Weekdays suck. I get up, shower, get Madeline up (she leaves earlier than me or Mackenzie with Jeff), fix her breakfast, get the coffee ready, shoo her and Jeff out the door, get Mackenzie up, feed her…sometimes get to eat myself…..you get the idea.
Then, teach all day, stay after most days for Kenzie’s soccer practice, get home, start dinner, help her with homework if she has questions, we eat, Maddy and Jeff usually eat later when they come in, clean the kitchen, start at least one load of laundry….when the heck am I gonna squeeze in exercise?
I started out the way I intended to go on….working out about three days the first week, maybe two last week, this week…..nada. Not one weekday. I felt like such a failure! Other people have children, work, home life, and they manage to squeeze in a short workout. I feel run over by a Mack truck in the evenings. Out of all week, I got in one good workout today…and Jeff browbeat me into it.
Why is it so hard to motivate myself to get back into this? I wanted to start work at school again…but I hate working out in the morning. I already get up earlier than I need to, to make sure Maddy and Jeff have what they need as they head out the door. The thought of getting up even EARLIER makes me want to hurl. Definitely NOT a morning person. That means I’ve GOT to make changes….I’ve GOT to get serious…or I’m going to gain weight over this winter. Eck.
Building a Body 
Dont beat yourself up. I have the same problem. I have to get my exercise in during the day on my lunch and breaks while at work or it would just never happen. But then my exercise is just walking.
Boy, do I feel you with the busy schedule thing! Luckily, I’m still recovering from my hip surgery so I have time to get back in the swing of things! One thing I might try is to re-think your workouts. If you’re anything like me, you’re trying to figure out a way to have it all! The same workouts you used to be able to fit in, with A LOT less time! I would change your workouts to smaller, easier to fit in ones and then add to it as you can. Or, what about bringing an extra set of weights and a yoga mat to your classroom and keeping it in a box. When you’re waiting out soccer practice, maybe you can fit in some strength training in your classroom? Maybe other teachers will even join you and then you’ll definitely get it done! Or, stop doing laundry and cleaning (that’s my plan!) 🙂 Hang in there, girl! I know it can be frustrating!
Ditto what Cyndi wrote – I also think we get a warped perspective on what a workout is by watching our friends train for things like IM races and marathons. Just do what you can – you are a busy, busy lady!
Thanks for the tips, ladies! You are ALL right…I want to do the same stuff I used to do, but now I only have maybe an hour….and it’s not happening. I do have to rethink what I can do in the time frame I am now working with. I have two hours after school when I wait for Mackenzie. I will just have to put the brakes on doing all “teacher work” to try to get ahead, and fit in some walks or stretching instead!
Hi Denise:
I soooo feel your pain. Not sure how old you are but the age thing plays into it for me. I am 49 but I had to have a total hysterectomy about 6 years ago as part of the process of recovering from Breast Cancer. As a result I ‘got old overnight’ in a manner of speaking. So, although I am technically 49 my body is 5 or 10 years older than that.
Just finding the energy to go to work and do housekeeping got exponentially harder, much less finding the time and energy to work out. I gained weight, got arthritis in my knees and my energy level fell to zero. All this in a person who had been envied by friends for her thin figure all her life. Quite the blow to my self esteem.
So I just recently had a heart-to-heart talk with myself and had to seriously re-adjust my expectations. I cannot run marathons but running has never interested me in the least; even when I was young and in excellent shape. So that’s no great loss for me. It is wonderful for those who have the time, energy and inclination to do so. It sure is a great way to stay in shape . . . for those who like to do it. But running marathons surely doesn’t make someone a better person than those who don’t.
I said, “Self, you’ve got to find 30 minutes somewhere in your day and do what you can. Your life circumstances may change down the road and you may eventually have more time or energy to do more but, for right now, just do SOMETHING for 30 minutes.”
As for finding the time, I don’t have kids but I do live alone and have to do all the inside housework, all the outside lawn work, plus I work a little bit of overtime to make ends meet, AND I just started a writing class. When 5:30 pm rolls around I’m exhausted and haven’t even begun my chores at home so exercising after 5:30 pm would be a joke. It would never happen. I already get up early to get in a little overtime at work. So exercising before work would be an even bigger joke.
So I looked at my schedule and focused on the fact that I have a one hour lunch break. So I decided to eat lunch in 30 minutes and spend the other 30 minutes power walking. I cannot run because I have very bad knees and because I detest running anyway. Also, I don’t think my co-workers would appreciate me coming back to work all sweaty. So that has been working for me. I’ve been doing it for two weeks now and I weighed myself this morning and found that I have lost a couple pounds. If only I can get my eating under control I would probably have lost more.
I know this is a long-winded comment but I’ve had a lot of caffeine this morning. My point is that you CAN squeeze something into your day if you will just keep your expectations reasonable.
Linda, I will be 45 in about a week or so….and yeah, I’m sure the age thing plays a part. I used to have a ton more energy, but I am suffering from an underactive thyroid, so am on meds for that, too. Today I had time, so I got in over an hour. I think I can reasonably get in a half hour of sweat a day….at least I hope so. That’s the plan for four more days this week!
You go, girl !
BTW, I really must have had WAY too much caffeine this morning when I wrote that first comment. That’s my whole life story 🙂
Take the time to allow yourself to adjust to your new schedule. Once it becomes routine, you’ll find the openings for your workouts. Right now, so much is new and in transition – forcing workouts may lead to more stress. You are motivated and strong – it will all fall into place when the time comes.