Starting over...how do you all find the time???

Do your school reading while on the treadmill or exercise bike. Recite your notes into a recorder and listen to it while going for a jog. Have the kids do an exercise video at home with you, or take them outside to play ball.

These are really great suggestions! Maybe start with that.

I work a full time job, a part time job, and occasional freelancing. I don't have kids... Just a dog and a man-child (my fiance who also works a lot). I log my meals while I'm eating them and do my best to plan meals for the week on my day off (or sometimes it's just a half day off depending on my part time job schedule) so that I always have healthy options available. I pack a lunch box with what I need when I'm on the go. I take my dog running with me a few days a week because it's good for both of us. I do yoga and/or body weight exercises (push up, pull ups, sit ups, squats, etc) at home each morning.

I also started a little bit at a time. I would introduce a new habit, work for that to stick, then introduce a new one. I started with logging food. I added in weekly food prep. Then I added in running and elliptical/other every other day. I run outside when I can. Then I added weight machines on my gym days, which is only an extra 20 minutes. When I work both jobs in one day, I do my run in the morning or go to the gym during my lunch break at work. After that habit stuck, I started doing yoga pretty much every single morning. It's helped a lot with stress/anxiety.

Basically... Make one healthy choice over and over until it's a habit. Then make another. You can either make time for your health now, or you'll be forced to make time for sickness later. Take care of yourself!

As someone already suggested, you don't have to go to a gym. For me, I workout 3 days a week, during naptime. I'm currently doing 30 day shred and wii zumba. The crock pot can become your best friend as well for meal preps. And some meals I make enough to freeze to have another day, or for the next day. Do one grocery shop for meals and meal plan so your not forgetting ingredients.

Number 1 is to eat well and take the snack suggestions from others. And 2 is move more. You don't have to workout 2 hours everyday to get results.

Honestly, once you get into the habit of logging what you eat, you will be thinking about it much more often and it will seem like something you WANT to do rather than a bothersome chore. I actually stop myself now before putting something in my mouth if I don't know the nutrition information, because I hate guessing when I log, and that is huge!! I don't OBSESS over counting calories, and believe me, it is just as much a pain as it was when I first got serious about it back in January. However, there is an undeniable sense of achievement that comes with planning out your day's meals and fitting into that plan just like you wanted. Rather than be a slave to your schedule, make your schedule work for you.

Gonna be in class all day? Make a meal in a Crock Pot, or find less offensive frozen meals and canned soups (try to go for reduced sodium at the very least) that can be prepared with little effort when you're tired. Stock up on the raw produce, it makes for great grazing. Yogurts and nuts are an easy source of protein, and there are plenty of healthy cereal options available that makes breakfast easy. Contrary to the popular myths, you don't actually need a lot of money or to shop at fancy places to stock a healthy pantry. I shop at Aldi almost exclusively and am very satisfied with their selection.

The key to success here isn't thinking about how hard all this is and how much time it takes-- just try to think of it as part of your routine, like going to class and being with your kids. Exercise is a puzzle piece too, but it can be as simple as doing a few push-ups with a child on your back, chasing your kids around the house for hide-and-seek, or going up and down the stairs for five minutes on the commercial break while you're taking a well-earned TV break. The time it takes to plan out meals and get in some exercise is actually not a huge chunk at all, once you get into the habit. Best of luck to you!

I just do what I have to do. I'm in pretty much the same boat as you. Work full time, school after work, I have a 4 year old, and my husband is out of town working monday thru friday. I get up at 4:30 every morning during the week to work out. I cook on the weekends. I'm constantly doing something productive, unless I'm sleeping. It sucks sometimes, but I have very clear cut goals so i make it work.

Oh yes, and I do cook at weekends and put atuff in the freezer. And I started playing wii sport with my kids, and wii dance, which they love and I was always too lazy to play!

When I set very high goals for myself (like go to the gym 5-7 days per week) I couldn't meet them and felt like a failure. I've been successful for the past 2 months by having a goal of 3x per week at the gym. That's it. Sometimes I find the time to go more, but if I don't , I don't feel like a failure. I'm also doing the couch to 5K running program, and actually having a set goal instead of just "work out, lose weight, get healthier, blah blah blah" is very motivating to me. It's just so much more concrete to say "today I'm going to do the run on week 5, run #2", and then when I do it I feel so accomplished.

Some other tips I've found helpful for saving time:

* Use your iPhone (or whatever smart phone) to log everything, that way you can do it while you're doing other things, such as waiting in line at the checkout line at the store.

* Stop watching TV. You'll probably end up going to bed earlier, and then you can start getting up earlier. (And if you have a TV in your bedroom, get it out now!)

* Online shopping. Amazing. I don't just mean stuff like clothes and shoes, but anything else as well that you buy regularly. I get my favorite hair products online, keurig coffee and tea pods, pet food, etc. I also am part of a local fruit/veggie delivery that's great--I get fresh stuff delivered every 2 weeks.

*I'm trying to start doing some basic exercises first thing every morning. Push-ups and abs, maybe. Just 5-10 minutes every morning won't affect my schedule, but could really make a big difference if I'm consistent.

*Walk everywhere you can possibly walk. This is easy if you live in the city, but even in the suburbs there's a lot you can do. There are some giant shopping center parking lots that people often drive from one store to another! It feels like you're wasting time, but it often doesn't take much longer than driving, and you're getting lots of exercise. Also, take the stairs instead of the exercise. The time difference is really negligible.

* Spend just half an hour every saturday to plan out your meals for the week, and then cook on Sunday. Easy meals that you can be studying or spending time with your family while cooking. And portion them out and refrigerate or freeze them for the week. Again, don't strive for more than you can handle. It's OK to "plan" to eat a grab-and-go meal, and not plan to cook something for yourself during the week. Just think about it ahead of time. I like to have a variety of things quick and ready, depending on how hungry I am and what I feel like. Maybe a frozen meal, or some leftovers to heat up, or just a bowl of cereal, or a random assortment (I recently had a luna bar, a couple little oranges, some stuffed grape leaves, and a handful of dried cranberries for dinner. Not the best, but it kept me from ordering takeout!).

Whatever you do, make sure you get enough sleep. I recommend folding fitness into your routine - take the stairs, walk instead of driving etc.

I understand it's important. I have tried to make the time, I'm asking for what works for people. It's not that I don't get how important it is. There are 24 hours in a day, I work and I'm in school for 14 of those hours two days a week with the homework and studying that goes along with it. It's not like I'm making excuses.

Study/read while you're on the treadmill, elliptical or recumbent bike, or while you're walking/jogging around the house. You're going to have to find creative ways to incorporate movement into your day. It can be done if you're really scheduled so tight that you find it impossible to carve out a dedicated 30 minutes a day to focus on exercising by itself.

If you can't get to a gym, or if you don't want to bother driving that far to exercise, then buy home equipment. Kettlebells are pretty cheap and youtube has free videos.

If you get your eyes off what you think is a problem, and focus on the solution instead, then one is going to present itself that you can be happy with and that's doable and sustainable. It's all about what we choose to focus on, really.

I'd suggest figuring out your current schedule, and then dumping things you can give up and rearranging others. I had to give up some of my usual activities to get my butt moving on a regular basis. I had to give up a purchase I really wanted to make, to buy exercise equipment instead. So? It's a give/take situation since God isn't going to create more hours in a day especially for me. We all have the exact same time amount to work with.

Eating healthy, incorporating regular activity and getting sufficient amounts of sleep are foundational, basic life things. Far more so than school and whatnot, which are optional, really. Focus on the foundational and call the optional what it is, and let it sit in the background for a moment until you have the foundational things under control. I think you have it a little backwards, honestly. And, I'm not being judgmental, just factual, because I understand how easy it is to get caught up in non-essentials and confusing wants and needs which in turn messes with our priorities.

I think you have to multi-task... You can march in place, do squats, or do push-ups against the counter while you wait on the microwave, or while brushing your teeth.... do a squat for each storke as you brush your hair..... ect. Take the stairs when ever you have the chance... Park as far away from the building as you can get and still be safe.... Load the kids up and make them walk with you before dinner.

make play time a work out for you.... You can lay in the floor and shoulder press the little ones, Or lift them with your legs.. Or let them climb on your back and see how many pushups you can do with them....

If you take a day a week and cook all of your meat and portion it out in freezer bags, you'll at least have stuff you can re-heat... chop veggies and store them in "lunch box" size portions too...

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