my kids as excuses..

    :drinker: I also work full time.
  • tmoore_20
    tmoore_20 Posts: 49 Member
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    Also you don't need to cook dinner every night. Maybe cook 2 or 3 times a week and make enough to last for 2 or 3 days. I am just saying this because the time you spend cooking could be for exercise. I know pp are saying you don't need exercise but I know that exercise is not just for weight loss and it makes you feel better to do it because you are doing something strictly for you. It also relieves stress, and as a single mom sometimes we do feel overwhelmed.
  • JulieDive
    JulieDive Posts: 29 Member
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    Maybe give us a little more detail about your timings... it seems that you get off of work at 4-5pm, go home and have supper, could be out on the road with the stroller by 6:30pm, bath for toddler and shower for you at 7:30, bed at 8pm.... ???

    What time do you work until, what time do you go to bed? What time does toddler go to bed ?

    5:30 wake-up
    7am leave the house
    730 drop off at pre-school
    8:15 arrive at work
    30 minutes for lunch
    5pm leave work
    5;45 pick up child
    6;30 home to cook dinner
    7pm dinner
    715 prepare stuff for the next day
    8pm bedtime ritual starts
    I Pass out as soon as I am sure she is sleeping (9 o'clock-ish)
    Forgot to mention currently on semester break but I will be doing my on-line education again starting in October.
  • lovinmyselfagain
    lovinmyselfagain Posts: 307 Member
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    Single Mom here too and up until April I had no real motivation to get back in shape either. But something finally clicked and I realized that I needed to make it a priority. I started out by changing my eating habits-you can do that with no extra time involved. As soon as I put my little one to bed I would do a 20 min. workout and now it's an hour long. I get that all you want to do after your little one is in bed is probably just flop on the couch or bed, but trust me 20 minutes goes by fast. And before long it CAN and WILL become a habit, but you have to want it enough. I didn't until recently. Again, if you're not at the point of adjusting your schedule, then focus on your eating habits until you're ready. Feel free to add me-no judgement here, just an encouraging voice...
  • Jipples
    Jipples Posts: 663 Member
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    Maybe give us a little more detail about your timings... it seems that you get off of work at 4-5pm, go home and have supper, could be out on the road with the stroller by 6:30pm, bath for toddler and shower for you at 7:30, bed at 8pm.... ???

    What time do you work until, what time do you go to bed? What time does toddler go to bed ?

    5:30 wake-up
    7am leave the house
    730 drop off at pre-school
    8:15 arrive at work
    30 minutes for lunch
    5pm leave work
    5;45 pick up child
    6;30 home to cook dinner
    7pm dinner
    715 prepare stuff for the next day
    8pm bedtime ritual starts
    I Pass out as soon as I am sure she is sleeping (9 o'clock-ish)
    Forgot to mention currently on semester break but I will be doing my on-line education again starting in October.

    Wake up at 4:45 or 5:00...and get a little in.
  • Cwilliams8676
    Cwilliams8676 Posts: 300 Member
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    I consider 3 kids under 4 working sorry.. And I have 4 other kids in school drivinf a good three hours out of my day. cooking laundry for my large family. If anyone has an excuse not to be drive it would be those like myself with so much on their plate.
    Just working and one child doesnt sound to busy to me unless theres other stuff shes not disclosing?
  • highfalutin
    highfalutin Posts: 37 Member
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    I am also a single mom. 3 kids ages 20,19, and 16. When they were toddlers I used to say the same thing... I don't have time...before I knew it 20 years had gone by and the lbs packed on even more. Now I have a grandchild who is 2 and I can't run around with her.
    The time I do have is spent moving however I can. LOTS of walking/jogging in place as fast as I can. If you have 3 one hour tv shows that you like throughout the week just give it your all in front of the TV. Jogging, jumping jacks, wall pushups, etc. I personally do the entire show, but I know people who just do it on the commercials. Or if you child has a show he/she watches spend the 1/2 hour or so that it is on doing the same. Doing this has made a huge difference. It is the only real exercise I have done this month and along with a cut in calories I have dropped 10 lbs and feel like I have a ton more energy.
  • Jipples
    Jipples Posts: 663 Member
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    **crickets**
  • jordanreddick
    jordanreddick Posts: 197 Member
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    If you really want to do this you will find time for yourself. I am a single mother of a 2 year old daughter with no breaks on the weekends and I find time every weekday to go to the gym after work and she goes with me for an hour and a half and plays in kid care. We go home, eat dinner, bath, and bed. On the weekends (which you have free so you can do whatever you want) I do something active with her or she goes to see my mom while I have some me time. It can be done, also don't forget that cleaning, house chores, and general stuff like that can be exercise, do squats while dusting, lunges while vacuuming, etc, etc. Fit in a workout wherever you can.

    You can also fit in one of those workout DVDs you have purchased after she goes to bed, you would be shocked how much better you feel after a workout before bed.
  • weird_me2
    weird_me2 Posts: 716 Member
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    Maybe give us a little more detail about your timings... it seems that you get off of work at 4-5pm, go home and have supper, could be out on the road with the stroller by 6:30pm, bath for toddler and shower for you at 7:30, bed at 8pm.... ???

    What time do you work until, what time do you go to bed? What time does toddler go to bed ?

    5:30 wake-up
    7am leave the house
    730 drop off at pre-school
    8:15 arrive at work
    30 minutes for lunch
    5pm leave work
    5;45 pick up child
    6;30 home to cook dinner
    7pm dinner
    715 prepare stuff for the next day
    8pm bedtime ritual starts
    I Pass out as soon as I am sure she is sleeping (9 o'clock-ish)
    Forgot to mention currently on semester break but I will be doing my on-line education again starting in October.

    What first jumped out at me is the 5:30 wake up / 7:00 leave time. What are you doing in the mornings to make it take so much time? Look for ways to make your morning go smoother (and take less time) and you could probably fit in a quick workout video or something before getting your daughter up in the morning. Also, if you take the suggestion to not cook nightly, then you would have 1/2 hour to take your daughter for a walk or something. Also, I'm not sure what you are "preparing" for the next day or what your bed time ritual is, but look for ways to save time there, too.

    It will take an adjustment, but if you start looking for ways to make it work, usually they will present themselves to you.
  • cheekydeeky
    cheekydeeky Posts: 146 Member
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    i may be totally wrong here but we all posted advice regarding her not having time but forgot to look at the other half of the OP's post....(well maybe it was just me)

    she said she lacks motivation. that's the problem. IF YOU ARE MOTIVATED YOU WILL MAKE TIME...

    ...i'm just saying......
  • FitCowgirl8
    FitCowgirl8 Posts: 175 Member
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    I am a single mom of a 2 year old. I totally get where you are coming from. I am up at 4:30 everyday to get us ready for our day. It used to be I would leave work pick her up go home make supper do housework play a little put her to bed then more house and yard work then crash. Not to mention all the barn work and horses to be ridden. When I started out I just started making everything I did an exercise to get in a little bit at least. Now I have started going to the gym at work for 30 min after work everyday. Sometimes I feel bad because its 30min less that I get to spend with my daughter or on keeping up with house chores but it is helping me a lot. Since the gym is at work that helps too because I am already there so no excuses. I just schedule it in as part of my work day and do it. I feel much better now that I do. When I can't make it to the gym or on weekends I do wii fit or at home workouts I have found online. Usually after she is in bed or during her naps (I have sole custody so no free weekends here). I also try to take her swimming or on walks. She loves to ride in her bike trailer so i try to go on bike rides as much as possible as well. Any little thing you can fit in will make a difference. Good Luck! You can do it!
  • willy0524
    willy0524 Posts: 1,897
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    Do you want to make excuses or do you want to lose weight? Sorry, but you need to want to do this. I work full-time, own a house and a single mom to 2 girls ages 4 & 7. Yes, my life is insanely busy....but I burn at least 400 cals a day and some days as many as 1000. Get a bike with a bike trailer, go to a gym with child care, videos at home at nap or bed time. If you absolutely can't get up before the little one in the morning, do it after you put the little one to bed. Bottom line, make room for this in your daily routine or accept how you are, it's a choice.

    yeah!!

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