Time to work out

LindseyLooMagoo · March 2014

I am wondering when you ladies find time to work out, and what do you do for your workouts? At this point how much weight have you lost? My dilemma is lack of time. My husband and I work full time, a typical day for me starts at 4:30am when I wake up to feed our son, I put him back to bed and hop in the shower then I get to work around 5:30 I work until 2:30 or 3 each day and go get our son from daycare come home, wash bottles clean up the house get clothes out for the next morning, laundry, make dinner, feed dinner to son, clean up dinner, by 7 our son is fed, bathed, put into jams and in bed. By this time I'm so exhausted from the day that I can't get myself to go down stairs and work out. I'm still 9 lbs away from pre-preggo weight and feel terrible about myself, i know that if I could just work out it could lose it but I cannot seem to find time. I thought about switching my work schedule to go in later in the morning but I don't really want to do that either. Any suggestions? It would be nice to know I'm not the only one who still can't find time to workout even a year after

Myaflowers · March 2014

I'm still about 15 pounds from where I'd like to be and have trouble finding time to work out. It's frustrating because I used to be a runner and go to the gym all the time before DD. Now that I'm not pumping anymore, I'm trying to go out and walk on my lunch break. I just walk circles around the parking lot. It's boring, but I figure it's better than nothing. I may bring some dumbbells to leave in my office so I can do some strength training, maybe alternate the days with walking. I have no idea what I will do once it's too hot to go out and walk at lunch. I do have curly hair, so I can get away with a little sweat, but it gets close to 100 degrees here sometimes in the summer, and I'm not up for that! I look forward to hearing some other ideas on this thread.

LimaD · March 2014

I'm sorry you're struggling with this! I don't know that I have much advice, but what about working out just 2 days a week on the weekend?
Or what if your husband could take over the dinner shift a couple times a week so that you can be downstairs doing your workout? If his schedule would allow that, tell him how much this means to you and that it will help you feel better about yourself.
Please don't be too hard on yourself. GL!

DawnLilly · March 2014

No Excuse Moms FB page is very inspirational and they have great ideas. A lot of the moms prep their weeks worth of meals on Sundays. They exercise with their kids or using their kids lol. One of the moms does all of her routines with either her baby in a Bjorn or her toddler sitting on her back while she does planks and push ups.

Their are a lot of 10-20 min HIIT routines on YouTube. There is a really crazy hard one done to Dark Horse by Katy Perry. I can't hear the song on the radio anymore without my thighs burning.

jnnfrrose6 · March 2014

I work out after DS goes to bed (at 7) and it's not nearly as convenient as just "go downstairs to work out." You listed an awful lot of things you of EVERY DAY. Do you have to do everything everyday? Can SO help at all? Does laundry need to be every day? How about every other day? Part of it also depends on how much you want to get downstairs to work out too. I aim for 2 days a week and DH knows those are the days he needs to be home and help with things like getting DS to bed.

dufferoo · March 2014

I have an easier schedule than you, but it still took me awhile to lose all my baby weight. So try not to stress about that aspect too much. I think your problem is a classic "something's gotta give" scenario. My two suggestions would be: 1) Prioritize! What's more important to you: a clean house, homemade dinner, perfect laundry, or losing that weight? That's a personal decision. To me, cooking dinner and working out are very important, while cleaning up and staying on top of laundry probably take a backseat. You can't do everything perfectly, so pick the things that matter the most! 2) Can you delegate out any of those chores? I mean, your hubby would be the obvious choice, but if there's some reason he can't help, could you pay for a laundry service? Order food in more often? Hire a weekly housekeeper or even mother's helper?

mommaoftrips · March 2014

I feel your pain - as mothers there is A LOT of things that we have to do. We are pretty much the CEOs of our households. I too was struggling to find time to workout and even posted asking for suggestions about a month ago. I am mobile bumping so can't see the age of your LO but I have triplets and have found a way - so you can too

As other people have said - try to off load some of your daily tasks or get some help.
Do you have family or friends who could help? Could you get a gym membership that is on your way home and has childcare? That way you could just stop in and do it. I am now preparing my meals at night once the kids go down, so that this eases some of the time spent on this. I than feed the kids and by the time my DH gets home, he takes of with fruits and clean-up and I am out the door for a quick 20-25 minute run. It's not much but it's something.

Really evaluate what you're doing and see if you can clump things. For example - laundry every other night? This could free up the nights you don't do laundry for some exercise.

I found weekly meal planning helped for me.

Good-luck. I know it's hard. Play around with different things and you will find something that works. I tried first thing in the morning runs for a bit but made me too tired, I tried the 'after the LOs' are in bed, but same thing exhausted from the day and could get myself off the couch. Than after some re-organizing of priorities and the timing of when I was doing certain chores - I managed to find a spot for my running.

LindseyLooMagoo · March 2014

Thank you all for the encouragement and suggestions! I really appreciate it! My lo just turn 12 months in 3/7 and it's nice to know other people are dealing with the same issues! My hubby works for a family owned business basically run by him his dad and brother so he ends up working until 5:30 most nights but he knows how I've been feeling and I'm sure wouldn't mind helping me get things done when he gets home

smileybabyboy · March 2014

It was much easier to workout when it was warmer because I was taking DS on walks every day. I recently cancelled my gym membership since I wasn't going between taking care of him and being in school. We are borrowing a treadmill, so I'll try to get on that when DS is napping during the day. I know what does work, is if you put it into your schedule and commit to it. GL

HeavenBlessedMom · March 2014

I 2nd getting help, esp with house cleaning. Typically, you can find someone who will make it worth the $. We use a polish woman (not with a company) who's 45 yrs old. She comes every other Wednesday and charges $100 for a large house. She's here 6 hrs. No laundry or dishes, Just cleaning.
With that said, make workout a priority. Try 1/2 hr every night and you'll get used to it.
I used to work out routinely at 4:45-5:30a when DD was about 6 months. We dealt with severe all day screaming colic and acid reflux prior to that. I am naturally small and had only gained 23#, so it was gone in 3 wks. Now, pregnant with triplets, they don't recommend working out. We'll see how working or with 4 babies goes!

cedenton · March 2014

You get off pretty early in the day. Could you take and hour at the end to work out or work out at lunch and work an hour later? It sounded like your husband probably drops off LO so he would really be in daycare an abnormal amount of time if your started picking him up an hour later.

...I just re-read your post and see that you don't really want to alter your work schedule, but I honestly think you should. It's important to take care of your self and it's hard to be motivated at the end of the day. For me, I prefer lunchtime, but since you're already an early riser it might be best to start going in to work a little later.

Good luck!

GettingMooreOuttaLife · March 2014

We are in the same boat. I started using Jillian Michaels Body Revolution. Its a 30 min dvd which makes it easy to squeeze in to my day. Each week you do 3 different workouts and the workouts rotate every 2 weeks so you are constantly changing it up. I have been doing it for 3 weeks (along with a few diet changes like cutting out my soda during the day and working on my portion size) but I have lost 6 pounds. plus people are finally noticing that im toning up which is nice. I have tried some of her other DVDs and loved them too.

Msdancnusa1 · March 2014

I felt the same way until about 6 weeks ago. I too have a difficult time managing a consistent schedule with my husbands and my schedule. I thought about a hiring a housecleaner and came across a blog called flylady. Really has helped me organize my life, schedule and housework. Little 15 min projects daily and each week deep cleaning one room of the house. I also signed up for half marathon which made me commit to a schedule. A good portion of it is done by workout videos by Lindsay Brin and a few days of running. Love the moms into fitness series! Quick and quick results

singingsea · March 2014

I work so the only time I have to work out is after DS goes down for bed. So I'm usually working out at 8pm at night and already exhausted (:| It's a bitch but I make myself do it.

I've been doing Jillian Michaels 30 day shred. I like it because each level is 20 minutes long and that's honestly all I have time for before I fall on my face.

I've made it a point not to weigh myself. My clothes are fitting better so that's how I'm measuring progress.

singingsea · March 2014

jnnfrrose6 said:

I work out after DS goes to bed (at 7) and it's not nearly as convenient as just "go downstairs to work out." You listed an awful lot of things you of EVERY DAY. Do you have to do everything everyday? Can SO help at all? Does laundry need to be every day? How about every other day? Part of it also depends on how much you want to get downstairs to work out too. I aim for 2 days a week and DH knows those are the days he needs to be home and help with things like getting DS to bed.

^ I agree with the poster above. There are some days where laundry doesn't get done and dishes sit in the sink overnight so I can make time to take care of myself.

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