Guest Post: Andrea Wright tries to exercise
This is another guest post from Andrea Wright, a mother of 3.
Is Fate or Fat Against Me?
I don’t consider myself superstitious and I’m certainly not a conspiracy theorist, but there’s a strange phenomenon going on that is making me both. For many years I have fought to get into a good exercise routine. Over the last 6 years I’ve been successful for a time, but then inevitably something happens to completely derail my efforts. Here are just as few examples. When my first baby was about 7 months, I finally got going and began walking with a friend. We went sun or more sun (we lived in Arizona) for several months and then I had a miscarriage and a D & C and took some time off and then my partner moved. Another time I hurt my back just as I was really getting into it, another time I sprained my ankle...and on and on it goes. All this between three kids and let’s just say I’m not getting any skinnier. So, now what’s my problem? Well, I’ve decided the only hope I have of getting any kind of exercise (sigh) is if I wake up before my kids and just do it. This means I have to get up at 6:00am which really shouldn’t be a big deal, but it is. So, I’ve mapped out a little plan for myself to start with just every other day I’ll drag myself out of bed and work my way to a fabulous body. The night before the designated exercise day suddenly all of my children wake up all night long. 6:00am so isn’t happening if I’ve been up more than twice that night. Last night was a perfect example, I set the alarm, laid out my exercise clothes, climbed into bed nice and early dreaming of my soon to be fat-free body. My 21-month old woke up 4 times, my 6 year old woke up and didn’t go back to bed for an hour and a ½, my 4 year old woke up twice. What is going on!!!!??? On a normal night my littlest might wake up once because he can’t find his pacifier, and my girls hardly ever wake up unless they’re sick. Fate is against me and fat is very much for me. Help! What are your secrets ladies? How do you find the time and energy to exercise?
posted by Heather O. at 4/22/2005 09:54:00 AM
12 Comments:
It's tough to find time to exercise with a busy schedule - especially one like yours! No one wants to hear this (including myself), but the only way to lose weight is to stop eating more food than you are burning off during the day. So, if you can't find time to exercise, you'd probably better put those Cheetos back in the pantry.
So, not very helpful, but you're probably pretty active running around after your kids all day - so you probably just need to cut out a few things in your diet to lose weight. Good luck!
Stacy, I totally agree when it comes to weight loss, at least for me, it comes down to food control. However, I know exercise is important for other reasons and really want to get into a good routine.
Hi Andrea,
I'm working really hard on this right now. It finally occurred to me that I cannot just keep getting fatter and fatter for the rest of my life. I will drown in fat. I bought a gym membership, which was not as expensive as I thought it would be -- $29/month for DH and me. I go 3 times a week after the kids are in bed.
For me it is easier to get out the door at this time rather than early in the morning, though neither is easy. Really I would like to exercise after sending the kids off to school but since I'm working that's not an option. If you are not working outside the home and have little ones, a lot of gyms offer very reasonable childcare. It really was my salvation when I was home with little guys. Just a cheap and beneficial way to get an hour to myself a few times a week. That alone motivated me to go in those days.
On my non-gym nights I am doing pilates and/or yoga to a video at home. Those nights DH heads to the gym. It is working okay. We are exhausted but we are getting the exercise done. Maybe we would be more exhausted if we weren't ... ?
I heard about a mommy-toddler gym where you actually do exercises with your kids, or at the same time, or something. Can't remember where I heard about it or where it was located, though.
okay -- I'm not bragging, but saying this so you know that I've been there too: I've lost 50 pounds over the last year. This is how I did it:
I wrote down everything I ate. That's what helped me control my food. It also helps to know why you're eating. It it because you're hungry? Bored? Stressed? If you can identify that, then you can consciously choose to do something other than eat.
As for excercise... find a time and DO it. For me it's the morning. Yes, I drag my butt out of bed every morning at 6:30 a.m. EVERY day, no matter what happens. FORCE yourself to do it. They say two weeks makes a habit; give it that. And then never let you talk yourself out of it. Habits are too easily broken.
I have a good friend that decided that she needed to treat exercise as an appointment, so she joined a gym. I'm too cheap, so I run and do tapes and DVDs and TV. For some people it helps to have friends; a woman in our ward started a work-out group; we let the kids play for an hour or so while we do aerobics (she's willing to design the program for us and lead it), though since our church building is being renovated, we're going to spend the summer taking the kids to playgrounds and alternating running.
Okay. This a bit long. I hope you can find something that works for you. The best advice I can give, really, is to make yourself do it. No one really wants to (well, okay, some people might), but everyone likes the results in the end.
Now if I could just get my DH to exercise...
I joined a gym with child care and it has saved my sanity. I just have to get away from my kids for a few hours a day. I have to. And this way I get away and I can excercise. And it's cheaper than Prozac (the other option) . I pay 50$ a month for me and the three kids and I have two hours of day care included in that membership. Plus I can take them swimming, they can take dance and gymnastics and swim lessons while I work out. It's the best thing that ever happened to me.
For me, the money is the whole point. I'm too cheap to pay 50$ a month and not get my money's worth out of it.
Andrea-
Lately, I've discovered that I can swim while my son is having his swim lesson. It's great, and he gets excited when he sees me get ready for the pool.
Other than that, I really can't help you here. We take the occasional walk with my son, and I work in my garden every Saturday, but other than that, nada. I figure that in time, I'll just join the Chubby Girl Brigade (see sidebar for link!) and be done with it.
I don't believe in exercise, because I don't like it. But as I watch the 4,000 calories my 7 year old eats per day and wonder where it goes, I know the secret. She is always moving--a total energizer bunny (or maybe she's ADHD, LOL).
So....I think that if I just do housework a little faster, just do a little more active things in my life overall, it will help.
But maybe I'm just still on a high from not being pregnant. You know how that is, you drag yourself around and are beat by 2 pm, and dead by 7:30pm. I guess I'm just still living it up and I'm amazed that I have energy to do everything I need to do!
Ah, Wiz, does that mean you take no stock in Poor Richard's Almanac? You know: Early to bed, early to rise, etc... Or maybe that means my FIL is inherently evil because he often gets up at 5 a.m. to golf...
Truth be told, there are some mornings where I actually enjoy the peace and quiet that early mornings offer. Can't get that after the kids wake up.
Wow, great comments! I'm sorry I never made it to the computer over the weekend. Thank you all for your great suggestions and the inspiration. Ana and Lisa, sounds like you're on the same page. There's really only one gym conveniantly located to my house and it does offer day-care, but it's usually full for the good times and classes.
Melissa, you are a major inspiration -- 50 pounds is such an accomplishment. I know you weren't bragging, but you should be! I have come to your same conclusion that I just have to do it, whether or not my kids wake me up all night long. I've actually been doing really well with it for the last 3 weeks. I've found that if I tell myself that I can take a nap when my littlest is sleeping (I rarely do, when would I blog?) I can face getting up.
Susan, I've heard of Stroller exercise groups for moms with kids, but never a toddler gym -- interesting concept.
JKS, I wish I could have a 1/4 of the energy and/or metabolism of my kids!
Wiz, I like your philosphy the best and have lived by it these many years -- unfortunatly it shows. Oh and btw, early-risers aren't evil -- golf is :)
Oops, I meant to also say: Heather, they say gardening is really good exercise. I'm looking forward to spending lots of days at the pool (a very private pool)this summer with my kids and will follow your example and maybe squeeze some exercise in. I always thought water aerobics sounded fun, but have never tried it.
Andrea-
Gardening can be great exercise, especially when your garden community rents a roto-tiller, your husband is out of town, and you face the task of preparing the soil for the Spring planting alone--woman against machine! I couldn't lift my arms over my head the next morning, but I sure impressed the heck out of my neighbors as they watched me tame the beast and till my soil.
Gardening really is great for the soul, too, but I have to say it's hard on the back. Swimming is by far my favorite exercise, because you don't get any added stress to your body, like the pounding when you go running, or the back-aches from gardening.
Yoga is a gentle exercise that I love, too, that I can do in 15 minute blocks when Jacob is watching a video, or even when he's in the bath tub. I do Yoga exercises outside the bathroom where I can still see him, but he can't reach me to climb up on my back when I do down-ward facing dog!
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