How do you people do it???

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  • baggins706
    baggins706 Posts: 310
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    I too have two furry buddies and no little ones, in addition the other things you mentioned. I HAD the same troubles as you and what I learned along the way is PUT YOU FIRST! The mess will be there when you return, get your workout in... usually after my workouts I find I have more energy to attack the things I left behind in order to get a workout in... trust me, you'll be happy you did!
  • Joscelle
    Joscelle Posts: 93
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    I have 3 kids (9, 7, and 15 months) and I work full time and am a volunteer youth leader on the weekends... I go to the gym 6+ days a week - I am able to do this with a great support system in place.

    Also, exercise time is ALONE time so I do tend to make it a priority. You got to want it to make it happen.
  • BonnyC
    BonnyC Posts: 5
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    I have two children, 8 and 5. They like to sleep in til about 8:30 or 9, I get up at the crack of dawn, 6:30 usually. And when the summer is over, they'll both be in elementary school full time. I work from home so I'm able to make my own hours and schedule my day as I please, mostly.
  • cln714
    cln714 Posts: 174 Member
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    Thank you for all of your reponses. I am still amazed by your dediction to your health and your family. You are all quite an inspiration to me.

    I guess what it boils down to is that I have to make my health a priority. Honestly, from reading your suggestions, I think it would be best for me to forget about TV all together. It seems as though my time is a much more precious commodity these days and I can no longer spend it on television. Also, I need to look for opportunities to fit in a little more exercise here and there.

    To all you Mothers and Fathers out there, stay strong, you are doing an awesome job!
  • blueyedncrazy
    blueyedncrazy Posts: 15 Member
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    I am a mother of a 3 year old boy, a 9 month old black lab, I am a wife, and I work full time. I usually go to work at around 4:30am and get off around 5 pm. There are nights that I am at work till 10pm. So making an actual "fitness schedule" is out of the question. My husband also works odd hours. Mostly I try to stay under my calories for the day as much as possible. The only work outs I have (make) time for, is my Roller Derby practices. I am dedicated to that, so I always go. That accounts for 4 hours of cardio per week. If it were not for that, I could not be able to fit excercise in.
  • blueyedncrazy
    blueyedncrazy Posts: 15 Member
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    I am a mother of a 3 year old boy, a 9 month old black lab, I am a wife, and I work full time. I usually go to work at around 4:30am and get off around 5 pm. There are nights that I am at work till 10pm. So making an actual "fitness schedule" is out of the question. My husband also works odd hours. Mostly I try to stay under my calories for the day as much as possible. The only work outs I have (make) time for, is my Roller Derby practices. I am dedicated to that, so I always go. That accounts for 4 hours of cardio per week. If it were not for that, I could not be able to fit excercise in.
  • jandv1991
    jandv1991 Posts: 19
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    I got my family involved in getting fit - so we all work out together. Of course I have two teenaged boys so they pretty much do their own thing most days.
  • noneya2010
    noneya2010 Posts: 446 Member
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    I work full time (days) then take an internship (till August) and have a teenager and 4-yr old in the house - and a husband. It is total madness I can tell you that much!! I can say I go to bed very late -- sometimes close to midnight each night!!! My house is not spotless and there are lots of things that always need to be done. Laundry often gets done in the mornings when I'm getting ready for work and the kids are still sleeping!! We do use our grill outside for cooking many of our dinners, which does save clean-up in the house! When I go home for lunch, I usually unload the dishwasher/reload and try to pick up then too. It just never ends but it all works somehow!
  • EboniA
    EboniA Posts: 181 Member
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    You end up juggling the priorities from day to day. My husband works nights too so it's very hard! Once I decided to put myself first and told the kids, 5 & 6, that mom was going to workout (DVD), they were fine with it. The house is usually not clean. Every few days we all clean up together. As for TV, I have Tivo so after working out, after the kids are in bed, I catch a show or 2.

    Believe me, we don't know how we do it, we just do!
  • JStarnes
    JStarnes Posts: 5,576 Member
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    Our kids (4 and 2) are early to bed and early to rise, so they go to bed between 7 and 7:30. That gives me time to run or bike (I'm not a gym person - I prefer being outdoors), have a shower, do some household stuff (laundry, dishes, etc.), shower, bit of TV, and in bed at 10 with kids up around 6.

    Weekends are left for bigger chores such as lawn mowing, car washing, groceries, etc. Weekends are easy to get exercise in - I'll usually run or bike on Sat and Sun mornings at around 6:30 am. Still have the rest of the day for family and errands.

    Edit: When and if you have the kids and the house to go along with the husband, you simply learn to prioritize and get efficient. You figure it out by doing, there's little prep you can do in advance because there's no way to simulate it.
    Took the words right out of my mouth. Exact same situation for me - kids ages/sleep schedules/'chore' schedules. And great point in your edit!
  • raelbee
    raelbee Posts: 219
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    I have an almost 2 year old, a full time job, house, husband...and the list goes on. BUT living a healthier life has become a priority for my whole family. I make time for exercise. Some days I'll take an hour long walk during my lunch break, other days I'll come home and do the elliptical while my husband cooks dinner, or we'll all go for a long walk through the neighborhood after dinner. We will either use a stroller for our little one, or I'll carry her in a backpack carrier for the added weight.

    It's all about prioritizing what's important to you. Me, I want to live a healthy, active life. And that meant turning off the TV at night. All those wasted hours sitting in front of the TV....I don't miss them. As we've increased the level of activity in our family, the weight has literally fallen off me. I wore a size 12 in March. Today I'm comfortably wearing a size 4 and loving life :)

    What's important to you?
  • tericamp
    tericamp Posts: 19
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    I too am a working mom married with children (16, 6, and 2). Once I actually started going to the gym, it has been easier to schedule it into the day. We have a family membership to the YMCA and my kids are usually begging to go. I usually sign them into the child play and hang time areas where they have their own activities during the hour that I am working out. This also gives dad a break who is currently a work at home dad. On the days that I don't take the kids to the gym with me, I go on my lunch break or immediately following work (to avoid rush hour traffic cuts drive time from 2hrs to approx 30 min so either way I get home about the same time). I am blessed to have children and a husband that help keep the house clean as well so that leaves any cleaning I have to do to a minimum. So that leaves my studying time in the evening after the kids are in bed. Busy, but everyone is more happy when I've been to the gym (because I have more energy and am happier myself).
  • fitzfour
    fitzfour Posts: 1,306 Member
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    I am married and have 2 boys, ages 5 and 6, plus a dog, and a FT job. I knew the only way I'd get my workouts in was to do so before the rest of the house is awake. So, I get up at 5am do go for a walk outside, lift weights, do a DVD, whatever--for about an hour. I take 1 day per week to sleep in and not workout. If I don't feel like working out in the morning, then I get on the treadmill and walk for a 1/2 hour once my boys go down (8pm), while I watch a favorite show. Then I still have about an hour to get stuff done around the house. My hubby does do the lawnmowing (on the weekends) and I do all the upkeep of the flowerbeds and pretty stuff outside. I almost always do the housework and dinner each night, but I try to reserve the housework for my early Saturday morning routine, while the boys wake up with books, a game or cartoons.

    It's not easy getting up that early, but it's the only time of the day that I don't get interrupted. I've been doing this for about a year now...took about a month to get in the habit and now I almost always wake up without an alarm. I also have mastered it so that I can get my workout done in an hour and I still have a 1/2 hour left before I have to start getting ready for work, so I use that time to pay bills, catch up on email, or clean up the house a bit.
  • noneya2010
    noneya2010 Posts: 446 Member
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    And I forot to mention that since I'm walking/doing tapes at home, I bring along the kids for a walk with me. I get good quality talk-time with my teenager and my little one can ride his bike. After a mile bike ride, he's pooped and then takes his bath before watching a little TV before bedtime.
  • Laceylala
    Laceylala Posts: 3,094 Member
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    I plan ahead. A lot. I get groceries on Friday night or Saturday for the following week. I have a meal plan and cook ahead a few meals for the week for the two nights I get home later from yoga. I also make sure to have several meals planned that take about 20-30 to prep and then we can eat. My husband and 3 1/2 year old also have quite a few different healthy snacks to eat if they are hungry before I get home from the gym.

    And while I cook dinner my husband puts our daughter in the bath so by the time we are done with dinner and I take a shower we have at least a good hour to spend together for "family time" before she goes to bed.

    We also don't do dishes every night. You learn to prioritize and make it work. Sometimes its not worth getting the dishes done as that can take 20+ minutes we could spend with our daughter. Sometimes the vacuuming can wait. Sometimes the laundry can wait...You just learn to make it work. It "only" took me about 2 1/2 years to get there though after our daughter was born! LOL.
  • Clew
    Clew Posts: 910 Member
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    Actually, my house is a pigpen lately, but don't tell anybody. :wink: I had to make time to do this, period. I'll figure out the schedule rearrangement later. But for now, working out HAD to come off the back burner. I work fulltime, and I'm not going to sacrifice the time I spend with my family, so the time I spend chasing dust bunnies will have to wait till later for a bit.

    Some people can't stand a less than spotless house, I know ... but you get the idea. Sometimes you just have to make time somehow and iron out the rescheduling later. :smile:
  • sweetsassy6969
    sweetsassy6969 Posts: 5
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    It takes a lot of dedication. I suppose I learned how to juggle everything while I was attending college. At that time I was a single mom going to school full time while holding a full time job. It was difficult but I learned quickly that if I slacked in any part of my life, ultimately, my daughter paid because it meant taking more time away from her in order to get caught back up. I wasn't okay with that so I had no choice but to figure out how to make my schedule work for me. This is really no different because becoming a healthy person is just like full time college. You work full time for it and learn how to make it work full time for you.

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