People with jobs and/or children...

misskatibear
misskatibear Posts: 158 Member
in Chit-Chat
I SALUTE YOU. Seriously. I really really salute you... If you manage to cope with a job and children WHILST exercising and making healthy food choices. Although extremely eager to get a job, I do worry that my current love and time that my exercise takes up that it may slow down the whole process...but seriously, if you have children and work AND manage to exercise a lot - Give yourself a huge, huge HUGE pat on the back because I cannot even begin to imagine how draining that is. Admire you all.
«13

Replies

  • lori__lynn
    lori__lynn Posts: 59
    Thanks, I have three kids, work full time and I'm a single mom.
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    It's just all about how badly you want it. You want it badly enough, you'll make the time.
  • kimad
    kimad Posts: 3,010 Member
    thank you,
    I am a single mom of 2 kids and work full time, it is doable, you just need to schedule it.
  • Shelbert79
    Shelbert79 Posts: 510 Member
    Thanks, that just made my day! I have 4 little girls, 10, 5, 4 and 1 AND I work 40 hours a week. I can't say that healthy eating is always at the top of my list but I do try to work out at least 5 days a week. I look forward to the day that I can retire...only 6,334 days to go! :laugh:
  • darla100
    darla100 Posts: 134 Member
    Thanks..I have 3 kids that are in sports of their own ..and own my own business..plus my husband works full time..
  • SaundraM2009
    SaundraM2009 Posts: 65 Member
    Thank you. ;-)

    And you can totally do it. I'm a schedule militant out of necessity, and that's the only way to make this + job + children work. My in-laws hate it because we have to leave at a certain time if we visit, but it's what we need to do to get through.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    Haha, thanks :) I started on MFP while working full time which included an hour commute each way as well, having a young son and volunteering 2 nights a week as well. It was crazy, but having the fuller schedule really helped me prioritize things. Now I am unemployed and my son is home for the summer and it is easy to be L-A-Z-Y!
  • angellmoore
    angellmoore Posts: 72 Member
    Thanks, I work full time (12 hour days) and have a teenage daughter. I get up at 4:15 in the morning to get a work out in before work. It's tough most days to get up when I should be sleeping but I truly believe if you want to do something you will find a way so this is my way. :)
  • sds76
    sds76 Posts: 215 Member
    don't work but I do have 5 kids. The eating healthier part is easy because I am doing it for them too. I want them to be healthier. The exercise I do when my youngest is napping and tell the others to go play :). I am worried about when school starts. I homeschool my 3 school aged children and I don't know how I am going to fit the exercise in but I know I have to.....maybe some quiet reading time for them, I don't know yet.
  • dsak
    dsak Posts: 367 Member
    I have two kids and work full time and it can be daunting. But... if you want it bad enough, you make the time. And you learn to involve your family as much as possible with exercising and/or eating healthy. And.... you get up at 4am and workout!!!!
  • BAMFMeredith
    BAMFMeredith Posts: 2,810 Member
    It's just all about how badly you want it. You want it badly enough, you'll make the time.

    That's how I feel. I work full time and have a 5 year old little boy...I just make it a priority and I make it work. I actually have a social life too, imagine that! Plus I'm the queen of extremely fast dinner preparation lol
  • TerraGirl17
    TerraGirl17 Posts: 275 Member
    Thanks, I have three kids, work full time and I'm a single mom.


    I am a newly separated, single mom, I too have 3 kids and work full time, I hope it gets easier cause right now I am exhausted!!
  • myangel05
    myangel05 Posts: 23 Member
    You work hard for the things you want. It is easy to push the exercise off and grab a yucky quick meal but in the end is it worth it?!?!

    I have 2 kids work a full time job and make the time to exercise and cook healthy meals for me and my family!

    It is worth the time and effort although doesnt always feel that way lol
  • rmchapman4
    rmchapman4 Posts: 152 Member
    It's just all about how badly you want it. You want it badly enough, you'll make the time.

    I totally concur. I am a wife, mother of 3, PhD candidate, and I work full-time. I am looking for more friends who are similar.
  • casperuk
    casperuk Posts: 195 Member
    2 kids, 60 hour a week job, no family at all, and their mum has minimal contact

    And I couldnt be happier.

    Thanks but don't need or deserve a salute really. Anyone, I mean ANYONE could and would do the same. You deal with what you are given and if you are given more you deal with that too. People can say they cant cope etc but they can, if they had to, they would cope.

    Thats what I have done. Coped. And like I say, I am happy.
  • Skinny_Jeans_Soon
    Skinny_Jeans_Soon Posts: 326 Member
    I have 4 kids, 2 jobs and recently lost 82 pounds. I think the exercising, meal planning etc took as much or more time then my second job.
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
    :drinker: cheers. 2 little boys and a full time job here!
  • sevsmom
    sevsmom Posts: 1,172 Member
    Thank you! I've got 5 kids (20, 19, 14, 12 & 6) and I work full time. I am blessed with a wonderful husband who does all the cooking!!! (He loves it and he gets home before me!) When he deicided to lose a little weight, he started using the recipe calculator and saw how calorie dense many of his meals were. So, finally, he started to make changes. Made my weight management much easier!! Of course, the booger lost 30 lbs in 4 months.. . .it took me a year. LOL

    But, it really does depend on how much you want to make it work. I salute the single moms out there. You have a heavy burden, to be sure!!
  • scs143
    scs143 Posts: 2,190 Member
    Thanks! It's nice to be reminded of how hard we work!
  • samntha14
    samntha14 Posts: 2,084 Member
    Thank you!! I say the same about full-time homemakers. I'm home with my kids this Summer, and I just don't know how THEY do it all the time. Major kudos to you guys. Everything in life is about managing your priories and making sure nothing, including yourself, falls through the cracks. For years I put myself last, and my health began to seriously suffer. You have to have a will and a way and support system to make it really work. Congrats to everybody making it work!
  • cathiaflock
    cathiaflock Posts: 112 Member
    It's just all about how badly you want it. You want it badly enough, you'll make the time.

    I agree with you; I don't have kids but I'm married and work full time. Next month I'll be taking a few online classes to get closer to my bachelors. It will be demanding and I'll have to figure out a new schedule. But it wouldn't be so rewarding without life's challenges!!! Good Luck to everyone!!
  • dandelion39
    dandelion39 Posts: 514 Member
    For a long time I made excuses, saying I just didn't have any time to exercise. But once it became a priority in my life, I made time. I get up at 5 during the week so I can run or go to the gym before work. It was a challenge at first, but now that I'm used to the routine I love it.
  • samntha14
    samntha14 Posts: 2,084 Member
    don't work but I do have 5 kids. The eating healthier part is easy because I am doing it for them too. I want them to be healthier. The exercise I do when my youngest is napping and tell the others to go play :). I am worried about when school starts. I homeschool my 3 school aged children and I don't know how I am going to fit the exercise in but I know I have to.....maybe some quiet reading time for them, I don't know yet.
    Major kudos to you!! WHy not a phys ed. class where you all workout together?
  • HulaHips83
    HulaHips83 Posts: 129
    Thanks! Full time employee, full time student, and 2 kids. When I use cardio dvd's, the kids do it with me and it makes it more fun and I burn more calories because I laugh so hard at them.
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
    It's not draining it's energizing, confidence building and stress relieving. My life would be HARDER if I didn't exercise and eat mostly healthy.
  • misskatibear
    misskatibear Posts: 158 Member
    If all your posts aren't a huge motivation I don't know what is!

    A few of you have said that you just make it work, I guess I won't know until I am in that position, but I live with my nephew of 2 years old, and even he, alone is a huge handful (not for me, for his mum) and his mum doesn't even work!

    Whenever I'm feeling tired or lazy - I can just read back on all your comments and think, hey they have A LOT more on their plate than me and still manage to do it - move your butt.

    And casperuk, I didn't mean to offend giving a salute I wasn't being condescending or anything - I genuinely mean it - but I still feel like you all deserve it!
  • bsix3
    bsix3 Posts: 291
    it's definately a sacrifice especially if you and your spouse are working out! seems like you have to put everything on the calendar. haha!
  • EmilyMarieMo
    EmilyMarieMo Posts: 67 Member
    Thanks!

    I am mom of two little ones and work a full time desk job with an hour commute each way. For the longest time I thought there was no way to "make time". Now, I believe I wasn't trying hard enough, and it was just an excuse!

    I exercise on my hour lunch break out side as long as it's not raining. I can't afford the gym! But I get out there in the wind, heat or cold now and do it for 20-40 mins! And I had to re-prioritize my evenings to be able to run at night after the kids go to bed or do a DVD in the living room if I can't get my exercise in at lunch time. I also get out more with the kids taking walks and stuff. People are EXCELLENT at coming up with excuses to not be the best they can be!

    If you have time to read your FB newsfeed....then you have time to exchange that for more movement in life in one form or another! 5-10 mins of exercise can burn more calories AND make you feel better than taking that time for a "break" b/c you are tired!
  • FitnFabMichelle
    FitnFabMichelle Posts: 161 Member
    Thanks. It's far from easy, that's for sure. I have 3 kids, 2 still at home. Work full time. Go to school part time. And I'm a single mom. I guess if it's worth it, you just find a way to make it work. :)
  • TKHappy
    TKHappy Posts: 659 Member
    You can definitely do it!! I lost the majority of my weight as a single mom with 2 kids, going to school full time and working full time :) I am now married, with 4 kids, still working full time and losing that last bit of weight...you have to schedule it, just like making time for the rest of the familys things like sports and clubs! I get up 2 hours before anyone else to workout, make a meal plan for the week and stick to it, and prep the meals for a few hours on Sundays!! I finally sit down at about 10pm but I am always overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment!! Thank you :) it is hard work but it is soooo worth it! :)

Categories