Busy People, how do we do this....

I thought I would start a topic I dont see addressed on here. I fit the catagory of alot of other topics, except one thing missing, I have no time to do alot of the suggestions. So here I thought those of you like me can vent on other stressors that make losing weight hard... Here is my story what is yours and your tips...

I am a professional and coordinate a training program, teach 2 college classes in addition to the full time job, work at a church, have 2 young children (1special needs) and my husband is in school full time. I also volunteer on a local association and try to advocate for special needs. With all of this I never ever get to work out, I try to do little things at my desk job, but its hard. I also have just under an hour to prepare dinner and like no time for other meals. I went shopping today and spent money I dont have on lots of low calaorie snacks and quick prep meals...

Ok with all that said anyone else out there want to share?

First week down.

I know that is not a long time but I am committed and ready to stick to this. I feel good after doing this every day. Most days I came up low on intake and felt good about that since I still have no time to workout. I didnt count my calories on here today (no time) but I found a tiny pocket planner I can quickly jot them down if I am out all day.

Also I got my first sign of success. Ive notice if I am saving calories for a mostly normal dinner that I eat my big serving of veggies, 3oz of meat and I am too full to eat any more. Meaning...I think my stomach (intake) is shrinking. I cant even try to eat as much as I was just 2 weeks ago. I know a week is a short time, but I am so focused. I also decided no weigh ins until mid-January. I will not sacrifice holiday dinners, wedding cake tomorrow, or cookies my kids made just for my diet. I hope to NOT GAIN during this holiday season. Then worry more about losing after new years. Anyone having to think that way too??

For what i have heard it seems that you are very busy but i must tell you from my own experience that you need to make a decision about your own time.

We all need time for ourselves and can't be always doing things for others and i mean work and family as well. It is not healthy for the body nor the soul to live like that. I had to changed the rutine and eliminate some scheduled events in my live that consumed my time.

I stopped my activities I think after I entered college, I got very busy and then got married and then 40 lbs later i had no idea what happened to my slim body.

I realized i had no time for me - i didnt like the gym but i tried to stay in one and it didnt really work for me - i was building muscle under fat.

After some time I got hired by company - where i work to this day now and they will have different challeges - some were sales related and then there was the biggest loser kinda challenge. It was more than that it was a competition amount employees that had teams of 5 or 6 people. We well be put on a large scale and be weighted together. We had to pay $20 each to join the teams and the winner will win the pot so all of the sudden losing weight had a new meeaning - like we going to kick your ass kinda meaning - so it is how i started to work out with a fun goal in mind - i started to feel better and healthier and started to remember my old self - soon after i decided to join a soccer friendly league - my old childhood sport.

I won't lie it was a rough start - i honestly had no idea how out of shape i was and how demanding soccer is - i guess when you are younger and lighter that kinda doesnt cross your mind since your body is prepared for it. But after some weeks it started to be more about the game than me trying to catch my breathe and it became just a game. That was burning 300 calories per 1/2 hour and I didnt even know it until Men's Health mag had a small article about. I shed my 40 lbs off and I had to now buy new clothes - which is not bad either

I recommend to look for enjoyable activities you use to do any sports, dance lesson etc - it is so great and fun to get involved in things we just had forgotten about - it will get time to get use to - the body its not the same and will not keep up with what your mind is telling you because we arent that young anymore but it will definately bring good memories and will feel so good. You will get your body back in shape and having some fun for Pete's sake.

And guess what? we are working out as we do it and we dont even know it. Even going to the mall for a few hour can be healthy - as long as we skip the foodcourt ;) it is very good.

By the way we didnt win the contest but i lost a bundle of body muffins ;) - I hope this finds you well.

Javi

I can understand being busy, but it's all about making the commitment to yourself that your "free" time is going to be spent a certain way.  I have a full time job and I go to school at night.  I cook dinner every night as well because it's healthier and it means that I don't have to spend a lot of money or buy a lunch the next day as I can take leftovers.  Essentially, I make it a point to go to the gym right from work.  So essentially my schedule goes something like this:

7am-wake up

8am-get to work

9-10am -have breakfast at my desk (yogurt, granola, fruit, whatever was portable)

12-1pm- lunch (which I have brought from home, usually leftovers from the previous nights dinner)

5pm- leave work

5:30pm- arrive at gym

7pm- leave gym

7:30pm- arrive at home

7:30-8:30pm- shower and cook dinner

8:30pm- eat dinner and pack up next day's lunch and breakfast

9:15pm- study/read/do assignments if necessary (if I don't have any then this is free time VERY RARE!!!)

11pm-go to bed and start all over the next day

It basically goes this way the whole week.  On the weekends, I do chores, plan out the week's meals and make sure I have all necessary groceries to make said meals.  I typically don't exercise on the weekend and use the extra time to relax and see friends or spend time with my husband who gets so little of my time during the week except during meals and the brief time we spend before going to bed reading or watching tv or just doing couple stuff.

So maybe looking at that kind of a schedule you wonder why I don't go crazy without any free time, but the truth is that I have more free time than I need.  Going to the gym is my personal escape from everybody.  I have breaks at work with coworkers and lunch is always fun with with my friends.  I enjoy cooking so that is also nice and I dont have to worry about dishes because the husband does those.  I get to have dinner with my husband and we talk about our days and on the days that I dont have school or stuff to do for school we get some free time to do something fun.  I listen to music in the shower, I read for pleasure just before going to bed or in the morning while I get ready.  And on the weekends there is usually a good half a day that is just for me for fun. 

None of this stuff is new, I have always had a full schedule.  The difference is that before I made excuses about being too busy to exercise when I knew that the truth was that I was just unmotivated and unwilling.  If you really want to exercise and lose weight, you will make the time to do it.  If not, then it simply won't happen. 

On days that I can't exercise because I have a commitment to meet, I will use my work breaks to exercise instead. 

It's all about priorities and no commitment should come before your health.  Your family needs you, but they need you healthy. 

BUSY PEOPLE WORKOUT

With all the conversation going and several tips on how to fit in working out... I wanted to post my goals. I thought it might help to post my schedule like someone else did. So everyone keep sharing workout ideas or suggestions!!

My plan:

• While at work take one small break to walk up and back down 4 flights of stairs
• 1 or 2 times a wk, walk to gym on campus to work out during lunch break, eat lunch at desk
• Go to aerobics on wed night or if busy work out on mon or thurs night
• work out on sat when not teaching, teaching on sat will count
• walk after dinner every night (over 40F and not storm)

Some random while waiting, cooking, standing...

• calf raises
• squats
• leg lifts
• push ups
• march in place

Oh & my to NOT to do list:

• NO sitting and watching tv for 30 min w/o getting up
• NO going 1 day without some excerise from list 1
• NO EXCUSES

This is my plan and I'm sticking to it

Forgot my schedule:

• 6:30 get up, get self and family ready, pack foods, ect
• 7:45 drop off daughter at prek go up 1 set stairs to work
• 8-9 work and eat breakfast
• 12ish lunch (1or2days workout)
• 3:00 snack at desk
• 4:30 pick up daughter
• 5:00 store, settle kids, start dinner, clean
• 6 dinner
• 7 clean up, entertain kids, pets, clean
• 8 baths, bedtime routine
• 9 help husband study, grade papers, prep for my classes
• 10 prep for next day, clothes, food, work
• 11 bed

Some nights I teach 6-9, some my husband goes to class, I also teach an 8 hours class on Saturdays (not every saturday but enough) and on Sundays I do church nursery and our big grocery shopping for week. (which takes like 3 hours 1 planning 1+ shopping and then putting up)

So where some say go after work or weekends, i cant, I have to pick up my daughter at 4:30 then cook and on sat and sun i work. Plus we trade off taking my son to therapy and specialist. So my previous plan is truly all I can squeeze in. I cant really leave my desk more than the one break-I have alot to do there too. HAHA.

BUT has anyone tried a large excerise ball for an office chair? My professor did it. I could only try a little due to back problems but I would think the balancing and light bouncing would burn alot more than JUST sitting???

Being busy can be a real burden. It's so easy to settle for fast food and quick fixes when you're so pressed for time. I, however, work the opposite. The more stressed I am, the easier I find it to stick to my diet. If I am rushing around constantly, I don't have the time to overeat. When I'm home, I just grab something quick and healthy, like a chicken sandwich or snacking veggies and fruit. All I do is make sure my fridge is always filled with only healthy options. 

I don't buy cold cuts due to their high concentration of preservatives and artificial flavoring, and even sometimes, dyes. What I do instead is I got a membership to Costco and I will buy a huge fillet of salmon, a large bag of chicken cutlets and some whole wheat bread. I cut the salmon into 3-oz. portions and freeze each one in a Ziplock bag individually. The chicken cutlets are already frozen and they are already portion-sized. All I need to do is heat them up real quick when I want one of them and it takes about 5 - 10 minutes. I keep my bread refrigerated so that it lasts a lot longer.

For the remainder of my groceries, I get my vegetables, fruits and other items from my local grocery store. I live alone so I cannot buy many things in large portions unless it's something that can be frozen.

I normally buy mini Babybels, cheese strings, granola bars, baby carrots, raisins in serving-size boxes, various fruits and vegetables and some honey and usually I'm set whenever I need a snack or am running out the door. I hardly ever cook unless I absolutely have too. Buying food that is simple to heat up, or doesn't need to be heated up at all is very time-saving and has been a giant help to me and my diet in the past.

I fully understand your problem. I have the same issues. My work life is so hectic that I do not have time to maintain myself. As a result, I have bloated up. To top that, I got married recently and have acquired a huge extended family. With a husband to take care of along with all the social obligations, 24 hours seem too less in a day. I have been trying for the past 4 months to get rid of the excess weight...and I have a long way to go but my weight does not budge.

I have tried everything. I have tried all the fad diets, gymming, yoga and even tried to involve my hubby but to no avail. Now I have a wedding to attend in Feb and everyone will be there. So I have taken it upon myself to shed as much as I can in a month and a half. I am not aiming at unrealistic goals but maybe 5-7 kgs will be enough for starters too.

I get up way early in the morning and work out for an hour in the gym. Nothing much. Just 20 mins treadmill, 20 mins elliptical and 15-20 mins abs, strength training and other exercises apart from cardio. That issue solved, my other pain is controlling night binging. I just cannot take over that impulse. I almost sleepwalk to the fridge or the cupboard and my hand just puts whatever it can find into my mouth. But I have to control that and I will. It is all about willpower.

Another thing I have recently started doing is cook healthy dinners with little fat. I myself consume smaller portions and I feel full on that too. Amazing discovery, isn't it? I recently went to a lunch buffet and I again discovered another amazing thing. I stuffed myself with salads while my hubby stuffed himself with desserts. So while he ended up getting a terrible stomach ache, I escaped with no weight fluctuation!

There are too many suggestions floating around these days. I say you should follow whatever suits you the most and work at it. Weight loss is not a miracle. It has to be achieved with hard work and self control over a period of time. Any one can do it and so can you.

you all are so good. for me, some of this is like time warp.  my kids are grown, though my Downs young woman lives at home, but she has her own schedule much of the time.  My 86 yr old mother-in-law lives with us; after two years I think she finds me tolerable. My retired husband/painter/good guy is here as well.

here's my day:

9:55 open one eye, put on some coffee, wake up the computer; put on the oatmeal (high fiber steel cut) and cut up an orange

10 am sign into work; work until the dog is so obnoxious I have to get out of the chair and go outside (varies between 11m and 1pm)

whenever the dog decides: go for a good hour long walk with the dog; stop to sniff and pee ( the dog) and wave at neighbors, go even in the rain, unless it's in buckets.  Go down past the pond so the dog can swim if it's warm (he actually doesn't care, and swims when it's cold as well). we do laps around the pond in an accelerated Buddha walk kind of way.

say it is now 2pm: go back to work, it's harder in the afternoon, so I take the laptop out on the screen porch or in front of the fire ( depends on the season)with a nice cup of tea, and little carrots to eat like a bunny

5pm: ask my husband who is retired and paints and reads, what he has in mind for dinner, his cue to cook some up; lean meat, a veg and some salad and sweet potatoes, often, because they taste good, are good for you, don't need butter or salt, and what a color!  He gets a drumstick (the ice cream kind) after which will come back to haunt him some day, perhaps.

7pm watch wheel of fortune and jepardy (sp?) with my Downs girl; they're her favorites (well she likes Gossip Girl but who can tolerate it; I leave that to her), unless it's Thursday and then she and I go bowling for a few hours.

after all this, usually I work some more (my boss really likes me, and I get good  raises) while the family watches movies or junk, or reads.

Sometimes,  I am forced to take a bath, read a book, chill with the man and the dog and the kid and the old lady and have a nice evening.

then maybe an instant netflix, and bed with a book; sleep around midnight or one.

It's hard, but I think I'll survive.  Oh, and I completely love my work, can't wait to get up and do the work; have another great daughter and three terrific step kids who stop by whenever they need a meal, and are turning into colossal, thoughtful young adults, with jobs. 

I lost a son eight years ago; murdered by a drugged out kid who stole his car. So the life I have built takes into account that sometimes you are too busy, and sometimes you need to go out and sniff and pee, and remember what everything looks like and smells like.  It is unrepairable damage to my heart; it's just there, like a breath.

I have lost 40 pounds since last June, mostly keeping a good food diary, balancing the proteins, carbs and fat, and keeping to the calorie counts this site provides. I have 30 more to lose, but I'm in no hurry.  Don't know if I can walk them all off, so my daughter and I have bought a wii and are enjoying wii fit and DDR, Dance, Dance Revolution, which has a great part where you get to dance like a fool and it counts your calories according to how many arrows you hit with your feet, or points you score.  We have a blast.  The wii fit has a little yoga part that I now do sans the wii,  after I get my pajamas on at night; my husband is amused as I become the "warrior" and the dog rolls over, since it is clearly not a walk.

I can't offer any advice to anybody; we're all in this alone in the end.  I like how hard so many of you are working, and trying to find time in a good and unselfish way to take charge of your self and your habits is such a truly great thing.  I hope that you are all as motivated as your schedules allow and your posts imply, and don't freak when they don't happen every day or every hour or every year.

And for me, don't ever hit a kid or yell when it's yourself you're mad at.  There, that's some advice.

Later

I have a full-time job and am a full-time grad student.  I think one major thing works for me - make a schedule and stick to it.  I make schedules obsessively and I do not allow myself to deviate from it.  I schedule time for homework, for grocery shopping, exercise, everything - as dorky as it sounds, it works!

I like you I am a mom but to 6 Four teens a 5 year old and a 8 month old. I am a full time college student , and married to a wonderful man. Friends volunteering I know I have the gammet too! I  agree you have to make time for you otherwise it won't get done, unfortunatley this is something only we can do forourselves. I get up between 4-5 to workout and pencil gym time in like appointments that helps me to make sure I have time. Do I feel bad cause I am taking time my kids might need yeah sometimes, but in the long run I plan on being around to walk them down the aisle, see my grandkids and travel in my retirement with my hubby. Good luck too you!

Hi, I am going to work with a friend.

Wow what a great, motivational thread!! Let's keep this going, guys.  I am a full-time (19 credits) college student living alone and commuting, I have long days everyday (up at 7, often not home until 7 at which point the 4-5 hrs of homework can begin) and have been neglecting my health a lot lately.  Getting caught up in feeling sorry for yourself that your life is so busy/hard and whining about having no time instead of figuring out how to make time is so easy.  It's great to read about people juggling the same kind (or busier) lives and making their health a priority.  The take-home message for me:  get over yourself!  Quit whining and get out there and make a plan, or this will never happen.  As others have said, it doesn't take much to do an exercise DVD for 20 min. a day, buy some fruit and vegetables, and put a week's worth of fish/chicken in the oven on Sundays.  It just takes a little commitment, which I admit has been missing lately.

2009-here's to a new start!

Keep the tips coming, all!

I would love to get on some kind of schedule, but I don't have an office job.  I can't just eat at my desk.  I always have 29 little eyes watching my every move.  I have to eat breakfast early about 7:00am, then I don't have a chance to eat anything else until 12:15.  By then I am soooo hungry I will eat just about anything.  By now you've guessed I am a school teacher and our food at school is delicious.  We have the best cooks in the world and that's a bad thing for me, because school food is full of fat and sodium.

I just don't know what to do...

Edp7,

I know how you feel, I taught preschool for years and couldnt eat unless they were. OK here are a few ideas.

• Try to eat a big breakfast, must have protein to give you enery until lunch. At least a hard boiled egg or two.
• Can you have a water bottle? Special K makes a protein mix you add to water to help curve cravings. Propel is my favorite flavored water. Or to be really sneaky have a small travel coffee mug with soup you drink!
• Have a big but healthy lunch, trade off packing and eating yummy school food, take a lunch menu and circle your favorites and pack other days.
• Pack a big snack to have as soon at the kids leave. That is my hardest time of day. If you eat it before you leave youll be less likely to drive through or binge on bad food.
• Hope this helps
• OH do you wear a pedometor? I went to school one day with my son and took over 2000 steps!!

I know exactly what you mean so I decided to take charge of my life and hired a life coach.  I had so much to do and little time to it.  I needed help, my life was spinning out of control and I found it was me who was taking the back seat. 

My life coach gave me a test.  It was a series of questions about your personal health, your finances, your career, your family etc etc.  At the end of the test, it scored each aspect in your life.   Surprise, surprise my personal health and personal life got the lowest score.  I scored high in finances, career, family, volunteer, etc etc. 

I think as women, we put ourselves last, and I am learning how to balance each aspect of my and give more time for me.  I am learning to say no and not take on additional tasks unless I take care of myself.  And it has actually paid off, at a doctor's appointment that I have put off for years, that I needed surgery for a problem that I have dealt with for over 5 years.  I have since had the surgery and it has really changed my life.  Not only physical but more mentally to take better care of myself.  I do not have to be involved in everything.  I can let others be in charge.

So I understand many ways to juggle all the tasks in your life but balance is key and taking care of yourself has to be first.

Not sure if this helps you but thought it did me.  Good luck to a healthier you!

Wow!  I no longer feel sorry for my busy self!  I'm dealing with the same things many of you have mentioned, demanding full time job, school, family obligations bla bla bla!!!

It looks like we are all in good company.  My best tip is on Saturday or Sunday, make a big pot of oatmeal,  soup and a large salad and dish it into 5 portions for weekday breakfast and lunches. I've found that its an easy way to stay on track.  I grab my oatmeal, soup and salad, a light & fit yogurt, peice of fruit and a serving of almonds.  Sometimes I mix it up (rice and veggies instead of soup etc) but I've found (and I'm maintaining) that this combination keeps me on track and allows me to eat throughout the day.  Most importantly, because it's relatively low in calories under 800 I'm able to occasionly indulge on the weekends or occasional week night withough gaining weight.   Also, its so nice not to have to think about what I'm going to eat - for me it would be wasted energy. 

Another tip - and its probably been mentioned - I ALWAY ALWAYS ALWAYS cook for my family for two nights.  For me it would be a complete waste of my time to come up with a new dish and then spend the time cooking it every night.  I save about an hour and a half a week by doing this. 

Regarding exercise - I don't have the inclination to join a gym.  Something about it screams temporary to me.  The last thing I want to do it to make a temporary change - I want my weight loss to be permenant.   So with this in mind I park my car 1/2 mile from work and walk.  It takes an extra 5 - 10 minutes but its worth it because I feel so much better when I get to work and when I get back to my car at the end of the day.   I ALWAYS take the stairs (2 - 3 flights depending on where you enter the building) and try to schedule a lunch walk evey week of so with friends to catch up.  

I feel motivated! 

So i read all the blogs from the beginning, and I will admit, Im laughing, because that was me. I was the one crying busy all the time, single mom of a 5 and 3 year old. One of which feels the need to get involved in every possible activity and take up even more time that i dont have. I work nights from 5 to midnight and that means that i am up at 7 am every morning and go to bed at 130 in the morning. nuts, i know. My only saving grace is that my bf is there at night so i dont pay a daycare person (saves me from getting a second job to take up more time i dont have - theres a pattern starting here)

so everyone puts there schedule on here, so hold on to your chairs. haha - and keep in mind, this is only for mon wed fri

7 am - wake up to my son pounding on his door becuase he cant get out (haha we put a safety handle cause the kid will tear the house apart, guaranteed)

730 am - make breakfast for son, and attempt to get dressed and put on a little makeup(haha) and try to wake daughter up

745 - finally wake daughter up and get her dressed for school. we leave at 8 so thats real fun

8 - wake bf up (not working - whole other blog, lol) and leave with daughter , leaving son at home with daddy

830 drop daughter off at pre-k. go to dunkin donuts - of course

9 home and pick up son and all the laundry and go to laundromat ( my family acquires a lot of laundry and i find it cheaper and quicker to do it at laundromat every other day).

930-1030 - do laundry while wrestling to keep a 3 year old boy at ease so not to embarrass myself at laundromat (theres 3 days of a workout there lol)

11 - put all laundry away for about 15 minutes and then start lunch for son.

1145 hes done eating and now its nap time. put him to bed and do dishes, clean bathroom, make all beds and just do basically everything in the house that i cant do with him running around - yea, i kow what your thinking "where is unemployed bf", hes on internet "looking for a job" bull - i know. like i said, its a whole different blog.

at about 130 son gets up and him and i go to target - i can always find something i need there. but we walk for about 30 minutes, does that count?

215 leave to get daughter at school for 230

300 im home, I take a shower, ahhhh alone time, then leave for work at 4 and get home at 1245 am.

onto the next day.

but i will tell you, i learned real quick. now when i drop my daughter at school, instead of going home to do all the stupid housework, i stop at my work which is 3 minutes away and go to their gym. im there till about 10 which is one hour and then i go home. so it cuts out some housework time and target time, but you know what, the dishes will always be dirty, the laundry will never be done, and my son will never stop being a menace, but the one thing i can change is that i will not die FAT!

and p.s - once bf goes back to work (which god help me is soon) then my aunt already said i can drop my son off there (lives on my street) on way to bring daughter to school and she will watch him till 1030 when i get home, for only 25 a week. so i still will not have a good excuse to not go to gym. Its about doing what you have to do , not doing what you want to do. I hate the gym, i hate eating healthy and i hate breakiing a sweat. but i love beaches and i love "nighttime activities" and i love going out on a fri night and having a few beers. so if i means i suffer all week for only 5 hours all week so i can be confident, and proud of what i look like, thats not really such a sacrifice now is it?

Words for the wise,

So far, I try to keep my calories low, yet filling, for breakfast and for lunch so that I can eat as much as I want for dinner and I can still have a snack. I balance my diet throughout the day. I eat enough filling food that will prevent me from feeling hungry which will lead to eating the first thing that I can wrap my lips around.

I also keep a long of my foods in a daily personal planner, just incase I am near a computer. I plan my calories and meals in advance so that I know what I can have. I try to keep it at 500 calories for lunch and breakfast. This gives me 1100 calories to play with for dinner and snack.

Menu example - 1600 calories a day

Breakfast 5:30am -

Mon- 1/2 cup OJ, 6oz fat/sugar free yogurt, 1tbs roasted unsalted sunflower seeds. - I was not hungry at 12:00 lunch

Tues - 1 cup special K chocolate cereal, 1/2 cup fat-free milk, 1/2 c OJ- I was hungry before 12:00 lunch,

Tomorrow for breakfast,  I am going to have the yogurt with oatmeal that I ground to a powder in my Magic Bullet. I am also going to drink orange juice. This should keep me from being hungry at lunch time.

For lunch I am going to have a salad for lunch and I will be sure to take an apple to eat in the car on my way home, because I will probably be hungry at the end of the work day.  When I get home, I will heat up left overs from this evening. I found my meal filling this evening and I still have 220 calories that I can snack on and it is already past my bedtime. I find if I stay up past 11pm I create another meal time.

How is your diet plan working?

diet plan...hahahaa. i have learned not to plan anything ahead of time. lol. with twokids, two jobs and an unemployed bf, im lucky to plan shower time, ahha. but what i do plan is what not to eat. I am a conveinence eater. so i dont measure food and i dont plan out calories. what i usually do is see where my activities the following day are going to lead me. will i be home? work? in the car? so basically what i do is eat what i know. I only eat things that i know what the calories are and then i know where im at for day. so breakfast always gets me. i eat a egg and cheese sandwich on an english muffin, but its before i go to gym so i know i work most of it off. thats about 300 right there, but so good, then lunch is usually noodles with diced tomatoes and oil or i will have a sandwich or something and a humungous bowl of carrots. i love carrots and maybe some spinach - thats a fav too. then dinner i have same but opposite what i had for lunch. my snack at work ( i work 5-12midnight) is always waflles (2) with peanut butter. its good and i eat that rigth at 8 so the rest of the night im good and i wont find myself at snack bar. I eat only 1050 daily. that is 7 calories for every pound that you weigh which is what the personal trainer at the gym put me at. and honestly i dont feel deprived at all. i work out like crazy for the hour in the monring and as a busy mom i burn crazy calories with daily housework. its all about keep moving. dont sit and watch tv. watch tv while laying on the floor doing hip raises. just keep moving. my kids love to dance so right after nap every day i put the kid music station on tv and we have a "dance Party" for 20 minutes. kills their energy and i get to act silly and lose weight while enjoying time with kids. I think i do pretty good with calorie burn. There is ALWAYS time for dance party with kids. we all say we dont have time to work out but i find it takes more energy making a plan sitting at table than it does to just fly by seat of pants and have fun. get active. its not about the treadmill and going to the gym - just keep moving, if we burn calories sleeping, can you imagine what we burn running around like a nuts case mother of a 5 and 3 year old all day. exactly.

Original Post by mitt:

you all are so good. for me, some of this is like time warp.  my kids are grown, though my Downs young woman lives at home, but she has her own schedule much of the time.  My 86 yr old mother-in-law lives with us; after two years I think she finds me tolerable. My retired husband/painter/good guy is here as well.

here's my day:

9:55 open one eye, put on some coffee, wake up the computer; put on the oatmeal (high fiber steel cut) and cut up an orange

10 am sign into work; work until the dog is so obnoxious I have to get out of the chair and go outside (varies between 11m and 1pm)

whenever the dog decides: go for a good hour long walk with the dog; stop to sniff and pee ( the dog) and wave at neighbors, go even in the rain, unless it's in buckets.  Go down past the pond so the dog can swim if it's warm (he actually doesn't care, and swims when it's cold as well). we do laps around the pond in an accelerated Buddha walk kind of way.

say it is now 2pm: go back to work, it's harder in the afternoon, so I take the laptop out on the screen porch or in front of the fire ( depends on the season)with a nice cup of tea, and little carrots to eat like a bunny

5pm: ask my husband who is retired and paints and reads, what he has in mind for dinner, his cue to cook some up; lean meat, a veg and some salad and sweet potatoes, often, because they taste good, are good for you, don't need butter or salt, and what a color!  He gets a drumstick (the ice cream kind) after which will come back to haunt him some day, perhaps.

7pm watch wheel of fortune and jepardy (sp?) with my Downs girl; they're her favorites (well she likes Gossip Girl but who can tolerate it; I leave that to her), unless it's Thursday and then she and I go bowling for a few hours.

after all this, usually I work some more (my boss really likes me, and I get good  raises) while the family watches movies or junk, or reads.

Sometimes,  I am forced to take a bath, read a book, chill with the man and the dog and the kid and the old lady and have a nice evening.

then maybe an instant netflix, and bed with a book; sleep around midnight or one.

It's hard, but I think I'll survive.  Oh, and I completely love my work, can't wait to get up and do the work; have another great daughter and three terrific step kids who stop by whenever they need a meal, and are turning into colossal, thoughtful young adults, with jobs. 

I lost a son eight years ago; murdered by a drugged out kid who stole his car. So the life I have built takes into account that sometimes you are too busy, and sometimes you need to go out and sniff and pee, and remember what everything looks like and smells like.  It is unrepairable damage to my heart; it's just there, like a breath.

I have lost 40 pounds since last June, mostly keeping a good food diary, balancing the proteins, carbs and fat, and keeping to the calorie counts this site provides. I have 30 more to lose, but I'm in no hurry.  Don't know if I can walk them all off, so my daughter and I have bought a wii and are enjoying wii fit and DDR, Dance, Dance Revolution, which has a great part where you get to dance like a fool and it counts your calories according to how many arrows you hit with your feet, or points you score.  We have a blast.  The wii fit has a little yoga part that I now do sans the wii,  after I get my pajamas on at night; my husband is amused as I become the "warrior" and the dog rolls over, since it is clearly not a walk.

I can't offer any advice to anybody; we're all in this alone in the end.  I like how hard so many of you are working, and trying to find time in a good and unselfish way to take charge of your self and your habits is such a truly great thing.  I hope that you are all as motivated as your schedules allow and your posts imply, and don't freak when they don't happen every day or every hour or every year.

And for me, don't ever hit a kid or yell when it's yourself you're mad at.  There, that's some advice.

Later

 

 Hey Mitt, I am so touched by your write-up. My heart goes out for you for the tough decisions life has thrown at you. You are a tough warrier like your counterpart in Wii for braving out against all the odds. You can definitely lose all the extra pounds dear. Keep faith. Sam.