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FitDay Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Michigan
Posts: 3,742
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I'm a mom too, only 3 girls for me ages 10, 8 and 5, no boys. Great job on the 20 minute elliptical workouts, it burns a ton of calories, so keep it up and try and add another minute or two every week. I hear you on the exercise front, it's difficult because you're already stretched pretty thin with the kids and the job, but what I've found that works pretty well for me is the following:
1. Working out does not have to be the same time every day or the same workout (there are those that actually recommend mixing it up all the time for better results). Analyze each day of the week, see where you can spare the time or add working out to it without compromising anything. For me this usually means that when the kids go to whatever sports thing they have going on, I workout too. My kids are in swim club, so they are at the pool 3x/week for practice, and lucky me there is a gym on the top floor of the same building. I workout, they swim. On Sunday's it's a real struggle, the whole family is home and they want me to do this or that for them, so I get up early and walk to the grocery store back for my newspaper. Saturday's are hit and miss, if the kids have a swim meet or something else going on, I miss, but if we are all home DH and I take turns going to the gym. When the kids have soccer practice in the Spring and Fall I walk around the soccer field and when the kids run dribble drills I chase them and try to steal the ball, which is pretty funny. The hard days are when the kids don't have sports going on, so I usually get up early and workout. And to anyone that says to me, "oh, I don't have time to workout". I usually say, "oh really, what were you doing at 5:00am? 'Cause that's when I got up and did mine". You have time, it's all a matter of making yourself a priority for at least 20-60 minutes/day.
2. What's good for you is good for the whole family, so plan bike trips, nature walks, trips to the park, family soccer games, family baseball games, put up a basketball net, join the ski club, sign up for the family plan at the martial arts academy, make skate night a regular thing, go to a skate board park, go horseback riding, swimming, etc etc etc. Whatever floats the family boat, white water rafting even. Plan at least an hour of activity for every weekend, and plan family vacations with activity in mind (take bikes camping, stay at hotels with swimming pools, plan for hiking, etc etc). I know a family that rides their bikes pretty much everywhere, so long as the sidewalks are dry. They rode their bikes to one of my DD's birthday parties and they live probably 6 miles from us, let me just say they are all totally ripped, and the boys are little like 6 and 4 maybe. It wouldn't have occurred to me to have a 4 year old ride that far, but he's been doing it for a year now and works very hard to keep up.
3. Reward yourself once/month with a piece of workout clothing or equipment. I don't know why this helps but it really does. I have pretty much all I need, but I still have my eye on the next thing. Okay yes it's a financial burden, but it's not nearly as expensive as a visit to the cardiologist.
4. Get a pedometer, wear it religiously, and keep track of your steps on a calendar or something and post it where every one can see it. Aim for 10,000 steps/day. I do this on our kitchen calendar and if I don't make 10K I list why, so yesterday say's "mom: 4,644 steps, 60 minutes swimming".
5. Park your car as far back in the parking lot as you can and walk a little farther everyday and take the stairs not the elevator.
I have more advice but that's enough to get you started.
__________________
Starting weight: 244.6 lbs. 10/01/09
Pounds lost: 80.6 lbs
Current weight: 164 lbs
Goal weight: 120 lbs
Weight to go: 44 lbs
Goal Date: 1/1/13
Last edited by almeeker; 02-01-2012 at 05:37 PM.
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ONGOING: 7/26 ~ 206.4 . . . 
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