I was thinking about this the other day when I got home from the gym exhausted, starving, and needing a shower. It was around 7:45pm. By the time I had dinner (didn't even cook. just popped in a frozen dinner), showered, and flopped down on the couch it was close to 9pm.
So what I cannot figure out is how do women find time to exercise once they have kids??!? I mean, I don't have kids yet, but hopefully one day I will. And the idea of this all is that it's supposed to be a sustainable lifestyle change.
I'm single, don't work overtime, can just order in delivery if I'm in a rush or too tired to cook, and I barely even have time to make it to the gym 3 times a week with all the other stuff I have to do.
Do you get up at 5am and go to the gym then or something? How on earth do you make it all work? There do not seem to be nearly enough hours in the day!

For me, the work out was built in. Remember HS Gym class?


Run to end of basketball court and touch floor then run to other end.
=
Run over to playpen, pickup baby, run to other side of livingroom, pick up bottle, run to kitchen, pick up pacifier, run back to playpen, put baby down, run across living room, pick up the mess of your lazy(thinks he's still a baby hubby), back to other side of room for teething ring, back to playpen, pick up baby, etc. etc. etc

Remember jumping hurdles
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You will now have baby gates in every opening of the house to jump over while running back and forth picking up stuff for your baby and your MIL's never-really-grew-up-baby-boy.

Running track
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Yeah, my youngest didn't have the patience to wait till she could actually crawl. She began rolling where ever she wanted to go at 1 freaking month old.

Wrestling
=
After a full day of this mental and physical exhaustion, your oldest child(we used to call him a "Husband") actually thinks your all hot for him and are so damned delirious you want to try for another. Yah, right bub. Just keep that "thing" away from me.

I'm a working mom, although my daughter is older (14). Its not ideal, but what I've been doing lately is getting home from work at 5:50, making dinner (usually done by 7ish) and then around 8:30 I head out to the gym. We don't take too long to eat, and everyone helps clean up, so by 7:30-7:40 the dinner stuff is taken care of, and I have about an hour to digest and hang out with the family. My daughter gets into the shower around 9, so if I leave at 8:45 and get home around 10, I haven't really missed any time with her.

(She reads in bed from 9:30-10, I get home right around lights-out.)

I am a working mom with 2 boys(ages 3 and 7). The only way I could fit in exercise is to get up an hour earlier in the morning and do it in while everyone is asleep. At first getting up earlier was hard, but now I wouldn't change it for anything. I think getting a workout in the morning gives me a burst of energy in the morning. So I get up at 4:30 am-exercise for about an hour, take a shower, get the boys ready for daycare and I go off to work(i'm a nurse at a pediatrician office).

I pick the boys up after work, we go home I typically cook dinner but something quick like spaghetti, chicken, fish, etc... My 7 y/o always has homework then it's showers, maybe 20 mins. of sitting around watching t.v. and then they get read a bedtime story. I try to have them in bed by 8pm so I can have a little time to myself. I'm usually in bed by 9:30 and do it all over again the next morning. Oh by the way my husband is around everynight and he just follows with whatever I tell him to do-lol he's well trained.

Things are very busy but we are on a pretty regimented schedule and it seems to work for us.

I'm not a single mom but find I can't find enough hours in the day, either. My solution has been to exercise on my lunch break. Now, I know this isn't AS feasible for everyone as it is for me (I have a very flexible work environment...I work from home!) but most people DO get a lunch break, and can fit in a walk or other workout.

Both of my last two offices have actually had on-site gyms for employees. If you get an hour, you can work out for 40 minutes with 5 minutes to change and 15 min to shower/make yourself presentable afterward. But even if there is no on-site gym available, walking just requires a quick change and a pair of shoes in your desk, and that's it.

I also multi-task my exercising...I strength train, often, in front of the TV, with shows I -only- permit myself to watch while I lift.

I work out on my lunch break--my office is in a hilly area and I go out for about 45 mins of very hard walking. I hate it when the weather is wet and I can't go.

Then, at home, I do strength training in between doing everything else, in the evenings. Do a set...go do some dishes. Do another set...put some laundry in. Do another set...play a game of cards with my daughter. Do another set...converse with my husband. Or sometimes I will do strength training while watching TV with my husband.

On the weekends I take bike rides for 45 mins to an hour, because I have the time then.

My husband does most of the dinner preparation, so that helps...but I also spend 60 to 75 minutes commuting every day, blech.

So yeah, there will never be "enough" time to get everything done. And I'm exhausted at the end of the day. But I make exercise a priority and fit it in, however that needs to happen.

Operator265!

Jay

I also do my lunch break- I get a half hour in- I try to do 3x a week, but now with my analytical class it's more like 2x a week At least the class is over in May.

Also when you become a parent I think you just get better at finding ways to work out- like doing tapes at home, taking your kids to the park and walking while they play, and so on

I go to work at 7 am, workout on my lunch, come home at 4:30- and then have dinner around 5:30-6:00 pm. I also plan all the meals for the week cuz I know if I don't then I will slip up.

Well, I've been fortunate and my live in boyfriend works from home...so he does all the cooking & cleaning right now. (yes, I am very thankful) However, all of that is about to stop soon as he will be traveling.

I have 3 children & what I do is:

Cook meals on the weekend & keep them stored in a container to be pulled out throughout the week for quick reheat dinners. I also do this for my lunches & I get everything measured out & packed up for a quick out the door morning. We get home & eat...clean up, do homework (if any). Get ready and head to the gym by 7. The younger kids can play in the kid area while the older kid & adults work out. Leave the gym by 8:15ish (1hr work out), home to a bath & bed for the kiddos. Get ready for the next day & in bed by 10:30.

wow! you ladies are amazing! your schedules sound INTENSE!

You ladies are supermoms!

It's nice so many of you have supportive husbands too

When it's incredibly important to you and you want it badly ENOUGH, you FIND the time and MAKE it work.

Lots of planning in advance, lots of organization and a heckuva huge amount of determination.

Operator265, that was too funny. You're hysterical.

All these ladies ARE amazing, with their planning! I have to do my exercise early in the day, or else it just does not get done. Just the way I am. So I have always gotten up earlier, and done an exercise tape/dvd at home. Knowing that I've done my workout for the day gives me a good feeling for the rest of the day (do I really want that big cookie? after the heart-pounding hi-lo's I did this morning? don't be an idiot! )

I don't have any kids but I do have 2 dogs

I walk my dogs every morning before work. They go to daycare twice a week and I tend to use that time to do other workouts as I don't need to walk them on daycare days. Also like today, I will workout with them in the room which can be distracting. I was trying to do yoga as they both decided they needed to wrestle near me. I'm not sure I achieved the quite calm needed but

Also working out at lunch is awesome if you can do it. Sometimes I'll take a walking break or what not.

Yes, Operator makes us all laugh!

I agree with VermontMom--my exercise has to be done first thing or it gets forgotten (or I find a great excuse not to do it).

Here's my schedule:

4:25 wake up and do 30 minutes on the treadmill, shower, read paper, drink coffee, wake up son, get dressed, eat breakfast, leave for school/work at 7:40 AM
Work from 8-4
4 PM, pick up son from school, take him to Karate (from there, I have 45 minutes where I can go to the gym which is around the corner from Karate or sit and read or run to the grocery store--lately I sit and read or go to the store--oops)
Get home around 5:30, fix dinner, eat, and from there I have 2 free hours before bed where I could work out, but usually I relax. I got to bed most nights at 9 PM