This would be easier...

I hear you, for sure..... add in 2 kids and I face similar issues. I think a lot of us do. I was lucky - my wife is incredibly supportive so she was taking care of things around the house in the evenings so I could go to the gym and she never complained. A job change now allows me to go in the AM which helps - by the end of the day I was wiped out and full of excuses.
So yeah, I'm sure this wasn't helpful at all but sometimes it helps me to hear that many of us face the same issues. For me it is a matter of just never quitting even when I have bad days or weeks.

I was actually having almost the identical conversation in my head not long ago - It is really REALLY hard to make this work.

I sat down and looked at my schedule and after having a 'there's no way I can do this' moment - and then I figured it out - I'm now going to the gym on my lunch hour instead of trying to figure it out at night and forcing myself to get up early <that totally sucked>.

You're working at it - you'll figure out what works for you

Try pre-preparing some of your meals for the week, on the weekends. Alternately, a crockpot is a great investment. I do the gym at 5 a.m. so I don't have this problem, but if it doesn't open earlier enough, grab a video in or whatever you can at home. Being a single parent that works full time and has to constantly run around or just "do", is what it is. I MAKE time for me and that includes my exercise.

I started working out before work rather than after. At first it was tough getting up early, but then it got to the point where it made me feel so much more energetic during the day.

I'm not interested in winning the lottery, that's why I don't play. lol

It will be worth it cause you will have worked for it. the tougher it is - the sweeter the victory. that's what I tell myself anyway

I have a gym membership but I only go once, maybe twice a week. Instead I get up at 5 AM and go for a walk/jog (2 miles) around my neighborhood. Takes me about 30 minutes, then I get home, shower, get ready for work, and leave at 6:50. In the evenings I cook dinner (it helps that on weekends I plan out all my meals so I already know what I'll be having each night), then prepare my lunch for the next day. I also lay out my workout clothes and the clothes I'm going to wear to work so that I can get dressed quickly in the morning. I usually have time to do a couple of chores each day (tonight I'll do one load of laundry and vacuum, for example) and then watch a couple of TV shows and spend some time bumming around online (mostly on Facebook and MFP). Some days it really does feel like I'm doing the same thing over and over and over again, but that's what the weekends and vacations are for! I absolutely HATE getting up in the morning, my husband knows not to speak to me because I'm super crabby, if I had my way I'd be up past midnight and sleep till at least 9 AM every day, but running is a priority so I make sure to get to bed by 9 and get up by 5. I always used to tell myself there was no way I could work out in the morning because I don't like getting up early, but I finally got to the point where I hated being fat and out of shape more than I hated waking up 30 minutes earlier. I do agree though that it would be easier if I didn't have to work!

Ugh, I'm with you, OP!

I work as a CNA full time at one job and almost full time at the other, so I'm cooking, cleaning, washing, doing laundry, etc., for 20 other people at the facility (and then these same things for one person in her home) and thus have no motivation to do these things at my own home. I attend nursing school full time and my classes go late because I'm taking the only open section of chemistry, so by the time I get home from school, it's bedtime (or I'll get no sleep before my AM shift at job #1, which is follow by PM shift at job #2 on my days off from school) and then I go to work and school back to back and haven't even had time to do homework, then I have to cram that in somewhere. I had someone ask me if I lived alone and I FORGOT ABOUT MY FIANCE and said YES because I NEVER see him (he works AM shift at a factory and by the time he gets home, I'm either at work or school already) LOL! I was mortified!

I think being busy helps me avoid mindless eating, so in a way, I would be heavier if I won the lottery and had too much time on my hands. Sure, I could afford a fancier gym and a trainer to boot, organic and extremely healthy foods to fill my kitchen, etc, but I would want luxury foods! I would want decadent stuff from expensive restaurants and I'd want to spend all of my time reading, writing, and watching Netflix and EATING while I did those things.

I go to Anytime Fitness, so I can workout whenever the H-E-double-hockey-sticks I want! I went early this morning because it worked best with today's schedule, but I will go later in the day or not at all other days of the week. It depends. I purposefully signed up for this gym because I was working third shift at a nursing home and knew I wouldn't be able to go to a gym with limited hours. I make sure every penny I spend on food is on the healthiest foods I can afford. I go to the produce section first and make those items priority, then I'm less likely to get something naughty in one of the aisles because I can see my cart filling up and I know I'll go over my budget if I get this extra item. I park as far away from my destinations as I can and I get a little extra exercise in that way; my school's parking lot fills up fast, so I always end up parking a good mile away from my building.

You can do it!!

Well, you prioritize what's important to you.

For me - the house just doesn't get cleaned every day. I do certain things daily, but it's certainly not going to pass any white glove test, that's for sure.

Laundry only gets done twice weekly in small loads. So doesn't take that much time to do.

My SO and I take turns cooking - I hate cooking; he loves it.

I have also chosen to not have children, so that frees up a lot of time (and money).

We all have our priorities; find what's important to you and do it. The rest of it can wait.

Since the gym does not open early enough in the morning, go to gym after work and get up early and do chores in the morning. Problem solved.

I dont think there is a motivation trick... at least not for me, i hate the gym, hate, hate, hate it, its just ... better thqan the alternative.

I used to go to a gym that had free tanning, that was motivation, because I would tan after I worked out - but i doont have that anymore :-(

Just start going - it will prob help with your energy / sleeping - and most likely after seeing some change, THAT will ne your new motivation to keep going!

Over the years I have used many strategies to make time to workout around work and other commitments.

Biking to work - I used to do this all the time. However my main problem is that it is 17 to 25 miles (depending on which route I use) each direction, so after not riding during the winter I need to first find time for rides to get me back into shape for riding to work. I would leave the house between 6:30 & 7:15 and I would not sweat much because of the lower temperatures in the morning. I also would reduce my effort when I was a couple miles from work so that my core temperature would start coming down and the air flow could dry the sweat off of me. I always wore workout clothes and would change after I had some time to cool off so that I would not sweat up my work cloths. I would also recommend getting a rear pannier and pannier bag. Carrying my work clothes in a backpack caused my back to sweat enough that it would soak the back of my shirt and almost soak thru the backpack. It is easier to control your sweating when you have unobstructed airflow over your front and back.

Go to gym during work - For most of the past nine months I have been going to the gym during the workday for 11 am Yoga or 12:15 cardio/HIIT classes. However this takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours out of my day and is only possible because I have flexible hours and can work late a couple days a week and I can eat my lunch at my desk while working to make up time.

Go for a walk, run, bike ride, etc. during work–I perform the more strenuous workouts around mid afternoon so that by time I get back most of the people in the office have left for the day and don’t see how I look after a workout. I will usually work for 30 minutes or more with a fan blowing on me before I change back into my regular clothes.

Go to the gym on the way home – A couple nights a week I go to the gym after work for either a Total Body or Bootcamp class. One problem with going after work is that a lot of other people might have the same idea. In my case the classes are not very full but the weight room usually feels packed.

Exercise bike, walk, exercise videos (DVD, web, Cable On-Demand), workout apps at home – If all else fails get a short workout at home.