Let's talk exercise.

Ok, so I am sure that you have all read some of my previous post.  Saying that you probably know that between us we have 8 children.  Wonderful children.  I am away from home for work from 7:45 - 6:30.  My husband works 4 days a week from 6-4 and has class 4 days from 6pm -8:30 and 2 online classes.  Now that I have prefaced my post with this, you will understand why.  I got home last night at 6:30, then went grocer shopping, got home, got dinner on the table and finished by 8:30, LATE.  Then I spent 45 minutes bandaging and putting medicine on Dan's kiddos cause their mom sux and doesn't care their 7 year old has some sort of infection on his foot from all the sores and the picking of them.  Then it was let's start laundry, give the baby a bath, get the other kids bathed.  Tuck them in, give a million good night hugs and kisses.  By now it is 11:30.  OMG!!  Where the F did my day go?  So then I get in bed about 12-12:30.  Slept through the alarm.  GOt up at 7 had to be out the door in 30 minutes. Now, where the hell am I suppose to fit in exercising?  I am so discouraged today.  Especially after my gluttonous weekend.  So I thought, I will take them walking with me.  How am I going to do that when they 7 months, 2 1/2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9.  how will I keep up with them all?  Ok, so I will do my Jillian Michales videos, which kick my a$$.  But how when they are all in the way?  I love our kids, don't get me wrong.  I just wanted to know what you guys do to fit it in??  Help me make it a priority when I already have so many.  I don't, no, I will not fail at this this time.  This is to important!!!  Any thoughts!!

I can't EVEN imagine!!!!  I only had one.. so what I'd do is hoist her up on my shoulders and walk the 5 miles to the park and back.  Three days a weeks I'd get that 10 mile walk in and the other days I'd take her to the zoo... but that was only one and I wasn't working at the time.  When I got back into the world, I'd end up in the gym at 5:30 am and I gotta tell ya.. it didn't last.. I was exhausted.   Quite frankly .. I don't know how you do it all with so many children! God Bless ya, woman!! Lori

Leah....how did you manage to fit in the exercise while you were losing all your weight?  I know you said you exercised a lot.  Just curious.  Has your situation changed since then?  I can't personally even imagine having 8 kids under the age of 9....keeping up with them must be exercise itself! Are you able to walk on your lunch hour at work?  Do you live in an area where you can all safely bike/walk?  Does your hubby enjoy walking also or could he keep the three little ones at home while you and the older ones went out to bike/walk?  I know my daughter has 3 little ones and right now they are all enjoying the Wii Fit.  They also have a trampoline that is great exercise and the whole family enjoys. It has to be challenging to say the least!  Try to think back when you were being successful fitting exercise into your life.  Maybe you can ask your hubby's cooperation and steal 2-3 hours/week where he is responsible for the little ones....is that possible?  Or enlist the help of friends or family.   I wish you luck....just grab the moments as you can and try to incorporate as much movement in your everyday life as possible.  That can't be hard with 8 little ones....LOL!!

Sherrie,  the situation did change.  My husband wen tback to school, YEAH!!  So he works 40 hours and is taking 3 classes this summer.  Also, we have his kids (5 of them), for 5 weeks this summer.  I only get a 30 minute lucnh.  And if my hubby is gone from 5 am to 9 pm for 4 days and then has clas in the evening for 3 hours on the other days, he can't help out.  We don't have a Wii.  That is what Santa is bringing the kids for Xmas.  We do have a tramploine, but since I don't get home until 6:30 and have to do dinner and baths, cuz Dan's kids haven't been taught to clean, clean up and do the 2 + loads of laundry I have to do everyday.  HA.  Listen to me whining.  Ok, so should I cut back on sleep?  Don't you need good sleep to lose weight?  See my dilema???

I certainly do!!  Big changes.  All you can do is your best.  Enjoy his children while they are with you....step parenting isn't easy....take it from one who knows.  Let these five weeks be a POSITIVE time for your family and try not to feel resentful if his kids don't have the same skills as yours.  You have a lot on your plate (no pun intended).  I think you will be doing well if you can keep your food choices under control and try to keep your home harmonious. Good luck and don't be too hard on yourself.

Oh no, never resentful of his kids.  Not their fault that their mother is too consumed with her to worry about them.  Besides, they love coming to our house, they are allowed to be kids.  And it is good for them to be here.  At their house there is so much emphasis put on weight.  Their mom just had bariatric surgery aftr a tummy tuck, their step dad had bariatric surgery in November.  At our house, it is about making healthy choices and not talking abuot being fat all the time.  The 4 year old actually stopped eatinig because she didn't want to be fat.  She was 27 pounds.  Hello.  The bad part about it is to feed that many people and stay within a reasonable budget is hard to do it healthy.  And I would love to get them involved in things like this as well, so they can see it is about health.

Leah, exercise definitely doesn't have to be structured. With all those little ones, I say, "Get out in the back yard and have some fun. Chase each other. Play tag. Play Hide 'n go seek. Swing the baby and little ones on the swing. Twirl a couple of them in circles. Give piggy back rides." Thing is, Leah, the kids will LOVE it and you will get your exercise easily not to mention the bonus of building a bond between you and your step kids as well as your won kids that they will remember all their lives. Something like, ":Hey do you remember when...?"  The question is when, right? After work, after supper before baths, whenever you can spare 15-30 minutes of times just to spend some quality time with the kiddos.  Hope this helps. Beth **ETA: After reading your last reply, this also teaches them that exercise is important but it can be fun.

8 children!?!!  Good lord woman!!

I'm with Janina.  Your post made me tired just reading it.  I have four kids and the idea of four more makes my head spin.  Well..you got some good  pointers already.  There is a few suggestions that wasn't pointed out that I've heard or did in the past.  That is MAKE IT HAPPEN regardless.  Take out a half n hour maybe right when you walk in the door, or half hour right when you wake up, make it your OWN time.  You might have to sacrifice a half an hour of sleep to make it happen, while at least the two littlest ones are sleeping.  Maybe if you did, you would figure out ways to make yourself get more sleep at night.  Just a thought. Also, what I have done in the past is put a sign on my door saying "mommy's exercising" , or "mommy's time".  Then have a little family meeting and explain to them what your doing and not to bother you at this time.  I had to do this when I was doing correspondence at home.  I had to put a sign on the back of my seat that basically said "I'm working".  They got to know that when that sign was on the back of my chair, they were not to disturb me.  Might help with your hubby too, when he does his online classes or studies.  You got your hands full woman, that's for sure.  It's the two littlest ones that would seem to make you not be able to do your routine.  The others I would just have to sit them down and tell them, explain to them that this is YOUR time.  That in itself could be a way to teach them that exercise is important and you have to get it in every day.   Other than playing with them at night and having that your exercise, you might just have to wake up a half an hour early.  I use to do this and I actually learned to love the idea of it was my "quiet time".  lol Reading it just made me think maybe I should start doing it again! :) Good luck!

Do you have room to plant a garden?  Gardening they say is great exercise, plus it's something that the kids can help with.  Great way to have family time and exercise all rolled into one.  For walks, how about on weekends when your hubby is home.  It can be a family walk.  Do you have any playgrounds where you can take them and let em run around while you do "laps" and keep track of them at the same time? You definitely have a full plate...bless you.  Reading your post made me tired.  If you can't get in exercise as you should, just keep up with the healthy choices and enjoy the kids.