Poor Time Management When It Comes to My Health

Hi L. - I joined WeightWatchers a few weeks ago, and it is much easier than I thought it would be.

They have 2 ways to lose weight -- you either count points all day for the food that you eat OR you only eat food from a core listing of foods (as much you need to feel full.) I am doing the core approach since I did not want to count all day & I am not good with portion sizes. I eat unsweetened applesauce every day! You can have sweet fruits too!

You can even have "extra foods" each week when on the core plan as long as you do not exceed 35 points for the special stuff.

There is a website called HungryGirl - she is on Weight Watchers & has some great chocolate recipes - 2 point fudge! Yum! This helps to cover those extreme sweet needs.

You can even have some carbs on the core plan!
I would give it a try! Best of luck to you!

I also have a very busy schedule but find that the 30 - 45 minutes I take each week to go to Weight Watchers is well worth it. It is a reminder of others who have the same problems but keep at it. It helps me be conscience of how I am eating. Works for me hope it will for you also.

Hi L.. Here is some advice that I can give based on my experience:

1. NO BLTs! What that means is bites, licks and tastes. Stay away from your kids food! I know-easier said than done. I find myself doing things like eating their crusts when I cut them off their sandwiches..I don't even realize I am doing it. The typical mom probably takes in at least 200 calories a day from BLTs. If you could just stop this one thing you would lose a decenct amount of weight with everything else being equal.

2. No liquid calories. No juice,soda, frappucino or anything else that you drink with calories. Not worth it. Drink water instead. I was a huge diet coke addict and couldn't figure out why I was always bloated. I stopped the DC and the bloat went away. Took only about a week to get used to water with every meal and now I prefer it.

3. Eat breakfast. I have a Thomas English Muffin Whole grain light every day with a TB of peanutbutter or cottage cheese/honey and cinnamon. This protein/carb combo will give great energy for 200 calories.

4. GET UP EARLIER!! This is the biggest thing you can do for yourself. Once I started doing this my life became so much saner. Give yourself an hour to yourself in the AM to either exercise, do housework so you can workout while your son is in school or just have a coffee and read the paper.

6. Break up exercise if you need to. I sometimes squeeze 15 minute workouts in throughout the day. Get some handweightsor a resistance band and do them while your 3 year old plays.

7. Try interval training. Experts are are now saying that 20 minutes of Interval cardio is as good as 40 minutes at a moderate pace. With this you would go at a normal pace for 3 minutes then all out for 1. Do this 4-5 times. Maybe talk to your trainer at your gym about it.

Well--I could go on on and on. I am kind of obsessed with this topic. Good luck to you.

Hi L.,

I am going to tell you a lot of the same things others have already said, but I have some more suggestions. First, let me tell you that I have been there and was succrssful. I lost about 35 pounds in less than a year, and I have kept the weight off for 3 years now.
Breakfast is really important, and I totally agree with the other ladies, include protein or fiber to sustain you until lunch.
I went to Curves for my exercise. It only takes 30 minutes and is really a pretty simple circuit, but it made me drop inches like crazy. I could not believe how great the results were.
Here is the part that you might think takes too much time. I set a calorie goal and then wrote down EVERYTHING I ate. My goal was 1200 calories, and I could generally make it. If I went over somethimes I didn't beat myself up. I just looked tried to do better the next day. This may sound time consuming, and it is at first, but I kept a list of calories for the foods I ate often in the back of my journal and just consulted it. I found that I generally eat the same foods every week, so within a week or 2 almost everything was ion the list. I hardly ever had to look up calories. I had a book I used, but of course all the calorie information you could ever need is on line.
The most effective part of this plan was writing everything down. It really prevented me form finishing off my son's food. Suddenly I looked at those 2 chicken nuggets as 120 calories that i could "spend" on a real snack later in the day.
One great thing was that I could eat anything I wanted...as long as I counted it.
As for the sweet and salt. I often finish my meal with a bite sized piece of chocolate or a Hershey Kiss (23-50 calories each.. and well worth it).

Good luck!

Does your gym have a babysitting service? If so, i'd suggest finding out when it's available and go workout, taking your son there. I did have guilt in the beginning. My kids weren't into it at first, but after a few weeks, they got to know other kids there and actually enjoy going now. They can color, watch a movie, play outside (if it's warm), there are millions of toys, you can take them in with a snack. AND it's so cheap! Some are even free.

Diet alone never really did anything for my weight loss, unless i was starving myself. I had to fit in the gym somehow. Going and taking my kids there for an hour every other day isn't horrible, I get a good workout and they get a good hour of being social with others. If I go in the early evening, I make a crock pot meal to have ready when I get back from the gym. Crcok pot meals...you can find healthy recipes for them too.

Hi L.,

You need to take your health in your own hands. I've been using an awesome weight loss program. Its called isagenix-www.danablazo.isagenix.com.

Please call me. I want to help you.
D.
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Try www.flylady.net It has lots of ideas on body clutter and tie managment etc. There are some lins too to other resources. Its designed for either SAHM or woring moms, even people who are disabled and have to do take care of themselves.

I know what you mean. I joined a gym and try to eat healthy. I have 4 wonderful children. my youngest just turned 2. And I just have been pushing myself to go to the gym after the kids eat breakfast and go to school. It really gives me a lot of energy. Something I havent had for years. And for lunch I have a salad with or with out chicken. most of the time without. And eat a small dinner for me with my family. I do cheat sometimes but I do try and most of the time do it is go to the gym an hour after I have dinner. I just lost 10 pounds in 3 weeks. It is really hard and I was so depressed and tired all the time, but it does help and I still need to lose more but I hope I can keep up with it with my hectic schedule. Good luck! The elipticle machine really helps, and I started on the treadmill and do aerobics when I really want to not be able to walk for 3 days. Good luck again, K..

Try eating the Kashi Go Lean cereal, the one with 13g of protein, add strawberries or a banana to it. The protein seems to help fight off the sugar cravings. Also eat an apple a day. What your bad carbs, good ones are veggies, brown rice, fruit, etc. Take walks with your son when you can, it helps. That's about all I have, sorry.

I would recommend going to the gym everyday -- I was against it was as well and felt guilty when putting my kids into the daycare service but after losing 25 pounds and counting :) ---I have more energy to do things with my kids when I am around them.

As for going during preschool - that helped with the guilt of leaving them - people ask me what do you do now that you are kidless those times -- I tell them I go to the gym. Sometimes I wish I could do cleaning, etc. - but that has always been a low priority. I get my kids involved with the cleaning as well making it fun so it can get done while I'm with them. Grocery shopping - I make fun with my son or sons when I'm with them...looking for items, pricing, etc. choosing items, etc.

Just remember, if this is a priority then something has to become a lower priority -- it was very hard especially being a WAHM and trying to find time to do that as well as having that "extra time" now that I don't have toddlers/babies anymore and being okay with using it to lose weight.

As for breakfast, I did the Kashi Go Lean and Smart Start cereals and they seemed to work well. I usually do a protein bar as a late morning snack especially if I work out or a protein mix with water/milk. I learned on the Biggest Loser that fat free milk is an excellent snack and should do 3 times a day -- with vitamins and keeps your energy level up -- my toughest time is mid-afternoon so I'm being doing that and it helps me not snack on empty calorie foods that you can't avoid not having in the house with young boys (my motto used to be -- if it's not there, I can't eat it but you can't do that when certain things are the inevitable for convenience, etc. with a 5 and 3 year old boys).

Hope this helps and good luck!

Great Book: Why French women don't get Fat! It's a different kind of book- not your typical diet book & I wouldn't even call it a diet book. It works on all kinds people and it's easy reading....you probably will relate a lot to the author. It'll improve your life and give yourself a different outlook on things. Check it out at your local library.
Best of luck.
~M.

Hi L., I understand how it feels when it comes to time management. I myself have a 3 and 5 year old and currently have 2 businesses and I work at a preschool. So life is crazy and it is hard to find time to exercise and so forth. I am contacting you because I am with a brand new company that has just recently launched to the public. This product may help you. It's a whole food supplement that is 80 - 90% organic and it"s all based on your DNA. But not only that they are soon coming out with boosters. This is where they can add certain things into your daily supplement. For example, immune boosters, weight loss boosters, athletic boosts. It's really cool. Check it out on the website, you never know it may be something that your interested in!

A. Prudish
http://www.healthandwealthdna.com

I would recommend weight watchers. They literally teach you how to eat. You have to journal everything and keep track of points, so you have to be committed to that work. But I have seen fantastic results w/ my friends. And have applied what I have learned from them to myself. "It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle." It sounds like you have a lot on your "plate" (pun intended). They will also talk to you about eating habits and how they are affected by stress. You will have actual appointment times that can be worked around your schedule, and then you can work w/ your husband re: childcare.
Good Luck,

A.

Do you know about flylady.net???? She can help you get a handle on your whole lack of time mangement. The Dinner Diva Leanne Ely maybe at savingdinner.net? who is associated with flylady has her own website and offers healthy recipies and menu planning.
Check it out even if part isn't for you right now. Flylady is totally free and LeAnne offers some free ones and then a subscription you can pay for.

probably the biggest thing you need to do is to start at bedtime just to plan the day tommorrow. plan what ever you will have for breakfast and think about when you would have ten mins to go for a walk or put some music on and boogie. Try joining a class at your gym

i have more suggestions but i also have to tired kids who won't let me type. good luck !

L.,
I wanted to lose weight earlier this year, and I work from 8 to 5 mon- fri with a long commute. I agree, I like to spend my extra time playing with my daughter. I started out slowly, by excercising on Saturday and Sunday for only 20 minutes with a dvd I found by Leslie Sansone called In Home Walking. ( it is very mellow, not crazy aerobics).
( I would get up early before everyone else in my house to have this time for myself.) That small excercise helped to speed up my metabolism( and help with stress), and then I went to her next level which is "In Home Jogging". I do this just 2 days a week. And I changed my eating habits by eating several small meals, like cherios for breakfast, yogurt at 11, and lots of salad. I still allowed myself to have a treat, like cake or a cookie,once or twice a week, because I didnt want to sacrifice too much. Also, I drink a big glass of water or seltzer before most meals. I have lost 17 lbs, and feel much better. I still go out to dinner and eat pasta, but I also eat smaller portions because I am full from the water. I had to retrain myself by eating healthy snacks, since I like icecream, but instead, I had some nuts or a breakfast bar, or frozen yogurt. It was hard at first, but when I felt like cheating, I asked myself how badly I wanted that brownie...
And if I had the brownie, I would just add on a few more minutes of excercise. Everybody is different, so this may not work for everyone, but my sister also tried this and lost 30 lbs. I think Amazon has the dvd's, or it is on demand with comcast digital for free. PS- I also take a multivitamin and b complex. Best wishes for sucess in your future! L.

Drink a big glass of milk in the AM or even put it in a travel mug when you don't have time

I got a used jogging stroller and walk my 3yr old to the park so I can really stretch my legs and be with her. We have less time at the park but it helps me.

I don't go to a gym but bought a $200 recumbent bike, I was told 15 min of cardio(getting the heart going) will make you burn twice as much calories for all activities afterwards. So I translate that to mean if I can hit the bike and peddle like mad THEN make the beds and clean with gusto I'm burning calories while I do that stuff. I can't make time to exercise regularly but I can bike 15-20 minutes a couple times a week. I usually read for work while riding the bike to get something else done.

I put on music and dance silly with my kids, it's as aerobic as I get but it helps.

I also keep stashes of nuts(walnuts, cashews, almonds - plain, no salt) in the car, purse, and at home. This keeps me eating less candy which is my thing and it doesn't go bad like baby carrots which is another favorite. I have to snack so I just embrace it.

I feel your pain. I'm in a somewhat similar situation. I only work 3 days a week, but on my days "off", I'm trying to clean, take care of my youngest, volunteer at my older ones' school, etc. If I try to exercise I feel guilty that the laundry isn't getting done or that my son is in front of the TV instead of playing with me. If I don't exercise I feel guilty because I then I feel fat, gross and generally unhealthy. Every so often I give myself a wake up call and remind myself that I'm in charge and that I can do it. On these days I spend time with my son, exercise with him (it's not the best workout, but he has fun), do my grocery shopping right before I pick up the kids from school, then spend as much time with them until bedtime. Then I clean until late at night. On these days I feel good. Oh, I also try to follow the basic principle of eat less, move more. But make what you're eating count. I'm not talking super health food, but for breakfast I eat 2 chocolate chip waffles without syrup and a big glass of milk. For a midmorning snack, I try to eat a piece of fruit or yogurt. Sometimes I'm not in the mood for that, so I try to eat a small bowl of cereal (my daughter's Care Bear bowl works great). Then keep trying throughout the day to make good choices. If you make bad choices (like my eating half an apple pie over 2 days), regroup and try again. I think it's all about attitude, and I've been trying very hard to change mine, which has helped a little to change the way I do things. If it takes a really long time, so be it. Something is better than nothing. Good luck.

go to gym the other 2 days even for an hour. Food shopping doesn't take 3 hours each day and worse case take your son with you.

Go for walks with him

I'm in the same boat, only my daughter isn't in preschool yet! I've set a goal of losing SOME weight by Jan. 1 via the gym (we just joined the Y with babysitting) and if I don't, my husband and I are both going to sign up for Weight Watchers Online ($65 for 3 months). I too have become obsessed with grocery shopping, cleaning and trying to paint our house, but just like you won't let yourself run out of milk, you have to get exercise too! I don't beat myself up if I don't get there, but I literally have put "Y" on at least two days of each week's calendar.

I'm not a morning person, but some folks swear by the early morning workouts. I know a few moms that get up and work out before their husbands leave for work. You could try that if you are inclined:)

GOOD LUCK!

Well you are busy busy busy. And we all now how that is. One thing to try is when your son is eating his food in the moring. Cut an orange or an apple up to take with you as you walk out the door. Make your self sit down and eat a lunch. Do you sit and plan your meals before going grocery shopping? Try it. Make a list of the things that you need to buy for meals and watch out for the snack alie. If you have to get snacks look at more of a healthy style kind and not the ones that just look good. If you have to nibble on something when you are shopping then take carrot sticks or something with you.

I know that this is all easier said then done. I fight with it every day. And i work p/t in a grocery store. So I am looking at food all day long.

Best of luck!

Hi L.!

My name is L. and I am an Independent Beachbody Coach. I too, have a pretty full schedule and know what you mean. For me, even though I enjoyed a gym, I found that I could never make time to get there and turned to workout videos that I could use at home and at anytime of the day. I spent a lot less too! Personally, I use the Beachbody series. You can check out my my website at www.beachbodycoach.com/lkp24. I also have a blog...www.exercise2dayinfo.blogspot.com. If you would like some help with your weight loss goals, let me know...there is no charge for my help at all!

L.

Hi L.,

You received some great advice from the helpful ladies on this site. Think about what would work for you and make the changes.

I am fairly good at time management, but have learned you get better at it the more you need to fit into the day. I am a mom of two kids, and have always worked full time. When my children were younger, we were fairly active together on the weekends -- walking, roller blading (especially when they were in the stroller), bike riding, swimming. We walked a lot more as well. As my kids got a little older and went into Kindergarten, we needed to fit homework into the nights, so the nightly walks went away. I also became more of a spectator to their activities. We were still active on the weekends, but it fit around their activities. Now keep adding more homework, projects, activities, and social life and my big exercise is taking the stairs in work. My kids are now 16 and 14, and there is no sign of slowing down my involvement in their lives. And I am overweight at 45. In June (my "new year" since it is my birthday) I decided I was going to find 15 minutes a day to have some kind of exercise. There are days where I get more and days where I get less, but it's a good start.

My point is that you will never find the time if you don't make exercise a priority. Your son will only get more active and there will be less time for you to fit exercise in. If you work it in now, and stick with some kind of activity, you will be in a better position as your son gets older. Find ways to play with your son that also involves movement -- walking, swimming (even goofing around in the pool can be a good workout), play "Superman" (lay on the floor and put your bare feet on his stomach and lift him in the air) -- and you get the best of both worlds. Try for at least one hour a week at the gym, then build up from there.

Good luck.

Dear L.,
I'm going to go against a lot of what I've read, although I didn't read all the posts. You have a gym membership~use it! You're paying for it, so make it a priority while your son's at school. Let him help you with the house-cleaning, it's a GREAT opportunity to teach him what you do & how you do it, so that as he gets bigger he can help you more. For now, he'll probably have to do little things, but he'll love that you're showing him something new! (My 5 year old thinks it's great when I "let" him help me with dishes or laundry!) Also, take him shopping with you. Bring a book or two along, or maybe a toy, so that he's not bored. Tell him the names of the things you're getting. (ie~these are carrots. They're orange.) This is another great way to integrate teaching into daily life. Kids are like sponges, they soak up everything when they're little, so inform away! Don't skip breakfast, even if it's a mini-bagel with pb. and a small glass of milk. Also, eat less, to eat more, to eat less. Stay with me here ~ eat less when you eat, eat more frequently, eat less overall! There's a lady at my gym who works in the childcare area who is VERY thin! She said that she doesn't do much working out, but she does walk a few miles (3-6) every day. She said that other than walking, she doesn't really do anything special. However, she does eat EVERYTHING in moderation, AND she eats every 2-3 hours. That sounds often, and it is, but if you're eating that frequently, you never get REALLY hungry AND your metabolism doesn't spike & drop the way eating three meals a day does. Also, this means you can eat a piece of fruit here, a handful of light popcorn there, some nuts at another time ~ you can fit all your foods in over the course of the day! Good luck with losing weight. I joined the gym a week and a half ago, and I've already lost 3 pounds, but then I'm going EVERY day during the week (Monday-Friday.) If your gym has free childcare use it on the days your son doesn't go to "school" so that you're doing something EVERY day! If not, take him for a walk, go to a playground, do jumping jacks in the living room with him ~ be active with him, so that he sees your example!
I'll be praying for your weight loss success! :)

Would it be worth it to you go make an appointment with a Nutritionist? Maybe they can look at your whole schedule and help you figure out what is best for your busy lifestyle!

Hey L.
First of all,you HAVE to eat breakfast,it is the most important meal of the day.Even if you have a glass of milk,yogurt,cheese,something for protein,piece of whole wheat toast,or a quick bowl of cereal.It literally takes minutes,sit down with your son and eat together.If you have to get up a few minutes earlier,then do it.Make chores,grocery shopping,paying bills a part of your day with your son.He needs to see these are a part of everyday life,it is not all about play,and you will still have lots of time together.You need time for you,and think of how much better you will feel if you lose some weight and get in shape.You will also be a better role model for your son.
How about walking with him and perhaps include your husband in that? How about exercising the 2 mornings your son is in playschool and add 2 evenings a week.You need to do it for you and your family.
I know some people say they don't have time,but we all have 24 hours in a day,it is what we choose to do with our time that makes the difference.You can fit 30-45 minutes in your day 4-5 times a week.
www.SwitchStoresForHealthyLiving.com

I tend to eat my son's leftovers too! :)For breakfast I make him oatmeal with raisins and cinnamon. My favorite snack: cut up an apple into wedges, take out the core and put peanut butter on each piece. Most of the time there isn't any left over. We always have raw almonds on hand and dry appricots, which I tell him is "nature's candy". These are simple good habits that will help your son and you stay healthy. We don't buy potatoe chips at all, only tortilla chips for special occasions. No cereals with sugar as the first ingredient. These are all things that I grew up with. I agree with the other ladies that you should probably join a group that will get you started on making the small changes that make a big difference.
Good luck,
N

I have heard great things about Weight Watchers. At the gym I go to they have a Weigh to Go program. You eat 6 times a day. Breakfast (ex. Special K cereal with berries, skim milk, or egg substitute with oat meal or whole wheat english muffin) then 2-3 hours later a snack (ex. couple slices of turkey on a wheat tortilla, and cantalope.) 2-3 hours later is lunch (lean cuisine meal, salad with grilled chicken breast, or even a 6" grilled turkey breast sub from Subway on wheat bread with no cheese) and 2-3 hours later another snack (light yogurt and peaches) and another 2-3 hours later dinner (I have lots of lo calorie recipes that I've gotten from timsgym.com) and finally 2-3 hours after that I have another snack. A cup of pop corn (not the movie theater butter kind!!) or some baked tostidos with salsa. It's actually pretty filling. The other thing I learned with this program is that it's good to do a detox before you start a diet. We did a two week detox. It's not fun, but it's worth it. It really jump started the diet. If you have any questions about this diet, please e-mail me! ____@____.com. I lost about 25 lbs. Oh, and my husband and I go to the gym in the evening. That's when it works for us. We take our kids and they stay in with the babysitter. They LOVE going!!

I have had great success with Weight Watchers in the past and am planning on going back in the next week to begin losing my baby weight. The great thing about the plan is you can eat any foods as long as you keep track of them, so you can fit in your salty and sugary meals. I too have trouble feeling "full," but through trial and error I have found a nice balence of foods to eat throughout the day and still stay within my daily points allotment. Good luck!

In all honesty i would join weight watchers. i need to lose weight myself and plan on doing this for the new year. they have a great,points system and you can eat what you want as long as you stay within this system. the one thing i know is that you have to watch the carbs when you want to lose weight. i know personally that i do better with something that is structured and spells is out for me. during your three hour break make sure to exercise for an hour,this will help also. drink lots of water and no calorie drinks. you do not want to get your calories from something you drink. good luck. D.

Hi L.,
I'm no expert n weight loss OR time management, but just wanted to suggest that you try to eat some protein in the morning for breakfast. Add some cheese or ham in the morning and it may help you feel less hungry for longer.
As far as exercise, why not try to do 2 short walks every day for about 15 or 20 minutes each? O. you could do after your son leaves for school and the other in the evening when your husband is home. Or do a trip to the gym maybe 2 eves per week. Short chunks of activity is as good as O. hour at a time.
Lots of times for me, the time that is "made available" for me (i.e. after son is in bed, etc) is not my first choice of time to do a nice long walk, but it is what it is and I know I've gotta be flexible because this house does not schedule itself around me!
Good luck.
P.S. After all, you do so much caregiving that you need to take care of yourself as well. I'm sorry about your father. Sending prayers.