Calling All Parents
jasoncrawley__
Posts: 1 Member
I'm conducting a little research into how parents adapt to nutrition and training whilst balancing all other aspects of their life (work, children, activities etc.) I myself have 3 young children aged 3, 1, and 3 months old. I am in full time employment and if I'm honest training at a gym is not always a possibility due to my limited free time. I Improvise and workout at home when needed using various exercises. Nutrition I find is only possible by preparation having meals available when needed is the only way I can keep a balanced diet I wake up at 4.30am everyday to prepare my meals for the day as I'm not very productive come an evening time. What I'm interested to know is how parents find the time in terms of time management and what alternatives they use as well as possible to solutions to common problems we face as parents whilst balancing our own health and fitness. Feel free to add me or ask any questions if needed
Many Thanks
Jason
Many Thanks
Jason
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Replies
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Hi there! I have three children ages 11, 8, and 2. This has proven to be quite a challenge. I've changed my lifestyle long enough now, that the 2 year old knows no difference. He will gladly eat nearly any healthy food I feed him. He also enjoys "essacise" (exercise ) with mommy. He has his own little mat he pulls out, and watching him is entertaining to say the least. The oldest 2, especially the 11 year old, practically refuse any vegetable. This means I end up preparing 2 meals every time I cook. Can I just say that this is a bit of a nightmare! The price alone plus the mess in my kitchen drives me insane. Some days I feel like I need another stove to cook on. I wish I could find a solution to this problem because I find it exhausting.0
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We have two children, aged 5 and 8. They both go to school. I work FT, partner part time. We eat healthy dinners that I either prep the night before, or are easy enough to prepare within an hour (I get home around 5:10, we eat at 6 pm or so. We also make healthy soups on the weekend, which we freeze in quantities that we can warm up for a quick dinner/lunch. I try to make one salad or other veg dish (ratatouille, black bean salad) on weekends for adult lunches. We prepare the kids' lunches during dinner prep time. They often get leftovers from dinner in thermoses, or healthy sandwiches, with a veg and fruit and sometimes a home-made muffin. We want them to grow up with our healthy eating habits.
Exercise: I wake up at 6 to go for a run or walk. I bike to work and back (16 km total), and I go for a brisk walk at lunch. I also go for a walk in the evenings, for about 30 minutes. Partner swims when I get back from my walk/run in the morning, and rollerblades right before I go for my evening walk. We have one date a week, when we cross country ski, skate or cycle, depending on the season. Our kids are also in swim lessons, ski and bike lessons. We try to bike and walk as much as possible instead of taking our car.
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My daughters are 34 and 33, but I remember well the challenge of determining how we would eat. Now that my own daughter has a one-year-old son, our conversations frequently turn to food: how to manage a full-time job, food prep, and the best method of raising a child to not be a picky eater. Neither of my kids were ever picky. They ate what I ate and practically nothing was said about food. I've always done a lot of batch cooking: so I make pork tenderloin, chicken made a dozen different ways, crock pot roasts, pastas, stir fry. We steam and roast lots of veggies. My grandson is offered all of it and my daughter says nothing about what he eats or doesn't eat. She is intentionally disconnecting negative emotion from the eating experience. So far, Carter eats everything. His favorite right now is broccoli, blueberries, and chicken curry.0
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Set aside a time to batch cook 3-4 meals that serve 8-10 portions. Divide into containers/portion. Refrigerate/freeze as applicable/perishable.
Reheat and team up with freshly cooked veg and rices/pastas/potatoes.
You can have a full meal on the table with specific nutrition values within 10-15 from walking in the door for 4-7 days. Carve out a timeslot once a week to do this food prep and get it done religiously. Life changing.0 -
Oh, and enough of that 4:30 food prep! I do an afternoon on the weekend. I put a movie on my laptop in the kitchen or an audiobook, make several recipes, put all the meals in single-serve containers and freeze it. My daughter is now doing that as well using toddler sized containers that will accommodate meat and veggies with rice or whatever.0
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Hello...I've been struggling with time management myself. I give you credit for waking up at 4:30. I usually walk during my lunch break (weather permitting) that is the only time I have to get any sort of exercise in. When I get home I'm to tired to even look at treadmill or go to the gym. I have a 2 year old son.. BTW. Meals are a whole other challenge, I try to eat healthy but we do a lot of frozen foods, ie: pizza, lasagna ect. I see a lot of people who prepare their meals in advance which I'm going to start doing.0
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jasoncrawley__ wrote: »I'm conducting a little research into how parents adapt to nutrition and training whilst balancing all other aspects of their life (work, children, activities etc.) I myself have 3 young children aged 3, 1, and 3 months old. I am in full time employment and if I'm honest training at a gym is not always a possibility due to my limited free time. I Improvise and workout at home when needed using various exercises. Nutrition I find is only possible by preparation having meals available when needed is the only way I can keep a balanced diet I wake up at 4.30am everyday to prepare my meals for the day as I'm not very productive come an evening time. What I'm interested to know is how parents find the time in terms of time management and what alternatives they use as well as possible to solutions to common problems we face as parents whilst balancing our own health and fitness. Feel free to add me or ask any questions if needed
Many Thanks
Jason
Batch cook at weekends
Use a crock-pot
Have go-to meals
Wait a few years and teach them to cook for themselves - my 11 and 14 year old have been responsible for making a meal each for the last 3 years .. the younger one actually makes the best scrambled eggs in the world ever and has been doing so since she was 60 -
Definitely involve the whole family in meal prep. If there is in the picture, he should be doing his share too, both in cooking and housework and in caring for the children so you have time for yourself.0
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I could probably afford to encourage my family to be more healthy (married, have a 3 week old, 2 year old and a 7 year old). At this point, my diet really is about portion control, more than healthy eating (I'll work my way up to that), so their diet has remained largely the same, I just prepare mine separately. I so intend to integrate more vegetables and healthy options in the future, but with a 3 week old at home, summer break happening, and an impending move to another house, it's all I can do to survive the day.
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I pay for things to get done...like laundry and house cleaning...ive accepted its okay to not to it all0
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I have kids 4/6/9. They eat what's served - period. "Take it or leave it" has worked really well in my house. I batch cook, use the crockpot and do use some convenience food items. I work out while they are school and now they go to the gym with me during the summer. Or I go before they wake up. It really comes down to time management. Since making exercise and healthy eating a priority I rarely have time to plunk my butt on the sofa. In the evenings I typically clean house for an hour after they go to bed and then go to bed myself. I too have a cleaning lady 1x/week as there just isn't enough time in the day. Our house is on the market too...so has to be spotless. A miracle feat with 3 kids! As your kids age, it gets easier. You can add me if you want.0
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I have a 5 year & 3 year old boys! I work full time, go to school and I'm a single parent. I recently started getting into fitness and nutrition. I knew it wasn't going to be easy but I was ready for a change. The first couple weeks balancing everything was difficult.
I started a schedule of each day, which made it so much easier. My gym has a child center, which is very helpful and is they reason why I'm able to go. Every Saturday morning after I work out ill go home and prepare all my lunches for the following week and freeze them. I feel doing this right after I work out, I'm motivated to eat right and make better decisions.
You just have to find that balance that works best for your schedule. Trial and error for sure!
Good luck, you got this!0 -
It really is about setting reasonable expectations for what you can do, enlisting the help of others, and managing time well. I raised two daughters mainly by myself and I let a lot of things go in those years. I let go of the guilt too should my mother have ever looked at the state of my house.0
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jasoncrawley__ wrote: »I myself have 3 young children aged 3, 1, and 3 months old.
<---*bowing down to you* I have ONE and it takes so much coordination to maintain an average workout/nutrition routine.
As for me, I was always pretty active before getting pregnant and I did prenatal yoga while pregnant. It's definitely a NEW challenge once the little one is here. I have a 9.5 month old and I'm married. I also have a pretty long commute to work so that cuts out a big chunk of time before and after work to workout. Here's my schedule:
Sunday: Meal prep for me and baby. I make her food for the most part so while she's napping (usually), I get to work in the kitchen with poaching and pureeing her food. I cook and weigh and store my lunch and clean up.
Monday: Wake up at 5 a.m. to run for 20-30 minutes (depending on when I drag myself out of bed). My time is limited due to me having to prep her bottles and lunch for daycare, and making my quick breakfast. I have to complete all of this before my husband leaves at 6 a.m. in order to take over with baby monitor watch.
Tuesday: GLORIOUS TUESDAY! I am so grateful that my employer allows me to telecommute so I telecommute on Tuesdays and get a lot done. I work, do a little house work and at 11 a.m. I drop what I'm doing and I hit the gym. Like you, maintaining a consistent gym schedule is almost impossible with a family but I've found the trick is to go when there is such a small chance of anyone being near you or needing you. lol So I go to the gym when baby is well into her day at daycare and my husband is in the throes of his work day. Anything too close to morning or evening, I'm sure to feel the pressure of watching the clock and staring at my phone, anticipating a call to come home.
Wednesday: Same as Monday.
Thursday: REST DAY!
Friday: Same as Tuesday.
Saturday: Pilates during *gasp* mid-morning. It's the earliest time I could find. This one took some real negotiating, caucusing, debate, and a congressional vote.
We are hoping to have one more next year and I guess we will have to figure it out all over again or maybe, just maybe, it will get easier.0 -
One more thing!
I sometimes run to work! Yes, I pack up my stuff in a hiking pack, strap it on, lace up, and run to work at times. I catch a commuter train so I run from the station to the office. I can go into more detail of how this all works if needed. I only do this when I'm training for a race and I need to get more mileage in than that 20-30 minute window allows.0 -
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Just have to MAKE time... I have a 6yo and a 2yo. I work full-time. Up until 2 months ago, I was also in school full-time for my Bachelor's degree. I have a part-time job. I play on my town's co-ed softball league.
I know what it feels like to have EXTREMELY limited free time...but I just MAKE time for the gym, for my run, or for whatever I need to get done. Normally it's after the kids go to bed, or pretty much whenever I have a spare chunk of time.0
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