TIME & FOOD DILEMMA

J

joejoe

Member
Hello, everyone
Just wondering if there were any others that were having time issues.
How do you ladies manage to work out -stay in shape and go to work?
I go to school and work fulltime, no kids yet, not married (i guess i have it easy) but I don't seem to have enough time. When I get home I either have dinner maybe do some homework and just feel really tired. I've been wanting to get up real early to go to the gym, but I never do.I've been paying Balley's Gym too much money, but I don't even go.I need some insparation from anybody.Lately, I have been working out,(in my garage) but I feel I need in extra push. I need to lose at least 15 pounds, I'm waiting for my Cathe videos to arrive, for now I'm just limited to the All Step.Tell me your daily schedule,

P.S this may sound weird, but what do you ladies eat for breakfast. I'm trying to eat healthy, but fruit does not satisfy me I still end up hungry. I was used to eating the bad stuff, breakfast burritos, eggs, potatoes, bacon, tortillas, stuff like that, you know, foods that are rich in Saturated fat. What is healthy yet filling. I'm always in a hurry,so when I get to work eating out is very convenient.
HELP:(
 
I am a SAHM, but ocassionally do work part time in sales from time to time so I do have the time to workout so there are no excuses for me. As for breakfast, I eat Kashi High Protein Cereal. Shortly afterwards, I will eat yogurt with walnuts or berries mixed in with it. As a matter of fact, I eat probably every 30 mins while I am PMS'n, but in small quantities. LOL

Charlotte~~
 
I'll admit it's not easy to get everything you want to get done, done in one day. I work four full days a week, with a long commute. I have a five year old, also. For me, I have to get up very early in the morning. By the time I get home from work, make dinner, clean up dinner, go through the mail, return phone calls...there is no end.

Plus, I haven't seen my son all day; the last thing I want to do is take another hour or so away from him by working out.
I plan my workouts in advance. Usually a month at a time.
If you are trying to loose weight, diet is absolutely essential. That too takes planning. I've recently weighed my food to get an idea where I was at calorie wise, and I was amazed how far off I was on some things. I found a website that is easy to navigate and enter exactly what and how much I'm eating.

For breakfast (and all meals/snacks) you should have a combination of a protein and carbohydrate. Most mornings I have 5-6 egg whites with 1/4 - 1/2 cup of plain oatmeal and a little bit of fruit. This will satisfy me for a while. I also drink a lot of water.

Maybe on a weekend, say, Sunday night, make larger batches of healthy foods and pack them in containers, so you're not as tempted to grab something that's will tack on the pounds.


Susan C.M.
 
My dietician advised me to get at least 3 different food groups at breakfast time, so that I feel fuller longer. And it works. I used to just have a bowl of cereal (that's 2 food groups - grains and dairy). And I'd be famished by 9am. But I started adding a piece of fruit, or a spoonful of peanut butter to my breakfasts and I can go almost to lunch time without feeling hungry now. I still have a small midmorning snack at 10am or so, but I don't feel so ravishingly starved like I used to. You need to have something substantial for breakfast (a piece of fruit is not enough!) because it's the first time you've eaten in over 8 hours (for most people). Gotta get that metabolism fired up for the day! :) (BTW, eggs aren't necessarily bad for you - they are good source of protein, just have them in moderation, or consider eating only egg whites.)

It can be hard to find time for exercise, but you have to make time. Your health and well-being are at stake. I am a very early riser when it comes to my workouts. I'm up at 4:45 every morning (except weekends LOL!), because I know it's the only time of day I have truly for myself. Is it hard to get up that early? Well, it was at first! But I have adapted. Now I have no problem at all getting up that early. I look forward to my morning workouts. I have to go to bed pretty early, but it works for me. You just have to find a time that works for you - even it means scheduling an appointment with yourself so that you will get it done.

It takes time to build a good routine, but it can be done! Hang in there! :)
 
I work a minimum of 50 hours a week & I've found the best way to stick to a routine is to split it up. Working out at home w/Cathe has helped a great deal. I do all my lifting at the gym, usually on the weekends & one or two nights a week. My cardio is usually done early in the mornings w/one of Cathe's workouts. Oh, & also on the weekends at the gym.
 
LOL
Thank you for responding, by the way your pictures are awesome and inspiring. Have you always been slim?
When I was in Junior High I weighed about 185 pounds, I was only 13-14 years old, I was out of shape and extremely unhappy. I finally decided to do something about it, but went about it the wrong way, it worked and that is all that mattered to me. I ran every day on my treadmill (that i burnt out) 6 miles, wore 2 sweat pants two sweatshirts, stoped drinking soda, stopped eating chips, almost stopped eating period.When I did eat I started feeling really gross. I went down to 123 pounds, that's 42 pounds that I lost in about 1 year. I became very thin, my hair was falling out and my nails were brittle. I maintained that weight all throughout highschool.I was also very active. As soon as I started college and work I gained weight. I feel like my hips and thighs exploded, I don't know what happened. I'm afraid that I will be stuck with them, so i'm trying to prevent that. I now weigh almost 150 I'm only about 5'4 I feel gross.
ok i let it all out thanks for reading;(
 
You really have to FIND the time and motivation to workout. I have two small boys (ages 3 and 1.5), work full time (with overtime), a husband with a new business, a messy house, chores, family obligations and an hour commute to and from my office. The only time I can workout is after my kids go to bed.

Some days are harder than others, but I just DO IT. No excuses. No time to sit on the couch and DECIDE whether or not I should...I just go upstairs to the ATTIC (yes, my ATTIC) and get started.

Yes, it's difficult...but it's a habit now and I look forward to that time just for me.
 
wow
I feel I have no excuse then, I admire ladies like yourself. I think I will try and write/plan my workouts in advance.
Sunday sounds good to cook and pack "healthy" foods.
 
ok ok I'm pumped
I can't wait to go home, this is what I needed. I needed not so much advice, but needed to know that there are others with a very busy schedule yet still manage to incorporate exercise.I guess when you really want something it doesn't matter what it takes to get there. Right? right


Gracias-thank you :+
 
joejoe,

SAHM means Stay At Home Mom. Thanks for the compliment. For the most part, I have always been slim, but started to notice my body changing around 30 and didn't change my eating habits until just about 2 years ago. I did have some fat building and I was slowly expanding to where my 8's didn't fit anymore and 10's felt better. (not that being in a size 10 is bad, just different for me and I have a very small frame) I ate alot of crap too and skipped meals. I felt gross too and had very wild mood swings. I am not going back to that...EVER!!!! You have to eat at least 5-6 times a day. Your body needs fuel to burn and when you strength train, you will want to eat more at times. As long as you are eating a good ratio of proteins, complex carbs, etc. you won't get fat while working out at least 5-6 times a week. Don't be so hard on yourself...let Cathe be hard on you instead! LOL

Charlotte~~
 
Joejoe, I am not working right now. I do have a special needs child whom I cannot entrust to any daycare center, babysitter or nanny, and a big chunk of the week is spent driving him to and from school and his therapists. Now that school is over, most of the week will be devoted to many activities like gymnastics, swimming, camps plus therapy. I wrap my hours and basically my whole being around his schedule and his life.

To say that working out has kept me sane is an understatement.}( It is my therapy for all the life-sucking energy around me (not to mention criticism from people who don't know any better and allow their ignorance to get the better of them -- but that's another thread).

I have trained my son to occupy himself while I am working out in the afternoon. He knows my workouts are non-negotiable. It was harder when he was younger, but now that he's older it's easier to make him understand how important this is to me.

For breakfast I eat either oatmeal cooked with milk and wheat germ or egg whites with cottage cheese. I can't stand anything else. My biggest problem is when I'm on the road. I normally reach for power bars, but these have sugar. I still think it's better than drive-thru food. Another problem is that my son and husband don't share my eating habits, and they love to eat out. I just try to eat food that's closest to its natural state as possible, and order salads with chicken breast or any baked or grilled lean meat with vegetables when eating out. Here at home, where I have more control over what I put in my mouth, I eat lots of oatmeal (especially before lifting weights), fish, chicken breast, some nuts and fruit, and I make sure our ref and pantry always have these. After my workouts, I usually have a protein shake. I guess I can be more strict with my eating, but I'm pretty happy about where I am. I don't aspire to look like a fitness model or competitor. I'm just glad I'm healthy. Stock up on healthy food -- lean meat, greens, low-glycemic fruit, oatmeal, whole wheat bread. You can cook food for the rest of the week during the weekend and just store it all in the ref or freezer in the very portions you need. I used to do this when I was single. So all I did was reheat in the microwave. This is a matter of starting a habit. Once you get the hang of it, you'll wonder why you thought it was so hard at first.:)

Pinky
 
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