Tired and needs motivation!!

natabugg
natabugg Posts: 43
edited September 18 in Motivation and Support
With two children at home and constantly trying to get things done around the house I'm pretty well spent by the end of the day. Then to top it all off I'm still waking up in the middle of the night to feed my 4 month old from her bottle. I'm just tired during the day and was wondering if anyone has any good ideas to get myself through the day and still have the motivation to work out.

Any good ideas??

Replies

  • natabugg
    natabugg Posts: 43
    With two children at home and constantly trying to get things done around the house I'm pretty well spent by the end of the day. Then to top it all off I'm still waking up in the middle of the night to feed my 4 month old from her bottle. I'm just tired during the day and was wondering if anyone has any good ideas to get myself through the day and still have the motivation to work out.

    Any good ideas??
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
    You're taking a multivitamin?

    and, you might be hungry.

    Be very careful with how low you've taken your calories. My advice is to buy an inexpensive step-counter and see how much you're moving in a day. (I thought I was sedentary, but discovered that pre-workout I walked about 7 miles a day!) Then, adjust your calories according to that activity level. You said bottle, but if you're breastfeeding or pumping, that's an additional 400-600 calories a day you need right there. For quite some time, I was wondering "why am I so tired?" and it turns out, I was hungry! It seems counterintuitive, but you may need to be eating more. I upped my calories by 500 a day, and I'm losing weight (oz, but I'm very close to goal weight and I'm weight training.)

    http://www.dietitian.com/calcbody.php
    Here's a good calories-per-day calculator that takes a lot of factors into consideration.

    And, maybe you have a friend you could trade small babysitting time with? Then you could have an hour to work out? It's certainly a luxury you deserve.:flowerforyou:
  • blessedmamma
    blessedmamma Posts: 55
    You're at a tough point in life right now. I have 4 children - been there 4 times. You may have to sit and schedule your day with pen and paper. Just find 30 min/day to get your work-out in. If you have to split it into 15 min. segments, do so. Unless you need the extra motivation of a gym, working out at home is best for a tight schedule.

    Dad's help is vital. Hopefully he's motivated to help you get back to the weight that made him make you gain it in the first place!:wink: If he can take care of baby, while you workout, or help out with children or chores in the evenings, things will go a bit smoother. If he's not onboard, you'll adjust. We're women. That's what we do!

    Be sure to watch the quality of your caloric intake. Just because it says "diet" or "organic" doesn't make it healthy. Fruits, veggies, water, milk. Oh, and grains. I don't rate them as highly as the ADA does. The ADA doesn't have to carry my saddle bags for me!

    I just read your post about lack of motivation. The gym was the key for me! With all the tv's and people walking around, and guy grunting on the free weights, I was too distracted to focus on what I was doing. That was the only way I could do it. Now, when I get on the treadmill, I turn my tv on, AND use my mp3 player. I have to have at least 2 things going on. It works wonders! A personal trainer is another suggestion. If that's not in the budget, just an accountability partner. I told you - I've been there. Sometimes our fatigue is physical, and sometimes it's emotional. sometimes you have to push through, and just do what you need to do. We're women. That's what we do!

    There are lots of gyms opening up in my area. They start at $9/mo. That would be great for a budget that just got a new little person added to it.

    Remember: you need to do this for you. It's not good for anyone that you carry around extra weight. Losing that alone, will give you extra energy!

    You could start your day when the baby wakes you up. Feed her put her down, and hit it. That's what worked for me after my first. I didn't have to worry about her hearing me and waking up. You'd have to go to bed earleir to adjust for this, however. You could also workout at night when everyone has gone to bed.

    It's a tough time. I remember it. I'd love to have another child and be thrust back into it one day! Enjoy this time in life. It won't last long! This too shall pass!
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