Homeschool Mom of 3 need encouragment

Hey Melissa. It can't be easy for you to make time for yourself with 3 little ones to take care of all day! You can make a positive difference for yourself with the steps that you have taken so far! Monitoring your diet and exercise on here has been a great tool for me and I am sure that you will start to see the rewards of your hard work soon. Don't beat yourself up about what you can't do, but congratulate yourself on what you are doing. Good luck, and I will be here on MFP to support you! x

Hi Melissa! uo can do it! I just started with this a few days ago. I love the website. I haven't lost but .2 pounds, but at least I know how much I am eating now with the calorie tracker. I always thought i didn't eat enough, but when you start counting calories, you know that if you are not doing exercise, like in my case, I sit down all day at a computer and do very little walking, then I have to watch how many calories I put in my body, or else I am just going to keep on gaining weight. I am getting married this year, and I want to loose all that weight by then. I have a year to do it! I won't give up.

You can do this...especially at home!!! I work out at home often and in the mornings early. That might not be an option for you but making sure you take YOU time every day is really important. Remember that if you "make no changes, no changes happen". And even if you only get to do 30 minutes a day then give yourself a pat on the back, its more than nothing at all. One thing I do a lot because of time is short timer drills, or its also known as tabata workouts. Either get a timer or watch the clock (your daughter might be able to help with this! : ) You do something as hard and/or fast as you can for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds and repeat. Do it 8 rounds. Pick another exercise and do another 8 rounds. Its fast and you will be sweating! Things like jumping jacks, squat jumps, squats, run in place fast, skip in place, jump rope. Even doing your weights on timer drills is a good burning technique. Incorporating cardio with weights is a great metabolism burner!! YOU CAN DO THIS GIRL!!!! Good Luck : )

Please add I would love to help with encouragment.

Hello everyone,

My name is Melissa. I have 3 beautiful kids ages 8,6, and 20 months. I homeschool so they are with me all day. It's hard to find time to workout. Yesterday I worked out during my little ones nap and that worked out great. My oldest daughter really helped me. I don't think I could have finished without her encouragment. Going to the gym is not an option because we are low on money. I have a Jilian dvd I'm working out with. I also have a few weights and a treadmill. Looking for some encouragment to keep going.

Blessings,
Melissa

You have all the time you need.
You can take 2 minutes out of every hour and do one set of calisthenics. Every day that's a full body workout.
And every day you can take 30 minutes to dance - even including it as part of your homeschooling, encouraging your kids to get moving - cal it Physical Education.

You can do this, and for FREE!
Good luck!

Homeschool, I hope you make them exercise too. You all can do it. Tell them its a new class and they have to do it! LOL!

I am a stay at home mom of 3 too ... and I have a daycare in my home as well .... so really hard to find time for traditional workouts.
I do 15 mins in the morning before I get my kids up sometimes Wii fit , sometimes a routine that I got online just something quiet and about 10 mins to get my heart rate up to start the day right.
I dance like a nut for 10 mins with them during our "circle time" or as we call it "crazy dance party time !" (I close the blinds for that part (lol)
I don't sit down when I take them outside ... I play soccer, or hockey with them (were form Canada eh) and really try to put myself in the moment, be the active Mom they deserve.
And my husband does the bath time etc for me while I do a focused video in the evening.
So every moment helps !!
And that makes an hour a day

Not many of us have time ... we just gotta beg, borrow, and steal it
Daily yoga with the kids too is a great way to get fit with your little ones ! Kids love working out more then we do lol ... let them be your personal trainers hehe

I am too a mother of 3 (9, 8 and 15 mths) but I do not homeschool - I work full time and go to school full time. It is EXTREMELY hard to find time to exercise, although I love it. I have found that the kids LOVE to do it with me - plus its a great benefit to them as well! The baby loves going out in his stroller for walks and the older two enjoy walking too. My husband and I did the Insanity program after the baby went to bed and the older 2 enjoyed that too - of course, they just thought it was "fun" and we were DYING!!! Anyway, I would suggest a group effort - like a PE class together. I know here (I live outside of Houston, TX), the local YMCA's have homeschool fitness programs - and I thought that you didn't have to pay - but I could be wrong. Good luck to you!!! And remember even several 10 minute sessions are better than nothing!!

Hey, Melissa. I'm Jen, and I homeschool my 11-yo and disabled 8-yo; I also work from home. So I hear ya! Here's what has worked for me -- maybe there's something here you could try:

I started exercising regularly when my husband bought a Wii Fit. It's not a very intense workout, but for someone who isn't working out regularly, it's a great place to start. I would do a Wii Fit workout after my kids were in bed each night; I liked the step aerobics and running that could be done while watching some TV.

My family bought me a bike for my birthday. I hadn't asked for it and thought, "now when would I ride a bike?" but my disabled daughter got an adaptive trike (AmTryke) about a year ago, and over the summer she and my older daughter and I actually did a lot of bike riding when the weather was nice. Does your oldest child have a bike? If you get one, too, you could go on rides with her. My 11-yo thinks it's great "mom time" when she and I go for a ride together after supper. There are bike trailers available that the little ones could ride in. It's an investment and also a fair-weather sport, but it's fun.

I took up coaching my 11-yo's basketball team. Turns out I love coaching, and once a week it burns some calories for me (at practices, where I run around a lot with the girls. I also probably burn some calories at the games, just because I really get into them. If I had known I would love coaching this much, I would have started doing it sooner!)

My husband bought an XBox Kinect. *sigh* not my idea to spend that money when we already have a Wii, but the Kinect workouts are better workouts than the Wii workouts, AND my older daughter does them with me (younger daughter can't because of her disability).

I went to a local gym recently and asked about taking a Zumba class while my older daughter was at one of her activities (horseback riding) nearby. Turns out that if you just want to take the fitness classes, it's only $25 a month for an individual membership or you can pay as you go, $5/session, AND that includes on-site childcare for my younger daughter while I'm in the class. I enjoyed doing Zumba so much, and got so much out of it, that I now try to go twice a week, and when my 11-yo is not riding at the barn, she goes with me and loves it, too. She's supposed to be 12 to go to the fitness classes, but she's five-foot-three, and nobody's ever questioned it that she goes with me.

So, I guess what has worked for me are activities I can do while my kids are in bed; activities they can do with me; or activities that provide childcare, like the gym.

Friend me if you like. I've not been diligent about tracking lately but I am trying to do better and we do have something in common with the homeschooling. Either way I wish you the best in your fitness journey and your homeschool journey!

Oh, I forgot one! Zumba routines are hard for me, but it turns out there are a lot of them on YouTube, and Zumba instructors steal each other's routines a lot, so if you search on YouTube you can find the routines, a lot of the time, and put them on a playlist to do at home. My 11-yo and I practice the routines at home now, streaming YouTube through the XBox to the TV. We're not the worst in the class anymore! And it's free!

My granddaughters 6 & 4 yrs are homeschooled. On the days I have them we go on "nature walks", that way I can exercise and they still get a science lesson. On the cold days we mall walk and call it recess. The point is get in your exercise any way you can. Just moving is a big help. I know how hard it is to balance it all. Good luck:happy:

HI! I homeschool my nine year old. It's tough going with one--can't imagine three. You are my hero. We have been going out everyday and walking our two dogs. The sunshine really lifts my son's attitude.

Is there a significant other that might find be able to give you a half hour of YOU time to work out? My husband is pretty decent about taking my son to the Y on Tuesday and Thursday so I have time to do things for me. It helps.

Oh, I forgot one! Zumba routines are hard for me, but it turns out there are a lot of them on YouTube, and Zumba instructors steal each other's routines a lot, so if you search on YouTube you can find the routines, a lot of the time, and put them on a playlist to do at home. My 11-yo and I practice the routines at home now, streaming YouTube through the XBox to the TV. We're not the worst in the class anymore! And it's free!

Wow, Thanks! Great idea!

If you're interested, this is the playlist I use at home to practice to. All but 2-3 of these are routines we've done at the gym I go to, I just looked them up and found them online.

I *think* the playlist is public: https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PL96F23A8B1125B371

I'm a homeschooling mom of three, but I'm on the opposite end of this road from you - my kids are 24, 17, and 15. I've homeschooled since the eldest was in kindergarten (but he did go to public high school). My girls are doing high school at home - their choice.

I remember those days of having all three little ones with me all the time. It can be challenging. Having them exercise with you is one option. Another option, though, is to exercise without them when your hubby can watch them. As a homeschooling mom, you really need time all to yourself. It helps keep you sane - ask me how I know! I've always been a better mom when I've had a little "me" time. Sometimes it was hard to find the time because of my husband's work schedule, but I have discovered that I really do feel better and have more energy if I get up at 5 (!) and hit the gym at 5:15. I'm a night owl and would have never believed it, but it is true!

I, too, am aging out of my role as homeschool mom--my kids are 19 and 16. I remember how hard it was to find time to myself. My kids did some homeschooling YMCA programs, and I now kick myself for not joining them in the pool, or using their gym time to go on the treadmill. So, fit it in as best you can, since your health affects your energy level. And homeschooling takes a whole lot of energy