Working Moms - How do you do it?

Lots of good advice here. If the gym is too much right now cancel it, or accept you are not going for now. Try and get out for some walks with the little on at the weekend.
Food wise, keep it simple. Nothing wrong with microwaved jacket potato, chicken and frozen veg. When we got our daughter I lived for weeks on pasta sauce ( home made in large batches and frozen) and roasted or stir fried veggies and jacked potato or mash (sometimes instant). Think of things you can make that will do for 2 night. Slow cookers are fab. It might not always be the most exciting fare but it's nutritious and minimum prep. It feels like hard work to do the prep but believe me it's worth it. I know I feel much better than I did when I had my son and I think I survived on oven chips and pizza.

My youngest son is a year old, and I am just now feeling like I have it together enough to work on my weight loss. Hang in there.

I have found that my eating routine is boring, and I like it that way. I found frozen breakfast sandwiches that are 150 calories each, and take one minute to warm in the microwave. Some days, I nuke them on my way out the door and eat in my car. I also eat boring stuff for lunch. I eat tons of turkey sandwiches and pretzels or baked chips. I also eat a lot of frozen meals. I know the frozen meals aren't ideal because of their high sodium content, but they will get me through the evening if I don't feel like cooking. You will find something that works for you if you stick with it.

Take it easy on yourself, and enjoy your baby. Being a mom is hard. She will be a teenager before you know it

Cut yourself some slack.

You are a superhero. Superwoman. Superworker. Supermom. Superwife.

Moms can basically add super in front of everything they do.

Don't cut your already too small sleep time to exercise. Watch the calories you eat and stay at a deficit. The exercise is nice for toning, but honestly you will lose just fine without it. I am doing just that. Now I am kind of squishy and the skin is a little loose, but holy heck who cares? When that baby of yours grows and gets a bit more crawly toddling around you will get the best arm and leg workouts EVER. YOU WON'T NEED THE GYM but you will always be on the move with the little one. And that will happen soon soon soon as they get into things constantly. And playtime. And ball time. Even with tummy time you could with baby and sneak in some crunches and supermans. Workout? Moms have a built in personal trainer

Please be kind to yourself. We tend to want everything all at once, and it just isn't humanly possible to have it all. The activity will come with that little one The weight loss can happen with healthy eating and calorie counting. OF COURSE you are exhausted with all you can do. Ask for help when you need it. Do you have a friend or coworker that could come over once a week and give you an afternoon or evening off? Time for you to....I have no idea. Get a manicure, take a bath, scrub the floors, whatever is on your list that drives you bananas you can't get to? I know it sounds silly...but there are lots of us that don't have children that would love to be helpful. Even if they did something like bring dinner over? Or came over for coffee or wine and just helped you by holding your precious little one?

I tend to double all my recipes and freeze half. That way there is always a full meal in the freezer. I can pull it out, put it on the counter or in the fridge, and it will be ready the next day. I also love the crockpot. I prep everything the night before, and in the morning can put in on low and plug it in. By dinner time I have a huge batch of whatever I made. I take half and freeze it. I make my oatmeal in the crockpot overnight and do the week's worth. Seriously my mom got me a crockpot when I was 20 and everyone made fun of me. At 25 I was a crockpot junkie. At 27 my roommates loved me because dinner was ready right after work and enough tasty healthy food for an army! At 33 with chronic illness it is a godsend because I can't physically stand and cook all too much.

The stuff that isn't frozen goes into tupperware in individual servings. So I know how many calories plus I can just grab it. I forget the user's name, but there is a mom on the forums that preps the most fantastic freezer meals...and I think she does a whole month at a time. I know she does at least a week. She puts my freezer game to shame. And her stuff is healthy and REALLY tasty. Take a look and see if you can find her or freezer meal ideas. She has lots of premade stuff ready to grab and go...and it is borderline gourmet and super easy to do. Sorry I don't remember the user.

Another thought if you really are dragging and not making it through the day and super stressed etc etc would be to go to the doctor to get checked out. Your body has (obviously) gone through so many changes and there are many things physically that could be happening to cause the fatigue. Supermoms need to take care of themselves so they are there to do the gazillion supermom things no other mere human could do!

And, although it is none of my business, but I was raised in a house where the person who did the cooking does NOT do the cleanup. Maybe hubby can help with the dishes if you do the dinner? Baby can sit in the kitchen while dishes are being washed just fine.....my two cents but you sound like you could benefit from a little more help

I'm not great in a morning so get as much ready possible to get an extra 10 mins in bed. Pack ups are all made the night before. On days when I am working a long day (some days we have 50 mins in the house before I take son out for his activity) the slow cooking meal is ready to go, just needs turning on. The cafetiere is clean and ready to go, breakfast bowls out ready. I know I need to eat my breakfast however rushed because I'll feel rubbish later. I have weetabix, so it's very simple, and I always have a cereal bar in my bag just in case I miss out. The other thing I know I used to do was not drinking enough, and that made me feel very sluggish, so try and make sure you are hydrated.
Be gentle with yourself - you are doing an amazing job!

I am not a mother so I cant say I know how you feel. But it seems like the only solution is to make time in the evening by cutting down time spent on making dinner. Make freezer meals, look into a crockpot or something similar.. Anything that will cut down on time spent cooking each day. Also maybe start using plastic plates and utensils so that there is no need for doing dishes.
Or maybe you are able to join a gym on your lunch break ?

Honestly, I cook Crockpot dinners 90% of the time. I'm a single mom, I work two jobs for a combined total of 60 hours a week, and I'm taking social work classes. The only way I get a decent dinner on the table is to a) plan exactly what I want to make for the week/month, b) shop accordingly, and c) throw a meal in the Crockpot every other morning.

I make about seven different recipes through an average month and we cycle through them slowly. My routine is something like Crockpot Monday morning for dinner that night, leftovers Tuesday night and freeze the remainder, Crockpot again Wednesday morning, leftovers and freezing on Thursday, cook something on the actual stove on Friday night, use up frozen leftovers on the weekend, repeat. It means I'm spending minimal time cooking, we get a wide variety of healthy meals as we cycle through the month, and I don't have to worry or exhaust myself over the stove at 9PM.

My kid is older than yours so that makes it easier probably (also, my husband works a late shift, so I don't have to worry about getting dinner on the table for him - or vice versa, as the case may be). We usually have activities going on, so I'm trying freezer meals this year (my SIL sells Wildtree, so we've done that for the first time). It usually takes me between 20 and 30 minutes to get a meal on the table. I put all of the recipes into the recipe builder when we had the workshop, so I already have the calorie counts. There are plenty of freezer meal tutorials on the web, and a few hours on Sunday will get you prepped for awhile.

If you have your own office, you can run in place for exercise. I try to get at least 5000 steps at the office and it's been a big help since I have a hard time getting to the gym.

I remember those early hectic days. They're tough, but once you find a way to work everything in, it'll get easier!