HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

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lrobannon
lrobannon Posts: 12
in Motivation and Support
Good morning MFP friends, I need some help, suggestions, idea's on how to become motivated to exercise after I get off from work, help kids with homework, run kids to bball practice, cook dinner and put kids to bed. After I get done I'm exhausted and just want to go to bed. Any idea's this has always been by down fall.:sad:

Replies

  • catherine1979
    catherine1979 Posts: 704 Member
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    My advice is to find something you love to do. I love yoga, so I go to hot yoga a few times a week. It doesn't seem like a chore after a 10 hour work day, cooking, and child rearing!
  • lbissett79
    lbissett79 Posts: 38 Member
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    You need to ask that wonderful husband of yours to assist. There has to be something he can take off your hands in order for you to get in the workout you will soon so desperately need. (once you get addicted to the feeling)
  • luv2ash
    luv2ash Posts: 1,903 Member
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    Moms really need and deserve the break to work on our health. Maybe getting up 30 mins early in the a.m. and doing an exercise video is the answer. REally 30 mins is all you need. You could do it while they are doing homework-tell them to hold all their questions until after the 30 mins.
  • Vicky14174
    Vicky14174 Posts: 715 Member
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    Do your exercise before the kids get up for school and maybe at lunch. That will leave the night time for all of the other stuff plus do ask your husband to help out.
  • pilipok73
    pilipok73 Posts: 7 Member
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    I understand how sometimes it is hard to make yourself to go workout after "all of that". :) My suggestion work out in the morning and that will free your evening . I wake up at 5:30 am and hit the gym by 6 so my evenings are free, more or less. :bigsmile:
  • frogmommy
    frogmommy Posts: 151 Member
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    I know it may sound crazy, but when I first got hooked on daily workouts, I had to get up at about 4:45 a.m. to make it actually happen. I am now at a point in my life where I can work out later in the day, but at the time, that was my only choice. I too, like you, was ready to crash after the day was done. Maybe try getting up 45 minutes early and try going for a walk/run first thing?
  • TriumphNow
    TriumphNow Posts: 526 Member
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    Try working out in the morning. I have to get up about 5 a.m. to get it done but I look at it as my time before the kids wake up. It's a big accomplishment and puts me on the right track for the rest of the day :smile: I know I would not work out regularly at all if I did it in the evening with everything else I have to get done. I hope you find what works for you. You deserve it, like we all do!
  • bhb301
    bhb301 Posts: 338 Member
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    I have this problem also. Try geting up 10 minutes earlier doing something, then 15, each day or few days increase your time, so it won't be so hard in the beginning.
  • cathyv0409
    cathyv0409 Posts: 230 Member
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    I almost have to do my exercise in the morning. It isn't easy to get up 1/2 hour earlier but gets me ready for my day and I know it is done and I don't have to worry about doing it at night when I'm tired. I think I get a better workout in the mornings too. Good luck in finding what works for you.
  • jadesign19
    jadesign19 Posts: 512 Member
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    I hear you!!! I'm ready to go to sleep by 8 pm. As far as motivation, just remember it's for you- it's time for you. Start with 15 minutes of stretching and expand it the next day to include jogging in place. See how you feel. My mantra is - this 15 minutes is mine. I know it's hard with young ones, but when I tell my kids it's mommy time they support it. I even set the timer. I put aside the laundry or cleaning the dishes for just those minutes. It's my time. Then the time got longer and longer.
    Then we moved, I had to change the time I work out between 5:30 am to 7 am. It works for me because my husband wakes me up anyway. But when the kids were young, especially babies, I did exercise in 15 minute increments. It does get so much easier as the babies grow ;)
  • queenofcaffeine
    queenofcaffeine Posts: 15 Member
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    Good Morning! I'm not sure if it's something you could do but I like to walk my daughter to & from school at least 4 days a week. It's a way of slipping in exercise without actually thinking about it. There are also a lot of other ways to get exercise when you don't realize you're doing it. For instance, when you do laundry, throw the dirty clothes on the floor. Now, pick up one item at a time...bend at the waist, twist to drop it in the washer, repeat. You would be amazed at the amount of exercise you're getting! Buy an exercise ball (one of the big one's you sit on). Sit on that when you're watching TV or sitting at your desk. It doesn't sound like much but you would be amazed at the amount of workout you're getting in your abs & back! Hope these suggestions help. Good luck :-)
  • janalayn
    janalayn Posts: 510 Member
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    It is much tougher with kids ... but if you are taking the kids to ball practice, why not work out while they practice. Don't think of it as "making" yourself workout. Instead think of it as a gift of TIME for yourself. Get an mp3 player or ipod, listen to music you like or books on tape and enjoy it as downtime. I used to walk around the ballfield when my oldest (now 22) played t-ball.
  • lrobannon
    lrobannon Posts: 12
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    Thanks for the advice. My husband does help out alot wjen he is not working, he works a full time job that he has to travel for and is going to school. I like the suggestion of doing 30mins of exercise on my lunch that would help alot thank you
  • bjmk19047
    bjmk19047 Posts: 123
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    In the mornings before work and on lunch break are the best times for me. If I try to walk at night the kids want to go too, which is fine, but I power walk and they can't keep up. They aren't much interested in doing my videos with me but they will interrupt like kids do while I am trying to do them, so I try to keep from doing it at night! LOL.
  • lrobannon
    lrobannon Posts: 12
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    THanks Queenofcaffine, I didn't think of it like that.
  • lrobannon
    lrobannon Posts: 12
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    THanks bjmk19047, my 6 yr old tries to do zumba with me and he is bumping into to me, and laughing. These moments are priceless, but thanks so much for your help and advice:laugh:
  • downtome
    downtome Posts: 529 Member
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    Good Morning! I'm not sure if it's something you could do but I like to walk my daughter to & from school at least 4 days a week. It's a way of slipping in exercise without actually thinking about it. There are also a lot of other ways to get exercise when you don't realize you're doing it. For instance, when you do laundry, throw the dirty clothes on the floor. Now, pick up one item at a time...bend at the waist, twist to drop it in the washer, repeat. You would be amazed at the amount of exercise you're getting! Buy an exercise ball (one of the big one's you sit on). Sit on that when you're watching TV or sitting at your desk. It doesn't sound like much but you would be amazed at the amount of workout you're getting in your abs & back! Hope these suggestions help. Good luck :-)
    These are some great ideals, Thanks! My son had a school function going on a few weeks back, he wanted to hang out with his friends but I didn't want to just leave him at the school alone, he is 9. I had my ipod and used that time to take a brisk walk around the school grounds for 30 minutes while he hung out. We both benefited since I really didn't want to go in the first place. You can always find time to exercise, it's just a matter of mind over matter. I don't always feel like doing it, but I force myself to because I know it will help me in the long run. I agree with the other posters on getting up a half an hour ealier in the morning before anyone else, I know it can be hard as you want to sleep longer but just think how good you will feel when you are done and all the energy you will have! I exercise at night, sometimes as late as 11;30 pm, but I don't work either. just have to get the kids up and ready for school, then I go back to sleep after they leave. You just have to take the time you need, be selfish, it's important to you and for your health. Once you get into a routine, your family will become used to it and it won't be such a big deal, most importantly, you will become used it to and be much happier with you time! Good luck!
  • warriorprincessdi
    warriorprincessdi Posts: 617 Member
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    I eat at my desk at work, and try to get to the gym or go for a walk on my lunch break. It's all about making yourself find the time. :) You could even look up some easier exercises you can do while doing other things; think squats while brushing teeth, do a lunge in between each article of clothes you fold while doing laundry... take the stairs more often, park further away from the entrance of the mall/grocery store.... If you can't free up a bigger chunk of time, make use of those small little moments here and there. :)
  • wiggleroom
    wiggleroom Posts: 322 Member
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    I'm going to join the chorus and suggest mornings. Besides the fact that it makes it extremely hard to skip it, it increases your metabolism for the whole day, and it gets you in the right mindset for eating better, too. I find that I'm more prone to snack and lose track of things when I skip my workout.

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