Okay, I've been doing WATP, but I have a one-year-old who is a crappy napper, I work when my husband isn't, so basically I have no time to myself ever. My daughter refuses her stroller, she twists and screams and will not stay put (which stinks because I love walking). I haven't had a good workout in about 2 years (I huff and puff my way through the WATP 1 mile), I have poor cordination, I am only slightly overweight and looking to lose maybe 20 lbs.

Can anyone out there offer a suggestion? It really seems there is no options for me (oh yeah, can't afford a gym so that one is out).

Hm. With a 1-yr old that's tough. If she were older I'd suggest something like a big wheel or a small bike ... but I guess that's a few years off yet, huh?

What about picking up some workout DVDs/Videos? Prevention magazine puts out some 10minute workouts for various parts of your body and they're pretty good. I've used them when I've skipped the gym for one reason or another. And with each workout being 10 mins, you don't have to commit to a 30 or 45 minute workout ... you can fit in 1 or 2 a day as you can carve out 10 mins.

Another thing you can do is just some basic body-weight work to help strengthen and build muscle. I currently am working on the routine from New Rules of Lifting for Women (you'll see it referred to as NWOLW sometimes) - the whole routine requires a gym for some of the exercises, but a great many of them can be done at home if you have a stability ball, some handweights or kettlebells, and resistance bands - or even with just your own bodyweight. I've done crunches, stepups, planks, pikes, deadlifts with barbells, and a handful of other things while at home in front of the TV ... and while it may be more effective to work through the whole 30 min routine at one time, even doing some here and there as you can is better than nothing, right?

.

I feel your pain. I have a 10-month old son and have been trying to lose 25 pounds before my 10-year class reunion. I have 13 pounds to go. I am fortunate however and have walked about 12 pounds off in one month, along with softball. Things were starting to get a little stagnate; so I decided to buy a couple of home workout programs.

The first one I bought because a girl that I play ball with showed up to a game, and after not seeing her for a month and a half, I was blown away. She looked like a new person, gorgeous. I asked her her secret. She said she got a ball and band from Target in a kit. She only does it about every three days. She lost 30 pounds from that and not eating as much fast food. So I bought the same kit. It is Gaiam total body BALANCEBALL. The kit includes everything, even a pump for the ball. I got the medium size and that is good for me since I am 5'6". It is a 60-minute workout. I tried it yesterday and it is great. I was chasing my kid around so I had to pause a few times, but other than that, a good sweat.

The second video I got I researched. The reviews are phenomenal. I am about to pop it in. It is Jillian Michaels, from The Biggest Loser fame. It is called 30-day Shred. She touts that you can lose up to 20 pounds in 30 days with a diet change as well as doing the video every day. It is also only 20 minutes. Everybody says that level one made them so sore. You can see the reviews on Amazon.com. I can't wait. Good luck!

hi! i have a 15-mth-old who also hates the stroller. as it happens though we tried a friend's kelty backpack, and he LOVES it. bought one and now we almost never use the stroller. the really great thing about it is that i always volunteer to wear the kid, so i'm getting the added resistance. can't really jog with it but it's a workout on hills.

if you can try someone else's to see how she likes it, we got one cheap on ebay!

I was going to suggest either sling or backpack of some sort but I see I was beaten to it.

I've been looking at these for awhile. The kick-boxing one looks like it might be fun to do. Have you tried this one?


I looked at it on Amazon and it looks promising. But the other reviewers have stated it is for intermediate/advanced users and that is definitely not me. So maybe someday...

I'm not sure about the backpack thing. I sorta have backproblems, but then again I've been carrying her up to the post office every day so maybe it wouldn't be much different.

I know money's tight, but do you know anyone that has a stationary bike that is not being used? Or, maybe check if you can get a simple used one? It doesn't have to be fancy at all, but if you stick it in front of your t.v., you could do 15 minutes in the morning, plus 15 minutes at night? Just a thought. I know it might not be possible, but I just wanted to run it by you anyways. GL. I know how tough it is to get a workout in. GL.

With a one year old, you can put on kid songs and dance or act out to them together. You'll get a workout and she'll start out building good exercise habits. You can also put on bouncy music that you like. Even if you're doing an exercise DVD, make it something you're doing together.

I know some of the backpack carriers are made so that the weight you are carrying is being carried on your hips not your back. The back straps are more for balancing and keeping the carrier from falling over. However, I found the front carrier worked for me and the backpack carrier worked for DH. One year old may be too heavy for the front carrier.