Working out with having kids
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I have 2 kids,I wake up at 4am work from 5 am to 3,then pick kids up,homework,dinner and bedtime.. Well ... There is just not enough time to exercise or to do anything... By 9pm ,Im tired as can be... And If you do the math I go to bed every night at 9:45 so can get 6-7 hours sleep. My workout consists : on my 2 days off,I double what Id normally do...
I walk before kids go to school and then ride my bike. On the weekend after work and a short nap- I take a walk or play tennis with the kids or just run around outside.. Finally its a rutine. Still not 100% complete all the time but doing so much better then before.0 -
Honestly I didn't until my kids went to preschool. Just no way. You could still count calories and eat at a deficit to lose weight though, I'm guessing with 6 kids around you're probably burning a lot of calories just moving around.
I would get a fitness monitor, like a fitbit. I think you will be shocked just how many calories you are burning. I just got a cycle/elliptical machine. I sneak 5 minutes here and there.
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I have two children and work 10 hours/ day (with a 30 min commute each way). When my babies were as young as yours are I would throw them into a stroller and run with them around the neighborhood for exercise, as well as incorporate them into whatever else I as doing (sitting them on a blanket while I did some free weights, etc.) As they got older I started running around their schedule, mostly waking up early or staying up late to get my exercise in. Right now 2 days a week I go after work to an exercise class and 3 days a week I wake up at 4am to get on my treadmill and do free/body weight exercises. I also keep track diligently about what I am eating, and keep within a calorie deficit.0
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This. I get up at 5. I don't quite have a 10 1/2 hour day like the original poster, but I do work outside the home and have to get my daughter up and out to school, homework, dinner, etc.I get up at 4:30 every morning and get it done.
You make time for it, whether it's 5 in the morning or 10 at night.0 -
I get up at 4:30 every morning and get it done.
This...and having teenagers that can help with the little ones. Lol0 -
This has been challenging for me. I work in the ER and my hours vary between days, nights and evenings. Many shifts are 12 hours plus commute time and i often get off late at night (ie 1am or so) and have to get up with my son at 7am. i try to have the nanny come early before my shift when I can so I can workout and when I work days I try to work out after my son goes to bed. Sometimes I try to pop in a DVD while he is there but he's 18 months and often underfoot.
While it's true that you can lose weight without exercise, I don't recommend it. i think strength training is vital for preserving muscle tissue while you lose fat and it helps you look good naked. Try 30 day shred (just 25 minutes) or even 8 minutes in the morning program (you could do it at night) and build up from there0 -
Fortunately the days on Earth are 24 hours long instead of 10.5 hours long, leaving several hours during each day when she only has one 5 month old.
I am at home with a 3 and 4 year old (who think the barbell is cool and want to 'help' daddy or just imitate me) and I still get it done. A single 5 month old would be like a vacation!
She doesn't have a single five month old, she has 6 kids round 10.5 hours of the day!
The other posters are right weight loss comes with a sustained calorie deficit, and MFP is great at working out goals for you if you're unsure of what you want to do at the moment 0 -
When my son was a baby, I'd bring him to zumba class in his carseat or bring his stationary play thingee, or height chair. I like the idea someone said about get everyone dancing. Maybe you could do some sort of workout before the kids get to your house for daycare.0
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This has been challenging for me. I work in the ER and my hours vary between days, nights and evenings. Many shifts are 12 hours plus commute time and i often get off late at night (ie 1am or so) and have to get up with my son at 7am. i try to have the nanny come early before my shift when I can so I can workout and when I work days I try to work out after my son goes to bed. Sometimes I try to pop in a DVD while he is there but he's 18 months and often underfoot.
While it's true that you can lose weight without exercise, I don't recommend it. i think strength training is vital for preserving muscle tissue while you lose fat and it helps you look good naked. Try 30 day shred (just 25 minutes) or even 8 minutes in the morning program (you could do it at night) and build up from there
^^^This, plus you can always put the baby in a playpen now, before he learns to climb out. Lol. Love those arms!^^^0 -
Fortunately the days on Earth are 24 hours long instead of 10.5 hours long, leaving several hours during each day when she only has one 5 month old.
I am at home with a 3 and 4 year old (who think the barbell is cool and want to 'help' daddy or just imitate me) and I still get it done. A single 5 month old would be like a vacation!
She doesn't have a single five month old, she has 6 kids round 10.5 hours of the day!
The other posters are right weight loss comes with a sustained calorie deficit, and MFP is great at working out goals for you if you're unsure of what you want to do at the moment
Seriously, she's not the only parent on the face of this planet that work longish hours. If it's important you'll work it into your routine. May take some working but it will happen if she wants it to.0 -
When you are holding baby do squats even just in the living room. Dance with the kids, go for walks etc0
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I get up extra early in the morning before I go to work (5 a.m.) or if I am lazy I workout when I get home. My kids are 9 and 6 so they usually sit in the basement with me (I have a home gym) and they watch a movie or play while I do my thing.0
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The gym became my salvation! that hour of me time kept me going back regularly lol. That might be difficult for you though. Really all you need is a calorie deficit but getting a decent deficit without a workout might be challenging. 20 min videos can help. Check out you tube or Pinterest.0
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Nap time for me. When he is sleep, I'm on it.0
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For weight loss, all you need is a calorie deficit. Maintain your calorie goal the MFP gives you and you will lose weight.
Exercise is for Fitness. If you want to throw exercise into the mix, with kids, my suggestion would be to throw some music on and get everyone dancing.
Legit advice. It is HARD! I work a FT job and have two kids and I am at the gym 3-4 times a week. I just squeeze it in when ever I can.0 -
I have 4 kids and a very very low income of 226.00 a month sense my husband was laid of in November, my low budget kid suggestion for workouts is gentle yoga bc you can literally be on the floor with your baby, or use your baby lol also dancing is a main and if you feel lost, buy a dance game just dance kids is great! And will get the whole daycare exercising. Sense kids our your job get the OK from moms for work out time each day with the kids,place names in a hat and have kids select their favorite songs during outside time use that time for freeze tag, touch football or make a cirquit for yourself while they play, wile you an still watch, like squats0
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I'm so lazy when it comes to fitness!! However I am a hyperactive mummy who enjoys nothing more than picking up either my 2year old or 4year old and swinging them round while busting some moves to all the chart music and for sure doing our own take on the dirty dancing finally!! I'd say it helps keep bingo wings at bay and stops my hips from protruding out of my bottoms feel free to add me can never have enough mummies on missions in my friends list 0
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Honestly I didn't until my kids went to preschool. Just no way. You could still count calories and eat at a deficit to lose weight though, I'm guessing with 6 kids around you're probably burning a lot of calories just moving around.
I would get a fitness monitor, like a fitbit. I think you will be shocked just how many calories you are burning. I just got a cycle/elliptical machine. I sneak 5 minutes here and there.
Yeah really good idea.0 -
How does everyone manage to lose weight and tend to their kids? I am a new mom, my son is almost 5 months old. I also run a home daycare 10.5 hours a day for 6 children counting my son. By the end of the day it takes all I got just to make dinner I am so exhausted. How do you ladies do it? I need some pointers, I really want to get this weight off!
Losing weight is about calories, not working out. Spend a few minutes in the morning pre-logging/pre-planning out your food for the day in your MFP diary and you'll be good to go 0 -
kids are just an excuse. a really good one, but really just another excuse. when i realised that my life changed. when you make time for you, time that will make you feel better, fitter, healthier, you also find more time for you loved ones.0
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I do a workout video in the evening in my bedroom. My 8 year old leaves me alone and my 3 year old comes in and plays with the extra stretchy bands. (He is only allowed to play with them while I'm exercising...so it's something special for him.)0
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kids are just an excuse. a really good one, but really just another excuse. when i realised that my life changed. when you make time for you, time that will make you feel better, fitter, healthier, you also find more time for you loved ones.
I don't think anyone is saying their kids are an excuse not to exercise, it's more of trying to find time to fit in time for you without detracting from your time for them. It's easier if you have a spouse or family member who can help out so you can get the exercise in at a reasonable time, but if you're a single parent or have a spouse who works long hours, time for you basically means less sleep. They say you can't out-exercise a bad diet, but you also can't out-exercise 4 hours of sleep a night.0 -
You can fit in exercise a few times a day. You can wake up earlier and do a 15 minute workout, then later do a 15 minute workout during the kids naptime. You don't have to wake up early and do an hour workout for it to work. When I first had a baby, I used a video called Lindsay Brin's Postnatal Bootcamp (I think she has a few). It is broken up into 10 minute segments so you can do one or add a few together if you have more time. You could do a cardio portion in the morning, circuit training in the middle of the day and maybe some core after dinner. But honestly, it would hard to be able to get in a full workout for an hour until my kids got older. I'm about to go do some lifting at home with my two kids watching me but they will each have an ipad babysitter while I'm doing it.0
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kids are just an excuse. a really good one, but really just another excuse. when i realised that my life changed. when you make time for you, time that will make you feel better, fitter, healthier, you also find more time for you loved ones.
This.0 -
I have a 4.5 year old and. 2.5 year old, and am 25 weeks pregnant, and I workout around 5 times a week.
I'm lucky though as I only work part time, 2.5 days a week, and as my husband does shift work, it means I can get to the gym on my days off and the weekend as he watches the kids. Plus, as a teacher, I get all the school holidays so get to go to the gym/do classes more then.
Could you workout in the evenings? And at the weekends? Looking after 6 kids all day must be pretty tiring. Do you take them to the park, or play in the garden? How old are they all?0 -
I have 2 small kids, a full time job, went to school at night also for a while... and still find time to work-out everyday. Not bragging, just saying. I make it a priority, for my physical health but also for my mental health! Sometimes just 30 minutes, but I still do it. Is the father available to stay with the kids for 30-60 minutes after supper, so you can get out of the house for a walk or go to the basement and pop in a fitness DVD? There is always time when you commit to making it happen. It dosen't have to be an hour everyday eighter, every step helps. And it dosen't have to be everyday. Just decide how much you are willing to put towards it, time wise and energy wise, and then mark it on the calendar. For myself it's a minimum of 30 minutes of mouvement per day, just to keep me in the right set of mind. 30 minutes, that's it. Sometime more, but never less.0
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If you have an xbox kinect there are a lot of games that are active that you could do with the kids. I love Just Dance 2014 and Dance Central. There is a Disney Pixar Rush game for kids where you are running in place a lot and it is set to movie characters the kids love. The kinect adventures game is a lot of fun for everyone as well as a decent workout.0
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My daughter wants to do Turbo Fire with me so badly, but gets upset that she can't do all the moves, and gives up after 5 minutes. That's even less pleasant for me, because then they get in the way and I nearly kick someone in the head accidentally.
Made me smile there, because it's the same for me and my 4 year old! I put the Turbo Fire DVD on, she joins me but then becomes frustrated with it and starts to play around me, soon joined by the 21 months old and then I have to zig-zag between them to do the work-out, being careful to not knock them down.... Not really effective! So now the baby is not allowed downstair during Turbo Fire!! And forget about placing a yoga mat on the floor, they act like they own the thing ans I am left direclty on the floor! :laugh: Got to laugh about it!0 -
I have 8 kids and we homeschool, so they are all home all day every day. Morning workouts have never, ever worked for me, despite that being the most common recommendation. I have the benefit of older kids to keep an eye on things while I go for a run or whatever, so I find either just before or after (sometimes during) their lunch time works best.
I never managed it when I only had little kids, though. At least, not consistently. So, I guess my advice would be to experiment a bit until you find a schedule that will work for you, and then set it in stone! Good luck!0 -
I have a 5,4,and 2 year old. When my youngest was still very little, I would get up at 430 and go to the gym before my hubs left for work or I would go after he got home from work. Sometimes I would be at the gym at 9 pm. I just made it work. I never had a set routine, that's difficult to do with a baby, but I got my lifting in 3X week and took walks with them or danced with them on other days. Now it's much easier- they love hanging out in the playroom at the gym while I lift. If you have fitness goals, you will just have to find a way to get your exercise in. Otherwise, with 6 kids to look after all day, I'm pretty sure your TDEE is high enough that you can eat a lot and still lose.0
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