Got a busy schedule?

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Chantrea717
Chantrea717 Posts: 9
in Introduce Yourself
How do you fit exercise and eating right into your schedule? I am a mom to an almost 2 year old, I work part time and am taking 20 credits at a community college going to university next year. How do you keep your energy going when you don't have a minute to catch your breath? I definitely have more energy exercising already, but it's a pretty full plate!

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  • Sunshine2plus2
    Sunshine2plus2 Posts: 1,492 Member
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    You got to want it! I am a mother of 4 and I also work alot! I use to do all my exercises at home, I just recently joined a gym and it has a play area for kids while I work out!
  • steve0820
    steve0820 Posts: 510 Member
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    You got to want it! I am a mother of 4 and I also work alot! I use to do all my exercises at home, I just recently joined a gym and it has a play area for kids while I work out!


    Pretty much this ^^^

    I work straight nights, and have 3 kids, sleep 5 hours a day with my schedule. Just gotta do it. I work out first thing after work most of the time, while the wife and kids are still sleeping. If not, I work out at home, during the youngest nap time. My gym has a daycare when we can afford it.

    People in our situation have to take it!!! Nobody is going to give us anything.... we want change, we have goals, we need to go after them.
  • littleworm23
    littleworm23 Posts: 341 Member
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    What everyone else said, you have to want it and do it. I have 3 kids and work full time. On some days I'm up for work at 3:00 am, get home about 1:45 pm and get in a 6 mile run before getting the kids from school. I also ride my stationary bike almost nightly after everyone goes to bed. You just have to find what works for you and make it a habit. All that being said, some days are definitely harder than others. Good luck. :)
  • IIIIISerenityNowIIIII
    IIIIISerenityNowIIIII Posts: 425 Member
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    There are lots of healthy foods that are very convenient.

    Go to the frozen veggie aisle and look for the steam able in-bag stuff. You just pop it in the microwave for a few minutes and they are usually about 120 calories for an entire bag. I went and bought a gazillion of them and filled my deep freezer. So...I have 14 cubic feet of vegetables and zero excuses to go eat junk all the time.

    You can also divvy up healthy snacks into little 100 calorie bags to grab and go. My favorite snack now is a chip made by special k. I also eat a 100 calorie pudding cup pretty much every night. I keep them cold so it staves off my ice cream monster.

    Also, leave fresh fruits displayed on your counter or table. It looks so inviting and pretty that you will find yourself grabbing those before trying to dig around the pantry for junk.
  • jrniven
    jrniven Posts: 74 Member
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    I am not a parent, but I work 12-14 hour days 50-60 hours a week. I work out on work days. Caffeine and willpower. You got to want it. Diet is the most important thing, if your diet is crap you wont reach you goals. That being said you need to have some sort of meal plan so you can easily make food and stick in you calorie range. That is the most important thing. You can exercise till you are blue in the face but if you eat too much it won't matter. Plan you meals a week out. Dedicate one day a week to make easy meals that can go into individual tupperwears that are a specific caloric range for you. Plan, plan, plan your meals out. If you need to make family meals do so with the mindset you are going to eat only a specific amount.. WEIGHT all you food. If you don't have one buy a scale and measure to the gram. It is hard work, but it pays off BIG TIMEEEEEE. Good luck.
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,655 Member
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    When my kiddo was very young, I wasn't into fitness -- carrying him around was about all I felt I needed back then! -- but as a single mom I worked full time, put myself through grad school, and was heavily involved in several professional organizations. Sleeping 4-6 hour nights was the norm; in fact, 6 hours was a really, really good night.

    One thing that helped me a lot was Food Prep Sundays... Every Sunday afternoon, I'd spend 2-3 hours preparing foods in advance. Cutting and bagging veggies, making batches of pizza/spaghetti sauce and a ball of dough, cooking chicken breasts for quick skillet meals, packing grabbable snacks for school lunches, and so on. It was much easier to put a home-cooked meal on the table when all I had to do was grab some stuff and throw it in a skillet or microwave. Kids like to "help" in the kitchen... even if they're not really much help, it keeps them occupied and trains them well to be on their own later.

    I'm still crazy busy, though not with a small kiddo anymore. Aside from "just wanting it," which is the main thing, I've found ways to slip in some more activity during the day -- like parking a mile or two away from work and walking/running there and back, or parking on the top floor of a garage and taking the stairs. And I do my weight training at home.
  • ereck44
    ereck44 Posts: 1,170 Member
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    When my kiddo was very young, I wasn't into fitness -- carrying him around was about all I felt I needed back then! -- but as a single mom I worked full time, put myself through grad school, and was heavily involved in several professional organizations. Sleeping 4-6 hour nights was the norm; in fact, 6 hours was a really, really good night.

    One thing that helped me a lot was Food Prep Sundays... Every Sunday afternoon, I'd spend 2-3 hours preparing foods in advance. Cutting and bagging veggies, making batches of pizza/spaghetti sauce and a ball of dough, cooking chicken breasts for quick skillet meals, packing grabbable snacks for school lunches, and so on. It was much easier to put a home-cooked meal on the table when all I had to do was grab some stuff and throw it in a skillet or microwave. Kids like to "help" in the kitchen... even if they're not really much help, it keeps them occupied and trains them well to be on their own later.

    I'm still crazy busy, though not with a small kiddo anymore. Aside from "just wanting it," which is the main thing, I've found ways to slip in some more activity during the day -- like parking a mile or two away from work and walking/running there and back, or parking on the top floor of a garage and taking the stairs. And I do my weight training at home.

    yup! prepping is key! I would be lost without my zip lock bags and plastic containers. the key to losing weight and getting fit is "planning".
  • skittlesnhoney
    skittlesnhoney Posts: 651 Member
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    I love all the great posts. Great, great advice! I remember being there with my kids when they were young and I didn't find the time, which is why I found myself overweight and unhappy. You really do have to want it and fit it in any way you can. For me, I fit it into my schedule anywhere and anyway I can.

    Some mornings I get up at 5:25 to make it to a class I like at the gym. Twice a week I coach Girls on the Run and I run with them. Other mornings I get up and work out on my Gazelle (a cheap $99 elliptical I bought a Wal-Mart) and then follow it up by running my stairs and calisthenics on my living room rug. I have 3 kids, 1 of which runs with me at GOTR. All 3 of my kids are involved in 4h and have 2-3 projects, sometimes with meetings weekly, bi-monthly and monthly, I work 35 hours a week, and I volunteer twice a month at my church on Wednesday nights. My little dog also loves walks, so I try to get out there when I am home after work and get him his exercise while rounding off my fitbit goals for the night. I sign up for challenges on here and get involved with groups. I make sure to log my foods every day, and if I have an off day, I get up and I dust myself off and remind myself that tomorrow is a new day.

    Good luck with your goals! :happy:

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