[mjuhase]

Well I'v been telling myself the cameras lie , I do not look that fat in the mirror ! But I stepped on the scale and found I weigh as much as I did when I had my kids ! So I am eating right for starters , next , exercise , I really don't have time , and by the time I do I am so tired and it's time for bed .
I get up at 4:30 , leave at 5:45 we drive to my husbands job , get there about 6:30 , then on to mine , get there at 7:15 , start work at 7:30 , work till 4:30 , drive to husbands job , get there 5:20 , drive home , get there , depending on traffic , 6:15 - 6"30 . cook dinner , we have 5 kids so I have to cook a big meal , not to many quick dinners I can afford that they will eat , anyway , dinner , dishes and homework usually done around 8:30 or 9:00 , maybe watch Tivo show , then bed at 9:30 if lucky !
So you see I am not kidding , BUT , I do have that 45 minutes each way where my husband drives and I just sit , as I do all day at my job , I have a set of 5 lb weights , I need a routine I can do both ways that will make a difference , then cardio for now on the weekends and maybe a walk at lunch , but no big sweating I wear business attire to work .I am going to try to use the crockpot more so I may be able to fit in a walk after dinner when it starts staying light out .

[nelie]

Well I would say any exercise is better than none. If you can fit in a few minutes of walking and/or a few minutes of weights somewhere in your day then you would be better off than not doing any.

As for exercising in the car, I'm not sure how you could reasonably do that unless you had a van or something. You could probably get away with some crunches and bicep curls but not sure what else you could do reasonably in a car.

I would definitely recommend trying to carve some time out of your night time if possible. Using a crockpot and other items such as a rice cooker might help you a lot. Although you say you have 5 kids so you are cooking every day for 7 people, you might want to try to make it so you only cook 1 out of every 2 days and make enough food that 1 day for 2 days of eating. I generally cook for 3 or 4 days of eating so that I only have to cook every 3 or 4 days.

[WaterRat]

Oh, that's a tough schedule to work with! I have a couple of suggestions.

You could do some cardio and/or weights during commercials on the TV (I know you can fast forward, or cut them out, but if you leave them in there's some time to do some exercise)

You could so take some other clothes to work and change and do a more strenuous walk. I did this for a number of years when I drove over a hour each way for work. You have to be a quick changer, but I got so I could get a 1/2 hour walk in, outside in the nice weather. I'd bring something for lunch that I could eat at my desk, or on a break.

Nelie has some good suggestions about cooking. You didn't say how old your kids are, but maybe a couple are old enough to make a start on dinner before you get home?

You have the right outlook. Good luck.

[EofAZ]

Is the homework yours or helping the kids? If yours try doing that in the vehicle. If with the kids maybe you could cover that remote with a cell phone and free up some time that way. It sounds like you want to utilize the time you have in the car so it doesn't feel wasted, if you can pay bills or plan menus, etc. then that will free up time at home to workout.

Also, consider Once a Month Cooking, there is a cookbook out with instructions and recipes, shopping lists, even a calendar with the meals on it so you can keep track of what is left in the freezer. I use to do this a lot when I had children at home. It’s a full day of cooking on Saturday but frees you up for about 6 weeks. (By the time you add in the leftovers and occasional pizza). When you get home you just transfer your meal from the freezer/frig to oven and while it is warming through you have time to fit in some weight training.

You can work out the menu’s/shopping lists while in the car and take a lot of the stress out of your evenings.

Hope this helps,