How to get exercise into busy schedule.

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  • RockstarWilson
    RockstarWilson Posts: 836 Member
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    brightsideofpink wrote: »
    Crockpot meals or sandwiches 3 days a week will make more time for you.

    My mom had 5 more mouths to feed. Although she didn't work out, she didn't want to slave away in the kitchen every night. So, sometimes she made stew, or lasagna, or something that would only need to be reheated to eat again. Saved a bunch of time for her. Also, sometimes she would give a free night: anything is game if you make it yourself. You can do something like that!
  • Jennloella
    Jennloella Posts: 2,287 Member
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    you have to schedule it in like you schedule work and school. If you just accept things as they are nothing will change. You need to go to bed earlier, and get up earlier. I get up at 430 to work out. I have four kids (12, 9, 2, 1), a job, and school. my older boys are in different sports after school. Everything is on me since my husband works 70 hour work weeks.
  • RockstarWilson
    RockstarWilson Posts: 836 Member
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    It is also worth mentioning that some bigger clubs have babysitting available. That might be worth looking into.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
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    Do it right when you get home, before you prepare dinner, you've got a bit of time there before you put your feet up for a bit. You're in active mode anyway, bc of making dinner, might feel good to move after the kind of work you do.

    I would do a 30 minute DVD (like Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred) and cut some time out of cooking, either by doing fast meals like stir frys or other things that can be done in 15-30 minutes (that would be my preference), or by batch cooking on Sunday.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    The (5am or 9pm) workouts should give you more energy to fuel more workouts. That's what exercising does for me!

    Mind you, you're already doing 10,000 steps a day, so it's not like you need more exercise per se. You're already on your feet all day, so there's that to consider.

    I'm concerned that you haven't seen a doctor about your swollen ankles. This is a big risk to your health, and you may need medication. Ignore this if you've been assessed. But if you're seeing a doctor, get your sleeping checked out.

    I just want to reassure you that you're already doing enough walking, and while you may need to use more energy to sleep better, the main factor in losing weight is controlling your calories ingested to be less than your calories expended.
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    atypicalsmith wrote: »
    Orphia wrote: »
    If it only takes you less than 15 minutes to drive to work, you probably have time to walk to and from work.

    Even at only 20 mph, which is a very low estimate, this is about four miles which would take over an hour. And who would want to work with a hot sweaty person who just walked over an hour to get to work? It takes me 15 minutes to get to one of my client's office ten miles away. That would be 2-1/2 hours of walking for me, and on the highway, where I'm not allowed. Really!

    Calm down, I was factoring in parking and congestion time.

    It takes me 10 minutes to walk to work, but it can take 10 minutes to drive that far.
  • anechka1981
    anechka1981 Posts: 17 Member
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    I get up at 5.30am, work out till 6.30 am, leave the house by 7.20 am to be at work by 9am. But I don't have a kid. However, I go to bed like you do, around 22.00pm, and fell asleep within 30 min - 40 min. You can get up at 6 am, work out at 7am. Wake up the kid at 7am and carry on with the day. The only problem is to make yourself o fell asleep by 23.00pm latest. Try some sleeping medicine. Whenever I'm out of my routine I like to take zzzquil (half dose). It helps me to fell sleep in right time. Morning exercises are so much better, by 7 am you already feel yourself full of energy. In the evening is twice harder.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Miaslifejourney wrote: »
    Hello everybody. I have a problem and am hoping I could get some tips/advice. I'm trying to figure out a way to work around my schedule while trying to lose weight. My spouse and I have erratic schedules, my daughter starts school soon, and I am the only one that drives.

    (when school starts, most days are something like this)
    Get up at 7
    Get my daughter ready for school, leave the house a quarter till 8.
    Come back home, get myself ready for work as well as my spouse, leave the house a quarter till 9.
    Most days I work 9-6 and my partner will work 11-8.
    She goes in with me and takes the free-time to work on school work
    When I get off, I come home and get dinner on the table.
    Afterwards, I sit until it is time to leave a quarter till.
    When we get back home, it is my daughters bedtime we will do the bedtime routine.
    By 9 o clock, my spouse and I are in bed relaxing for the day until we are tired.
    She falls asleep sometime between 9 and 10, never fails, but I tend to stay up until midnight to 2. It's hard for me to fall asleep.

    So, how do I work in exercise. I usually get about 10k steps a day or more at work alone and by the time I get home, all I want to do is. Standing on my feet nearly 9 hours straight is hard on my knees and ankles, especially with all of this extra weight. It is down right painful. I want to exercise, walking is great way to get the blood pumping, but it is hard to be motivated to do it when you are in so much pain. I've tried the morning exercise idea, but I have never been a morning person. It is hard enough for me to get up at 7, let alone any earlier. My brain doesn't shut off until close to 2 o clock. I have been this way for as long as I can remember, and as much as I try, it just won't change.

    So please, any advice would be wonderful!

    Ok so you're in bed at 9pm and won't sleep until midnight, that's 3 hours, you could fit a 30 minutes workout in there. Or get up at 6.30am and do a workout then.

  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Miaslifejourney wrote: »
    I truly want to lose weight and I fully understand that excuses are only hurting myself. But I also understand that when my body is telling me it is in serious pain, I need to listen to it. I never thought about sitting to workout. It just seems odd. I'll give that a try as well, it is definitely better than nothing.

    15-30 minutes of exercise sounds so much less intimidating than the hour/s I was thinking I needed to do.

    You can lose weight without doing any exercise at all. Just stick to your calorie goal MFP gave you.

    I did the chair based workouts for a time due to foot pain. It is better than doing nothing.
    https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-3ha1N51FWOHt_G7xKX_Eq_94_NFsVk1
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=OA55eMyB8S0&list=PLySdLXx0-oyvf5635ap84FstzlvSCIgn2&index=13
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=1xC9khisFPA&list=PLySdLXx0-oyvf5635ap84FstzlvSCIgn2&index=18

  • twinjamom6
    twinjamom6 Posts: 301 Member
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    My day starts at 330 am. I have 3 kids under 2 and 3 older kids as well. My husband is up and out the door by 530 and I have to get kids ready for the bus by 7. I don't like getting up so early, but if I don't do my workout before everyone gets up and the day is in full swing, I can bet on never getting it in. I decided that if I wa going to commit to getting my body back, I had to make the time. I might lose an hour of sleep, and there's days where I'd rather stay in bed, but results don't happen not doing it.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,982 Member
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    Miaslifejourney wrote: »
    ...My job requires me to stand in one spot for the majority of the day, we aren't allowed to have any mats. We used to have them, but we were told they were not allowed anymore. My work area is concrete floors. No tile or cushion whatsoever. I know the knee pain is from my excess weight. Everyday, by the time I get home, my ankles are swollen to the size of grapefruits. I have never had this problem before. I know it is due to my weight though, this is one of the many reasons why I want to lose weight.

    I strongly suggest you see a doctor and have him/her write you a note that you have a health condition that requires you to stand on a mat. Over the years, I've had doctors write me notes for a variety of things, always with success.

    Your company probably has some silly, and not legitimate, excuse that the mats are a hazard which I doubt is true as the industrial mats are designed for workplace situations.

    Meanwhile, what kind of shoes are you wearing?
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    edited August 2015
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    mats are tripping hazard-so I've been told. that's probably the lousy excuse they are using

    do legs up the wall to help with swelling. five min or more should help
    201112-orig-legs-up-the-wall-284x426.jpg
    DSCN8195-Viparita-Karani-Legs-Up-the-Wall.jpg


    I might suggest a sleep study. it might help. It sort of sounds like sleep apnea.
    also, realize that there is a difference between issues falling asleep and staying asleep. meditation can help with both, or body scan and inventory thoughts of the day. which could be done while you do legs up the wall
  • spatulamom
    spatulamom Posts: 158 Member
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    I have always had problems falling asleep, too - it's only in the last few months that I'm starting to get on a normal rhythm with sleep and am able to fall asleep a few minutes after going to bed. I do think part of that is due to more exercise and activity, but I've also started putting my electronics away 30 minutes before bed (I think they recommend an hour, but I read on my iPad). That definitely helps.

    Does your daughter do any activities? My son just started football practice every night so I literally have two hours while I'm at the field every night (he's only 8 and doesn't feel comfortable with a drop-off). I'm taking my running shoes and am doing the C25K program on the track during practice (I also feel less guilty about parking it in my folding chair afterwards and binging Netflix for the next hour). Can you do something while waiting for your spouse to get off of work?

    I have a weird schedule with my husband's work, too, so trying to make it to the gym in a conventional way only happens on the weekends. There are ways to make it work, though.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    Miaslifejourney wrote: »
    ...My job requires me to stand in one spot for the majority of the day, we aren't allowed to have any mats. We used to have them, but we were told they were not allowed anymore. My work area is concrete floors. No tile or cushion whatsoever. I know the knee pain is from my excess weight. Everyday, by the time I get home, my ankles are swollen to the size of grapefruits. I have never had this problem before. I know it is due to my weight though, this is one of the many reasons why I want to lose weight.

    I strongly suggest you see a doctor and have him/her write you a note that you have a health condition that requires you to stand on a mat. Over the years, I've had doctors write me notes for a variety of things, always with success.

    Your company probably has some silly, and not legitimate, excuse that the mats are a hazard which I doubt is true as the industrial mats are designed for workplace situations.

    Meanwhile, what kind of shoes are you wearing?

    I'd be interested to hear the reasoning behind taking the mat(s) away.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    Get some free weights and do the 15 minute Leslie sansone thing some days, lift the weights/do planks/squats/pushups for 15 min on other days, do longer workouts on your days off work?
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Miaslifejourney wrote: »
    With my history, my sleeping habits have been rather erratic. It feels like, no matter how much sleep I get, I am always exhausted.

    Have you seen a doctor? Insomnia is one thing, but if you feel exhausted even if you get a lot of sleep, you might be suffering from anemia or some other condition that can be treated.

    I also find that a sleep mask sometimes helps me fall asleep. I have a Tempur-Pedic one that fits snugly around the edges but doesn't press on my eyes. It creates total darkness.
  • rawl58
    rawl58 Posts: 8 Member
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    You stated that you are always tired - whether you sleep 5 hours or 10. As previously mentioned, please consider a sleep study. You might have sleep apnea in addition to your insomnia. I do, and folks that are overweight are more likely to suffer with it. My treatment includes a cpap machine, and I was able to see improvement in daytime sleepiness within a week. In my case, I usually went to sleep OK, but couldn't sleep through the night. Five hours would be a good night. Better sleep has allowed me to also exercise before work. It seems like there's always other stuff going on in the evening which prevents me from after work activity.
  • JillianRN527
    JillianRN527 Posts: 109 Member
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    Get up early and work out. I'm up at 4:30am for work so I can be there by 6am which means I work out at night when I get home at 9pm when the baby is asleep. Do what you can.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,598 Member
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    Those knee exercises are awesome. I had an orthopedic surgeon give me the same set. It made a big difference.

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