Help! I'm wondering how others have overcome not enough time in their schedule to workout, cook healthy meals, or sleep enough.

I have a job that requires a lot of overtime, and I also take an evening class (needed for the job) 3x per week that is 3 hours per night. This means the earliest I ever get home is around 9:30pm. This doesn't even count stopping at a supermarket or running other errands. Given this plus other obligations at home such as laundry, responding to emails, etc. I never seem to find the time to work out, let alone see friends.

I know many people will suggest working out first thing in the morning, but I know myself, and I have to be realistic: I will never commit to getting up earlier. I'm already not getting enough sleep at night, and I've been setting an alarm for weeks trying to get up earlier for a workout and I never once have actually pulled myself out of bed.

So what's a non-morning, overworked, and sleep-deprived girl to do? (Aside from find a new job?) I already ride a bicycle to work, but I've been stuck at the same weight for weeks now.

Do you have 24 hour fitness in your area. Maybe you can go after work, even if it's just for an hour. Or maybe when you get home you can throw on a workout video.

I would suggest going to the gym for an hour each night you don't have a class.

I'm not a 30-something, but...

Riding a bike to work is great! That's a wonderful way to work some exercise into your hectic schedule.

Do you feel you have to go to a gym to work out? if not, maybe some exercise videos you can do at home or whatever.

Is there any way you can be more active at work? Even if it's just NEAT it adds up.

There are little things you can do to get more exercise in. You already bike to work; that's great! Take exercise "snacks": 10 minutes in the morning and afternoon each, and 10-15 minutes at lunch- that's an extra 1/2 hour right there! On your nights off, find a good exercise video or go to the gym for an hour for something more intense, but always do your walking!!

As far as cooking, make healthy meals during the weekend (2-3 different dishes) and freeze them for dinner during the week. Make sure you have a lot of vegetables on hand (frozen ones are so convenient!). It's a lot of cooking in one weekend, but at least you have easy access to healthy dinners.

As far as seeing friends, invite them over to help you cook or just hang out while you cook. I've done that plenty of times and sometimes, your friends surprise you with variations of dishes that you might not have thought of.

Organise your day a little more during the weekend if your schedule during the week is hectic. Make a daily sheet of things that need to be done daily, a weekly sheet of weekly things, monthly sheet of monthly things. Mine looks something like this:

Daily: make bed, clothes in laundry (wash every 2-3 days); mail opened and sorted (emails replied to); wash/dry/put away dishes after meals, sweep kitchen floor (every day)

Weekly: plan meals for coming week, grocery list on Friday, grocery on Saturday, vacuum/mop/dust, change bed sheets, water plants, clear off dining table, clean bathroom

Monthly: wipe down shelving and light fixtures, sweep stairs to basement, air pillows, clean out pantry.

I've gained SO much time in my day by organising myself.

Hope this helps.

Dont worry I'm in the same boat & it's not as if I do much housework ONLY cos I HATE chores!!! I would only suggest taking a quick walk during your lunch break.

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Exercise - focus on your weekends. If you can exercise just 2 days a week, it will help a ton.

Food - know that frozen (pre-washed and cut) veggies are just as good for you as the real thing. They are fast and with a little garlic sprinkled on them are very good.

You WILL make time for things that are important!!

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I'm sorry for my delayed response; I guess I don't have enough time to check this very often either. By the way, I do already have such to-do lists- I'd be lost without them!

The gym isn't a feasible option- I'm in Germany and everything closes by 8pm. I have a small apartment-sized elliptical that I try to use, but when I get home at 10 pm it's very hard to motivate myself. Even on the nights when I don't have class, I'm expected to work late.

I'm definitely going to try more walking at lunchtime, and taking more "exercise snack" breaks from sitting at my desk.

@ yoyoma: what is NEAT?

Thanks to all for your suggestions- I'll see what adjustments I can make.

NEAT is from the "Move a little, lose alot" book by James Levine. It's a really good concept about little bits of movement throughout your day adding big results. Based on this, I stopped emailing people in my building, I get up and go talk to them in person. I get up at least once/hour to just walk for a minute or two. I walk to the ladies room on the far side of the building instead of the one closest to me.

Also, I found that if I went out to lunch I ate and spent to much on junk. If I brought lunch, I worked while I ate and basically gave up an hour of my time. So I decided to walk for about 45-50 minutes of lunch. This way, I got out of the building and burned just under 300 calories per day...which equates to about 2.5 pounds lost per month if you do nothing else.