Finding Time to Workout - HELP!

I live in a rural community and travel 40 minutes to the city where I work. I'm new to PT and have recently started a wellness program for myself. I have been getting up at 4:30 to arrive at the gym at work by 5:30, and I exercise for 1 hour. I shower and start work at 7:00. When I leave at 3:30, I drive home...straight to my second job (I own my own business). I work at the shop until 7:00 or so (depending on the workload), then finally get home in just enough time to prepare dinner for the family. By the time dinner is done and the dishes are cleaned, it's pushing 9:00. I wind down by watching 2 hours of primetime shows (1 hour with the whole family, then it's their bedtime...and 1 hour of time for just me and my hubby).

The problem...I know I need to find time to exercise, because I have about 50 pounds to lose! The only thing is that I'm only getting about 5 hours of sleep a night. Is this unhealthy? I'm not sure what else I can do other than what I'm already doing. I could exercise on weekends, but that's only 2 days...or maybe a third day on Friday night...but I love Friday nights to kinda settle down and slip into a relaxed mode. Any suggestions?

Fri. Oct 5, 7:47am

I have one huge suggestion, bag the tv watching and go for a walk with your family instead. My family and I end every evening with a walk. No, it doesn't raise your heart rate that much, but at least you are moving around and setting a better example for your children.

Friday, October 05, 2007, 8:52 AM

I agree, ditch the tv (or better yet, get Tivo and only watch your absolute favorites on a night when you don't have to get up early the next day.) Instead of tv, maybe your family could help prepare tomorrow's dinner, so you don't have to spend so much time after a FULL day putting it on the table! You're doing great things for yourself, keep it up!!

Friday, October 05, 2007, 9:22 AM

I workout during my lunch hour. Sure I'm a little sweaty in the afternoon, but sometimes I just can't fit that workout in otherwise.

Friday, October 05, 2007, 9:33 AM

Dinners

Are you married? If yes, can't he/she help prepare dinner a few nights a week? If not married, on weekends prepare a lot of meals and just nuke them through the week? Or can you buy a crock pot and use it? Preparing dinner takes a long time, if you can make that less time consuming, by trying one of the above, that would probably save an hour or so.

Friday, October 05, 2007, 10:25 AM

OP Here - By the time I sit with the family, it's 9:00 and the kids bed time is at 10:00 (middle school and a high school senior). I think it is too late to go for a walk when they need to actually wind down themselves (my son works and is active in school sports. My daughter is also in school sports...and my husband works right along with me). When needed, and the kids are available, they come to the shop to help too. I thought about doing exercises during lunch...but that would only give me about 30 minutes to exercise (45 if I really push it). Is that enough? If so, what do you suggest? 30 minutes of cardio or strength (or some combination of both)?

Friday, October 05, 2007, 10:28 AM

Get more bang for your buck and do 30 minutes of interval strength training. If you really challenge yourself you'll get a cardio workout, too!

Friday, October 05, 2007, 10:42 AM

Also, you can workout 3 days a week, don't burn yourself out.

Friday, October 05, 2007, 10:53 AM

If I work out 3 days a week, doing interval strength training, will that be enough to lose weight (again, I need to lose 50)

Friday, October 05, 2007, 11:23 AM

I workout at home which saves me a bunch of time. I have a treadmill and a set of barbells. The treadmill was expensive, but there are other ways of getting cardio that don't cost so much. Weight training 3 days a week for a half hour and fitting in 10 minutes of cardio here and there 2 or 3 times a day will get you a long way. (Think of going up and down stairs for 10 minutes.) Check out stumptuous.com. The woman there is an inspiration and has great suggestions for a beginner's program. Good luck.

Friday, October 05, 2007, 12:10 PM

Maybe I misunderstood, but it sounds like you are already getting an hour of exercise a day. While pumping up the exercise time might help with that extra 50 lbs, it seems that an hour a day should be plenty.

What are you doing during that hour? Maybe you can increase the intensity? Burn more calories in the same time by doing more intense cardio. And don't forget the strength training becasue the muscles you build will burn calories even when you are sitting down to wathc TV.

I would also advocate doing something at lunch, even if it's a 15-20 minute walk. This will get your matabolism going again for a few hours and help to curb the appetite too.

Good luck!

Friday, October 05, 2007, 12:12 PM

Exercise is important but so is sleep. I was losing weight consistantly a few months ago until my schedule changed. I still kept eating well and exercising but I started gettting a lot less sleep, about 5 hours a night. I stopped losing weight as soon as I stopped getting a healthy amount of sleep. Sleep is just as important as eating and exercise in a healthy routine.
Your kids are probably busy also but they could maybe help get dinner on the table a bit earlier a few times a week, especially if some of the meal is prepped ahead of time.

Good luck!!

Friday, October 05, 2007, 12:30 PM

12:12 poster - thanks for the suggestion (as to everyone else). To answer your question, I am wanting to stop the morning sessions because I'm not sure how much longer I can go on 5 hours a sleep per night. I have been making healthy food choices and have been doing 30 - 45 minutes of cardio on the treadmill and 15-30 minutes of stretching (yoga stretches), but the weight is coming off very slowly. I have heard that a lack of sleep will slow down weight loss. I believe it totally!

Thanks to all responders!

Friday, October 05, 2007, 1:01 PM

your own business

OP, I am looking for a small business that would do well in a small community and that does not require a lot of start up money. Any suggestions, ideas, etc. would be greatly appreciated...

Thursday, August 21, 2008, 4:49 PM

you should check out this program called isagenix it helps you lose weight, stay healthy, gives you energy you never knew you had.

Link

Thursday, August 21, 2008, 10:16 PM

a friend of mine lost 50 lbs in 3 months with little excersize using this great nutritional cleansing product. you should check it. hey, it never hurts to try.

Link

Thursday, August 21, 2008, 10:17 PM

Less food - not less sleep

Maybe try focusing on your eating habits. I was working out at least 1 hour a day and wasn't losing any weight either until I started counting calories and watching portions sizes.

Thursday, August 21, 2008, 11:23 PM

more sleep

Hey, so someone else started a thread about an article from MSN - 10 reasons you're not losing weight. This was #1

Roadblock No. 1: Always a go-getter, you work out at 6 a.m.

What's wrong with that? Morning workouts are great—if you go to bed at 10 p.m. In a recent study in the American Journal of Epidemiology, women who slept seven or more hours a night were less likely to put on weight than women who didn't. Those who slept only six hours a night were 12 percent more likely to gain substantial weight—33 pounds on average over the course of 16 years! (Women who slept a measly five hours had a 32 percent chance of gaining 30 or more pounds.) Other studies have linked lack of sleep to a higher BMI and have found that it negatively affects levels of the appetite-regulating hormones ghrelin and leptin.

Thursday, August 21, 2008, 11:28 PM

There are tons of articles on the Internet with studies that prove that you need sleep to lose weight (and more than 5 hours worth)! I can't remember the exact amount, but I believe it was 7-8 hours a night.

Can your family help prepare the meal and cleanup. Maybe you can each have a night a week that you clean up. Your kids sound old enough to help with that. During that extra little bit you could fit some exercise in your schedule.

Thursday, August 21, 2008, 11:29 PM

How about investing in a treadmill or exercise bike that you can use while you watch TV? If you have room (and can afford it), it would let you squeeze in an hour of cardio without sacrificing your TV time. Even lifting some small barbells while you watch TV would be better than just sitting still.

Friday, August 22, 2008, 7:01 AM

Why do you need 2 hours of TV? Why not watch 1/2 hr with the whole fam and then 1/2 hr of alone time with your spouse? Then you could get to bed an hour earlier. Also, I'm not sure how far away your gym is but does it really take you an hour from the time you get up until you walk through the doors? Have all of your stuff packed the night before so that you can pretty much roll out of bed and get out the door- that might allow you to sleep in a little longer.

I too get up before work because that is the only time I have...sure that means I have to go to bed pretty much the same time as my kids and I can no longer watch the Lifetime movies that start at 9:00 but hey, I'd rather be fit and thin then see a made for TV drama!

Friday, August 22, 2008, 7:16 AM

Congrats for asking

There is no one answer here, it is a difficult and challenging area to make sure to work out and fit it in such a busy life style. Perhaps since you own your own buisness you could perhaps do a little excercise there, either get a stepper in the back room and go and step for 10 mins 3x a night and bam 30 mins done, also since you use tv as your time perhaps incorporate that into excercise reward like you watch your favorite show w/ 30 mins on treadmill or even if you did jumping jax during comercials or used your stairs in your house during comercial breaks or sit ups...you see anything is possible, you can do it we all can on our own capcity..good luck, please keep us posted we all want to hear your successes!

Friday, August 22, 2008, 9:53 PM

I have a couple suggestions, they are not major exercising but every little bit helps!

1. At work you can do the vacuum pose. No special equipment needed. All you do is make sure you are up straight whether sitting or standing. Take a deep breath in an blow all the air out of your lungs. Then suck in your lower abdomen as much as you can and squeeze your ab muscles. Imagine trying to touch your belly button to your back. Hold this for 20-60 seconds and remember to BREATHE! Do this for a total of 20 mins a day and it is supposed to help you lose inches off of your waist! :o) You can do it while at work and while watching tv at home....or any time really.

2. At night when you are watching tv...get on the floor and start doing some leg lifts, crunches, sit-ups, or stand up and do some squats or lunges. You could also get some free weights and work on your triceps and biceps...all the while you will still be with your family and enjoying your shows.

3. And as always there is the whole take the stairs whenever possible..park further away from your destination...take a brisk walk somewhere that is about 10-15 mins away during your lunch time, then you can eat a meal and walk back and bingo, you just fit in 20-30 mins of walking :o)

I really hope some of these help you...I am a busy mom too. I have 2 children and a husband which is just like having another kid. I work a full time job in the military and between working, cooking, and cleaning I always feel like there is just NO time for anything else. You just have to set your mind to it and stop using time as an excuse...I did and now I am on the road to losing 20 pounds by Christmas ( that's my goal) Best of luck to you!

Monday, October 06, 2008, 8:45 AM

The OP has her own business on the side. I want to start a side business. Does anyone have any success stories to share in this area of their life?

Monday, October 25, 2010, 3:42 PM

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