Ditto. I'm at a healthy, maintain-able weight, but I want a great body. I feel like this is the closest and most motivated I've ever been that I just have to keep going.
Why wait for the weather to be nicer? I'm a working mom with a young daughter too, so I get the struggles of finding time but there's a lot you can do even at home with kids. Some things I try (especially if DH is traveling so I know I'm not going to have a chance to go to the gym):
- 30 Day shred, just requires 20 min and can be done after the kids are asleep
- pushups, lunges, shadow boxing, leg lifts... even get your kids to join it. Even if you just have a minute to do them it's better than not doing anything at all
- use your kids as weights! I bench press DD at times or if your kids are still really young put them in a carrier and do chores
- clean more than ususal
- do physical play with the kids: skipping, jumping, jump rop, wheelbarrows (where you hold their legs and walk around), tag etc
- get hand weights and use them to basic things when you have a minute or two or after the kids are in bed
It might not be the same as hitting the gym but it can certainly help. Also, do you have a partner that could help out with the kids? DH used to complain about lack of time to workout but through tag team parenting we've really made workouts a pŕiority. We switch of every other day to go to the gym and double up on weekends.
Totally understand the 'want to lose weight but just can't seem to buckle down and do it' scenario. That's normally me. For some reason though i was in the right mind-set at the end of last year and i was disciplined and i lost weight and it was easy.
Only wish i knew how to turn on that switch so i could use it in future! For me anyway if i get the head right it's easy, otherwise it's impossible. (I''m 43 and back to the weight i was in school)
I realise this isn't helpful to anyone, but just to say that i understand!!
And i disagree a bit on the exercise thing - i normally exercise regularly, but if i increase the exercise too much then i normally gain weight, mainly because i get hungry and think i 'deserve' it. Exercise/weights definitely give me a better body shape though, and make me feel happy and healthy and more energetic i absolutely recommend it - but i don't excpect anything from it on the scales.
- use your kids as weights! I bench press DD at times or if your kids are still really young put them in a carrier and do chores
My Dad used to do this with me and my brother when we were kids. We thought it was the coolest thing in the world and that he was playing with us. Little did we know he was really exercising, haha!
I guess it has the added bonus of the kids thinking that they're "playing" with the parent.
Well, I'm following the Primal Blueprint, so exercise isn't a HUGE component of that. At least, not vigorous exercise. Just some easy cardio (like walking or hiking) a few hours a week, some sprints every once in a while, and some strength training every once in a while. The guy who wrote the book suggests listening to your body when it comes to exercise (i.e. sprint if you have energy, go for a walk if you don't). This type of workout plan SHOULD fit into my lifestyle. I'm just lazy.
Yeah, you guys are right. When I say I'm not motivated to exercise... well... for the last few months that means NO exercise. lol
Taking care of two young kids makes it harder. Once the weather gets nicer, we'll be able to go outside for long walks. And I do try to squeeze out a few pushups, squats, etc. a few times a week.
I would get those weights you can wear around your wrists and ankles and wear them around the house. And when the kids go to bed, do sit-ups, push-ups, lift weights, etc.
I would get those weights you can wear around your wrists and ankles and wear them around the house. And when the kids go to bed, do sit-ups, push-ups, lift weights, etc.
I have those. If you can actually get much done with those on, more power to you. They aren't heavy so much as really cumbersome. I use them when doing step-ups and ab exercises and such at home when I can't make it to the gym, but I definitely wouldn't wear them around the house when doing housework, etc. As I say, they don't add all that much resistance and really just get in the way.
That said, mine are ten pounds per foot and arm. That's 40 pounds. To me that is really nothing, but other people might get a real workout.
Last edited by Petite Powerhouse; 01-18-2012 at 10:42 PM.
I have those. If you can actually get much done with those on, more power to you. They aren't heavy so much as really cumbersome. I use them when doing step-ups and ab exercises and such at home when I can't make it to the gym, but I definitely wouldn't wear them around the house when doing housework, etc. As I say, they don't add all that much resistance and really just get in the way.
That said, mine are ten pounds per foot and arm. That's 40 pounds. To me that is really nothing, but other people might get a real workout.
I was gonna suggest 2 lb ones. :-) I can't imagine it with 10lb ones!
I also suggest weight lifting. Chalean Extreme has totally changed my body. I am 35 years old and in a size 4 and even some 2's at 135lbs and have quite a bit of definition and look very toned. When I was 135 at age 19 I looked kind of chubby! The difference was that back then I didn't excersize. If I look at pics from me back then vs. now, I'm way hotter now!
I also have 3 kids and work part time and fit the videos into my life easily. They are all under an hour, most closer to half an hour. I do add in more cardio, and sometimes I don't even do the cardio/inverval stuff in the videos at all, I just stick with her 3 strength training routines a week and do my own cardio (jogging, bootcamp at the gym, whatever).
I was gonna suggest 2 lb ones. :-) I can't imagine it with 10lb ones!
LOL! I have been lifting for so long that I am sometimes out of touch with what people might use who aren't lifters. I do bicep curls with 40-pound dumbbells, so 2 pounds is an inconceivable size to me.
Honestly, though, I think 2 pounds is too light. I started with ten- and even twenty-pound dumbbells in most cases because I was told from the beginning that lifting heavy is the way to get results. I have never used anything less than 10 pounds per when wrapping my legs and arms.
If one is wearing them while doing housework and such, maybe five pounds would make a difference. But I'm not sure how two pounds would help anyone. And, honestly, if a woman is accustomed to carrying her toddler around, she can probably handle ten-pound arm weights.
Last edited by Petite Powerhouse; 01-19-2012 at 06:05 PM.
You wear them around your wrists. I used to work at Jenny Craig and we sold those, and you generally wore them when you went for walks or around the house.
You wear them around your wrists. I used to work at Jenny Craig and we sold those, and you generally wore them when you went for walks or around the house.
Yep. I have those—the very same, actually. But mine are 10 pounds per wrist and leg.
Last edited by Petite Powerhouse; 01-20-2012 at 11:58 AM.
They aren't heavy so much as really cumbersome. I use them when doing step-ups and ab exercises and such at home when I can't make it to the gym, but I definitely wouldn't wear them around the house when doing housework, etc. As I say, they don't add all that much resistance and really just get in the way.
