Tips for the super busy

You have to re-prioritize and make the time, that's all there is to it.

Specific recommendations would depend on circumstances, i.e. mothers with small children might want to try DVD's at home or playing on the playground.

If you don't have hours to blow at the gym maybe just try to squeeze in a 20 minute work out video? Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred is one of my favorites when I am crunched for time.

I've also learned to ask for help. My laundry has doubled since I started actively working out so I've asked my husband to help me with the dishes to compensate for the extra time I am spending on the laundry.

I hula hoop at work with my co-workers when they take their smoke breaks ... 20 minutes twice a day. If you don't want to hoop, you can take a short walk.

What do you do for work? Do you get a lunch break? I used to go for walks/runs around the parking lot a few years ago on my lunch break when I was super busy. Also, get in the habit of "exercising" anytime you are sitting still. IE: squats/lunges when you're in the kitchen making dinner. If you work at a desk, do searches online of "desk workouts". If you can get 5 min in 5x/day that's 25min of exercise

I just work it in when I can. It's not always easy on my schedule. On the days when exercise is not an option, I just make sure to watch very carefully what and how much I eat and get plenty of water. I try to eat lunch at my desk and exercise during lunch, but sometimes I have to use my lunch break to run errands and some days it's not a full break.

I'll post back here when I get a chance.

Gosh, I just read all the replies and I feel like I might be the only one that really "gets" the OP. And I guess that could be untrue, but here is my scenario -

Get up at 6 AM, drop kids off at daycare. Drive to office or to work in the field. If I'm lucky, I get lunch. Sometimes it's a Luna bar.

Work until 3:30. Or 8. Depending on situation. Yesterday, for example, I was at the office until 5:30. Then it is an hour drive home. Yesterday I was EXCEPTIONALLY lucky that my husband got home a little earlier than me (which never happens) and threw together a fabulous quick dinner. Arrived home 6:10, had to be out the door at 6:35 to take my kids to swimming lessons.

Yes, swimming lessons are voluntary. However, it's 10 days out of my life in 2013. I think I can make that sacrifice and make it a higher priority than me working out.

Get home from swimming around 8:15. Bedtime - showers, pj's, goodnights. It is now 8:45. Put kids to bed. Tidy up a bit. 9 PM, house is a disaster and I haven't "worked out".... but I slept for literally one hour the night before. So I opted to go to bed.

Now, this was actually a GOOD day, because I managed to sneak a lunch break with my husband for an hour to Applebee's for a 550 calorie lunch, plus he was home in time to make dinner. Many other days it's literally coffee for me until I break down and eat a granola bar, then maybe dinner somewhere..... then home, bed around 11-12 on average.

I do not "get" lunch breaks. I'm self-employed. I work constantly. And sure, people say that it's my choice, or I'm being too hard on myself, but many other self-employed people get it - you are the worst boss you've ever had in your entire life. And my family getting ANY dinner depends on me, as I am the primary income. There is no such thing as vacations, and if you ignore your phone part of the day, the world implodes and people hate you, you lose business, end of story.

So MY tips? Sneak something in whenever possible. Like right now, with swimming lessons, I'm volunteering to the parent in the water with my little one. It's not much, but it's something - I try to sneak in some actual "work" in the water when I can.

Take advantage of downtime. I had a quiet Sunday, so I went for a two hour bike ride. Last summer I was doing 3-4 hour rides every week. I haven't had that option yet this year with our schedules, and I miss it.... but you can burn an awful lot if you work hard for two hours!

And if you can, sneak in Jillian. I did a few rounds of 30DS and Ripped last spring, and it was amazing considering it was only 25 minutes. Now, when I sleep an average of 4 hours a night, I usually can't convince myself to short myself another half an hour - but if the opportunity is there, take it.

And for the record, I was getting up around 5 to go run, but when the days got longer my work day did, too, and that's fallen by the wayside.

My priority is to sleep before working out. Because, as I mentioned, there are nights where I'm literally up until 3 AM working - I don't think it's fair to expect my body to function well if I then get up at 5. It doesn't function well when I get up at 6!

(Please no lectures. I know my situation, my life position and business position quite well right now. Right now is a bust-butt-so-you-can-expand period, and I'm working on doing just that. Then if I expand, I will again have more time for me. There are phases of more time for myself and less time, and I'm currently in a less-time-for-me phase. It, like all things, will pass.)

Hey OP- feel free to add me as a friend. If my life sounds like yours, please understand that I totally get it. I'm not perfect at logging, because honestly, I get too busy for that, too.... but I try!

My super busy times come and go. But when they're here, I find it easier to do little things to add up through the day if I know I won't have time to devote to real exercise.

First, diet is the bigger key than activity. First priority is eat properly. You can lose weight even without adding activity.

Then, a few things I do to help:

- Walk everywhere that's within reasonable distance. Where I'm from, I spend as much time cursing at other cars in the parking lot or on the way to the grocery that it's easier to walk.
- Take the stairs. Screw the elevator.
- At work, find reasons to get up and move. I've hit 10,000 steps during the day just by going to the bathroom on a different floor, stretching my legs once every half an hour or so, walking to go talk to someone in the office instead of emailing or calling them with my question, etc.
- Park farther away from the building, whether it's the office, the grocery, the post office, the Laundromat, whatever.
- Utilize your lunch break wisely.
- Leg weights! They may not take inches from your waist, but they'll tone the hell out of your legs while you're busting your buns around the house.
- Drink lots of water. You'll HAVE to get up and move whether you want to or not.

You make time for things that are important. This includes fitness.

I started out by giving up some time in the morning that I used to catch up on my reading to walk. Then I started walking while watching TV at night. Now, I schedule my workouts like any other appointment.

Some people may feel differently but my fitness, health and overall well being is more important to me than any charity that I can give my time to.