Moms - When do you find the time?

I am 40 years old, a mother of two, and I have a full-time job. I have about 75lbs to lose and I know I need to up my physical exercise/activity. Are there any of you out there like me that just can't find the time? Or just don't have the energy by the time the kiddos are in bed? AND, if there are some of you that have a similar life that have figured out how to work it all in - please give me some pointers!

I FEEL YOU!!! Whew! I am a mom of two, a wife of a law student, a doctoral student myself, and I have a full time job. My 1 year old still wakes through the night and we are fighting with our 6 year old almost every night to head BACK to her bed :-). While I love all of the above, it can be tiring and taxing. I decided that in order to be the best Mom and wife I can be, I HAVE to take time out for myself. I've learned to function off of little sleep. While this is not optimal for a healthy lifestyle, anyone like us would understand you have to do what you have to do. It won't be this way forever. Here's my day:

4:45am - hop out of bed to meet a girlfriend at the gym (it's in walking distance).
6:00 am - make it home to do the morning dash of getting children ready for school :-).
7:15 am - I take 30 minutes to get ready for work and I'm out the door.
5:00pm - Meet co-workers (at work) for Insanity
6::15pm - Home for dinner (I usually crock pot it)
8:30pm - Kids are down, I wind down, and work on my work
11:00pm (sometimes 1 am ) - I'm in bed. I've been doing better about this and making sure I'm at least in the bed physically by 10ish.
2:00 am - Little one gets up for milk (it will end soon, same happened with my oldest, it ended around age 2.)
2:30 am - I'm back in bed :-)

If you are single then you may not be able to work out in the mornings or after work. Next week my husband will be out of town to take the bar exam (WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!!) So I will be alone with the girls. My plan is to work out during my lunch break and take them to the park after school - but they have to walk the track with me 2 times before we play :-). (The oldest will have her bike and the little one will be in the stroller). Oh, and we will have a lot of crock pot dishes :-).

It's so hard, but I've learned that I HAVE to take the time to make the time. My health is important. Best wishes to you, the Mom struggle is REAL!!!

On Saturdays and Sundays I do not work out, I play with my family (We are strict about our weekends). It's activity, but I do not track it.

Before my nest was empty, I would always get up around 5 am, have meditation and get my work-out on. I knew if I had to leave my house I wouldn't get it done so I carved out this special time for me and it worked. Now, I still get up early enough to do some stretching and planks to start my day.

I am a mom of 6 (4 still at home). I am married to a coach, and have kids in football, basketball, etc. I also have a 2 year old. I wake up at 630. Drop him off at daycare, drive an hour to work. Work til 430. Drive an hour home. Pick him up. Cook dinner. Bathe him, put him to bed, and then it's 9pm and I'm EXHAUSTED.

Two things I have to do:
Either work out early in the morning at 6ish or work out as soon as I get home from work.
Sometimes I'll cook several meals on Sunday so I don't have to cook during the week. That frees up some time.
Also, Insanity fast and furious is 20 minutes. Jillian michaels 30 day shred is about 30 minutes. Sometimes that's all we can work in...

Also I've read diet is 80% of it, so if you can master or manage that.... that's a good portion.

I don't find the time, I MAKE it. You have to want it, and if you want it bad enough, you will MAKE it.

This! Working out is ME time and I need my ME time.

I am a mother of one (15 months old) and both my husband and I work full time 9-5 type jobs. My husband and I both fit the gym in 5 days a week minimum. He gets up early and goes in the morning before work so I take my daughter to daycare and get her ready in the morning. In the afternoon, I stop at the gym and do my workout on the way home and he picks her up and takes care of her until I get home. This seems to work fine for us most of the time. I used to workout in the morning too before having my daughter and I miss it (so much less busy at the gym in the morning) but I can't have everything I want! You just have to make it work!

I'm 40, a mom of four & I work 50 hours per week. I've found the more I do, the more I want to do, when it comes to exercise. When I started at the gym, I set a goal of 3 times per week, and hardly ever met it. I would get to Wednesday, and realize I hadn't gone yet. Then I set a goal of going at certain times each week, Tuesday and Thursday nights at 8, Saturday morning at 9. I still missed some, but a lot less. Once I got into that routine, I started adding some yoga at home on Sundays, and a long walk on Mondays and Wednesdays. Now I've moved and there's no gym here, but I do a fitness class 3 times a week. I have friends that I carpool with, so that if I think about not going, I don't want to let the others down. It's not easy, but it's possible. Just keep trying!

Increase your NEAT (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis) if you can. Get up and move around your office, go for walks on breaks, go up and down the stairs twice with each load of laundry, etc.

Then I found a gym with daycare. I go twice a week, once in the evening after work (I plan quick dinners) and once on a weekend morning.

I usually sneak in ten minutes here, five minutes there, a little of this, a little of that (yoga or elliptical or walking)... It has a cumulative effect, is easier to find time for, and keeps me from getting bored.

I agree with everyone here - you must make time to do it. I have 6, 4 and 3 year olds at home with me. I don't work outside the home but still seem to keep pretty busy with laundry, cleaning, errands, etc. Right now I have put on a video for the kids and getting ready to do a "walking at home" video. A lot of times the kids run around the house with me. I also joined a gym that has free childcare. Makes it so much easier.