Hi All,
I have been doing so well on this WOE, but I cant seem to get consistent about excercise. I know in my head that I need to find ways to get some ore excercise in... then I get to thinking of my schedule.

Up at 6:10 or 6:25 depending on if I got a shower before bed. Get ready for work, pack lunch, at work by 7:00 am. Work until 11:00, eat lunch, sometime I get to walk, usually 2 days a week. Sometimes I have to run errands or I go for lunch with a co-worker, or work through lunch and don't get to excercise.

Work until 3 or 4 pm, then I go get dd. We usually have to run an errand or two... then we go home. I like to give her my undivided attention until Daddy comes home at 6:30. Then I make dinner, we eat together. I clean up and we have family time until her bath at 8:30, she is asleep at 9:00. I try to spend some alone time with my dh from 9 to 10. Then I pass out asleep. I get so little time to myself.

Anyway the point here is that I was trying to come up with how to get some excercise in this schedule. I dont want to compromise any more time away from dd. I already get far to little time with her in my opinion. When the weather gets warmer I can push her in the stroller outside but right now it is toooo cold. I have a hard enough time getting up in the morning at the time I do as often dd is up overnight.

But where else can I get some excercise? Any ideas?
Thanks for any advice you can offer,

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Heidi
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First, I have to ask: What does your DH do, aside from work? I'm sorry if this comes across as harsh, but really. If you're running all the errands, cooking all the meals, giving all the baths, and doing all the cleaning, where is he? I do all of that, but my husband is in Iraq...
Besides, your husband should also have time bonding with his daughter. Maybe he could feed her breakfast, or give her bath, or something.

Get up 1/2 hour earlier. It's really not that bad, and the energy you'll have from raising your heart rate and adreneline will make up for this and then some.
Take your shower after you exercise.
Pack your lunch the night before.
Can DH share in the errand load? Do you do errands every single day? Compact them all into one afternoon, two max. You'll waste less time driving, and spend less money on gas.
Buy a "baby and me" exercise video. Then DD can exercise with you.
Enlist DH's help in preparing dinner or cleaning up. Any reason you need to do it all yourself every day?
Make a point to take some alone time. It's important.

It CAN be done. It's a mater of juggling schedules and finding extra time. Beleive me, I understand. I don't have ANY help. My DH is in Iraq. I am a full time college student, spending about 60 hours a week studying, plus I volunteer practically full time as well. I have two kids...one in elementary school and one two year-old.

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Michelle
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209 / 187 / 165
(2 months to go!)

Wow life sounds very busy for you too, Rosie. You must miss DH a lot.

I dont want to sound like I am being defensive of my DH. But he does get our daughter up each morning, dress and feed her and take her to daycare by 8:30 or 8:45, then he works from 9-6 or so. He is a faculty member and his schedule is hard to pin down. He is finishing up on his PhD and he works on that at night after I go to sleep.

He also plays with her while i make dinner and clean up. He clears the table and helps with clean up until dd is done with her dinner. Or if I have other things to do like paper work etc. He keeps her busy while I do that after dinner. I don't do errands every day probably 1 days a week at lunch time and 1 day after work with dd. I often end up working through lunch to make up for appointments, being late etc.

I did convince dh last night that we needed to pack lunches together the night before. Thanks for your suggestions! I appreciate it...

Heidi

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Heidi
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Hi there. I also have a busy schedule, but I realize that a crucial element in losing the weight is exercising. Because I'm busy and don't have time for going to the gym, changing cothes, etc., I needed something that I could do pretty much when I wanted and that didn't require a lot of prep and clean-up. I chose biking. So now, when I'm good, I get up about an hour earlier than normal, throw on my biking clothes and roll out. I do about 6 miles and that takes about 45 minutes. When I can't manage to get myself up in the morning I find the time in the evening. My husband really supports my loss efforts, and he understands that exercise is a major part of it. If you think about it, 45 mins isn't really that much time to find 3-4 times/week. I also do ab exercises on the floor for about 5 minutes/3x/week in the morning after I get out of the shower. So that's my solution. Make the commitmet to yourself and you'll find the time. And find something that works with your lifestyle. And another point... when you exercise regularly, you have more energy to do the others things you need to do. It's a win-win situation.

hello heidi. sounds like you have a killer schedule! i've been there before, although not right now (thank goodness)! and yeah, it's difficult.

to be honest, the lack of exercise time concerns me less than the feeling that you take NO time for yourself whatsoever, it's sounding like. while we each have to decide how to spend our energy and i get it when it comes to your family's needs coming first for you, i think especially women often make the mistake of completely _setting aside_ their own needs for others. in reality, that leaves us depleted and less effective. just like taking care of your body and your health is a gift to your loved ones, taking care of you own needs is a gift every bit as much a gift to them. they need you to be at your best, you know?

as someone who works for myself (and has had overbooked schedules before, including extended stints with 2 jobs and 3 kids under 5--i KNOW overworked), what i've found is that taking some "me-time" actually helps me be so much more effective, i can get more done with less energy when i am focusing on working or completing tasks. i actually make up the time i take off for me several times over in improved efficiency the rest of the time. honestly, i suspect a half hour of personal time for you in a day, be it exercising, yogo, meditation, or even a quiet bath with some nice, calming music in the background would probably help you deal with the stresses of everyday life so much easier. it will actually make you a better wife and mom, you know? heck, my stress levels went up a point or two just reading about your day!

but on to the question you actually asked about-ha! i've been looking at fun ways to incorporate more, easy exercise myself. i'm not much of an exerciser, and it's holding me back, so i've been experiementing. right now, i'm not all that far along, but one little thing i've done--i've taken to wearing my mp3 player when i work around the house, clean, do dishes, laundry, whatever. and i dance like a fool! usually when no one's watching, although i must admit the faces my 16-yr-old makes can be rather amusing as well.

on "organized" activity, i like the walk-away the pounds stuff. the mile walk takes about 20 minutes. i don't know how old dd is, but if she's still in a stroller, then she probably isn't old enough to do it with you yet. (it's mostly marching in place.) but she could be playing nearby easily enough. she would probably enjoy the upbeat tempo and cheery talk of the tape herself.

i just got a yoga and tae bo routine i'm planning on working in, too. she might like the calming music of yoga or the uptempo beats of other exercise tapes as well...and i've been starting to research rollerblading! we'll see how that goes.

honestly, it's kind of difficult to make suggestions given the conditions you set forth. i may be mishearing, but what it seems like you're saying is that you aren't finding any room for making changes in your schedule that you find acceptable. while you can do your best to make the time count or do "double duty," there has to be some time and energy put out to add exercise, you know? it sounds like you'd be most open to doing things with dd or with her about, which i do imagine is workable. when the weather is nicer, walking with her is great! or biking with her, maybe? is she too big for a snuggly thing? maybe you could just strap her butt onto you and move yourself. i'd say start thinking less "traditional" and look at how you can do this with her about and close to you. and honestly, you'd be doing more for her that giving her a healthier mommy: you're teaching her great habits that will help her avoid having the same struggles you have with weight. that's a pretty important gift...

but regardless, i'd encourage you to consider taking at least 15-20 minutes a day just for heidi, too. it pays off in SO many ways...

good luck, lady. let us know what you come up with and how it works for you. maybe we can get some new ideas, too!

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I can tell you how i got my "exercise" in this week! came home from work and met my my apartment floating! no kidding... and guess how i got exercise? pushing water with a broom for almost an hour... and by the time i was finished, i thought, hey! can't ask for more exercise than this!" (that was my way out of crying after i saw my stuff floating...)

by the time i was finished, i felt thinner! lol. lol. I tried not to look at the negative of such a disaster, and it worked for me...

Dorecia,
I'm so sorry to hear that your things were underwater... it is good that you have some kind of sense of humor about it. I hope you did not loose anything permanently. Hang in there... keep that sense of humor because sometime it is all we have, when things get tough.

Heidi

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Heidi
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Thanks sunshine. I turned some music on and sang my way through the water! lol. When you feel like cryin', laugh! try it! lol

it's good to cry sometimes, don't get me wrong, but in that situation, crying would have only allowed me to begin to feel sorry for myself, which i don't want.

Hey, guess what? The floor is the cleanest i've ever seen it after all that water! lol lol lol lol.

am not paying rent for February though!!! it was the landlord's sloppy plumbing that caused it. All jokes aside, i ain't payin' no rent! (until they put my stuff out on the curb, then i'll be singin' another tune). lol.

Dorecia, what a GREAT attitude!!!!! You GO girl!!!!

Heidi, Yeeeesh, I don't envy your schedule at all. I think Dix is right, some home base workout stuff might fit the bill. I have a Leslie Sansone Walk Away the Pounds (WATP) DVD which comes in handy when I don't make it to Curves. It's very doable. And with these DVD's you can do a 1/2 mile, 1 mile or 2 mile. It's GREAT. I also do my own upper arm exercises with small handweights. We have a thread here...........Batwing Babes in the exercise forum. You might want to check that out.

Hope you've gotten some good ideas here.

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Thanks for the suggestions Barb. I will look into that video today. I have taken some suggestions and I have started dancing with my daughter at home.... I put on her wiggles tapes and just skip over the dialogue and dance for 20-30 minutes. I am starting to work in some ab work and other legs... I appreciate everyone's support.

Heidi

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Heidi
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For more child-friendly dance music, try La Vida Mickey. (There's 2, we only have the first one so far) It's all very upbeat, and my daughter and I love "dancing" to it.

Robin

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how cool! i'll bet your daughter loves it, too. even when she's completely grown up, she's going to cherish her memories of "dancing with mom" forever.

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Heidi, that's PERFECT!!!! Dix is right, those will be cherished memories for your little one!!!! Keep up the good work!!!!

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