Parents! How do you stay fit (and sane)?!

I go to the gym during my lunch break while I'm at work. Luckily we have a gym on campus (university). If I didn't have this luxury, I would most likely still be fat.

How old do they have to be before you can send them off to work?

My kids are older now, and can do lots of things with us (10 & 16), but we have used many many strategies over the years. It’s helpful not to be too rigid and to incorporate the kids wherever possible. So we carried them in slings and in carriers on hikes (and everywhere really) from infancy to preschool, made use of gym day cares, bike commuted with them, took turns with solo exercise time and watching kids, woke up super early for runs, joined gyms near work to exercise over lunch, walked, ice skated, played tennis, and ran with colleagues over lunch, got a trampoline to jump on, trained with the kids for a 5K (from age 7+, now we run a couple of 5Ks together each year), went from bike child seat to trailer to trail-a-bike, did exercise videos in the house, did yoga videos with kids, got a pull up bar at home, ran laps during their activities, etc. That kind of thing! Incorporating them has paid off as we spend a lot of time together biking, snowboarding, skiing, paddle boarding, going to the gym, etc.

Oh, and give them responsibility for some chores early so you can all have more time for fun together.

I realize some gyms do not allow this, but my gym has a little play area for children. So we take my 3 year old stepdaughter with us all the time. She follows me around a bit if she's not playing, and tries to copy what I'm doing (crunches, for example, or planks) but otherwise she colors or plays with her toys in the kids' area. If she's particularly antsy, I let her play on my phone to keep her occupied (so I know she's safe and not trying to get into things, though I still keep a close eye on her.)
When I'm done with my workout, she LOVES to walk on the treadmill in front of me for a bit. We set it SUPER slow and I stand behind her with my feet on the sides, ready to grab her if she trips. Or, if we're still waiting for my hubby to finish his workout, I will take her into an empty yoga room and we'll chase each other around or play with the yoga balls.
The gym is one of her favorite places to go. I absolutely love that we have a small town gym that allows this because it makes me so happy that we can instill healthy habits while she's so young and open to them.

We have 4. I usually wake up at 5am to workout before they are up.

If i sleep in i may split my cardio and weights to morning and night.

Some days it just doesn't happen but thats okay.

I have 4 kids 7,5,2, and 3 months. It’s a balance but I get up at 530 and hit the gym 2-3 weekdays before Hubby leaves for work.
He goes 2 nights a week after dinner, homework, showers, baths etc.

We both try and get one weekend day in.

Life with little kids is nuts. It’s day by day.

My gym time is a huge priority to me and my husband knows it makes me a happier mom and wife. We make it work because it’s what makes us sane and happy

I have 12 year old twin girls - I was able to get most of the pregnancy weight off in the first 3-4 years using an elliptical at home that I used when ever I got a spare 30 minutes, followed by some free weight exercises and crunches for about 15 minutes. Often in the 45 minutes after putting the kids to bed, and then back to work in the evening prepping for the next day.

I have had a more demanding period in my job over the last 6 years and basically did not make time for exercise due to demands at work and home (basically I put me last, which in retrospect was clearly wrong). In the mean time I put all the weight back on and then another 10 pounds, so that this January was the heaviest that I had ever been (into obese II), with high cholesterol and being pre-diabetes. That was a wakeup call! I had more flexibility in my schedule this semester/summer so I am using this time to put in extra time at the gym combined with counting calories to get as many pounds off before the fall semester hits. (almost 30 pounds so far and back to what I payed in 2013). There is no free lunch so the time has to come from some other place.

I have someone who comes in and cleans once a week; she also makes the kids beds, washes their sheets and folds their clothes. Now that the girls are older they separate out the lights and darks and are responsible for putting the clothes a way - as they get older they can help out more.

I have a supportive partner, who does things with the girls on Sat/Sun for enough time so that I can go the gym. He also takes them to the tutor Tues/Thur afternoons so that I can make some classes at the gym. They are also more independent now which helps a lot! Hopefully you do not have to wait until your kids are tweens to get in shape!

Now that the girls are older it is easier to plan meals that work for me and everyone else. I count calories using MFP. I have macros that are close to 40 Carb-30 Protein - 30 Fat, so I cut carbs for me, but otherwise we all eat the same foods; my pasta servings now look like theirs :-) I find that having enough protein/fat I am not hungry with the slight reduction in calories (more than half the deficit is exercise), but realize that not one plan works for all. This time around I did go to a nutritionist (my insurance covered it) and had my BMR tested. I started off not eating enough calories, but with the testing of BMR I am now eating more and still losing weight at a reasonable weight (1-2 pounds per week, which may slow down now that I am in the overweight rather than obese category). I am under 5 feet, so being at a very low percentile for height, wanted to have a more accurate estimate of BMR to determine calories that I needed for maintenance/deficit as I there was a huge difference in what the various calculators predicted. I still go to the nutritionist one a month to tweak things.

I found that a home delivery meal service was a great time savings by eliminating shopping in the middle of the week as well as having some of the items pre-cut or mixed, but otherwise is pretty healthy. (it costs more but I have to remember that my time is valuable!). My partner also does a lot of the shopping in the evening, which frees up time that I can exercise.

In addition to tracking calories daily, I weigh daily - by plotting the trends I can see that my weight loss trajectory is not linear, which helps to deal with the periodic ups & plateaus, as well as celebrate the "whooshes" of big drops when they come! During my 6 year period of weight gain I basically ignored the scale; in retrospect I think if had had been weighing regularly I might have taken more action earlier, but who knows!

I try to make sure I have some intense cardio to help burn calories.
I still have an elliptical at home, which I find boring, but now that I am going to the gym, I find that I use it more. Ironic that i need to pay money to someplace else to use what I already have for free, but I like the social aspect of going to classes at the gym :-) I found an app that has recorded routines at different levels with music, so that helps to mix up the routine and allows me to fit in 30 minutes here and there at home, as well as pushes me to do more intensive workouts. I can also use it at the gym with the spin machines when I miss classes. Perhaps you can find a gently used stationary bike or elliptical to use at home so that you can get in some cardio intensive workouts when you have a spare 30 minutes? (I know - what spare time :-) [running is out for me, but that might be a good option]

I do find for me that throwing in free weights/core body routines really helps! I might still weigh more but I have better muscle definition/toning and clothes fit better. You may be able to pick up used free weights in a range for toning at home; or resistance bands. There are also a lot of great apps that can help with suggesting exercises - some are quite short and might be easy to fit in - I have a 9 minute "Ab Assassin" routine that I go back to all the time on my phone. It may be worth to splurge for a personal trainer to work on strength training routines and proper form at the beginning if that is new to you.

Not sure if that helps, but best of luck on your journey!

Stationary bike in the bedroom, walks or runs in my lunch break (eat while I work), run home, free weights at home in the evening when they're in bed. Family walks with a backpack sling. And the acceptance that my house is a tip on exercise days, tidier on rest days. The in my thing I need to arrange dedicated time for is a long run on the weekend that I try to time with toddlers nap.