How many of you have experienced a change in your life which has caused your quest for fitness to slide backwards? I'm pretty down about it right now. With the 5 mo & and 1 mo baby I feel like I dont have any time anymore to do anything, much less work out. (I finally had a chance to sit down!) I havent gained any weight, but I havent been able to go to the gym, or work out in the basement. Since I'm usually going on 3-4 hours of sleep a night, I find I just dont have the energy to do it. I WONT give up on my quest, but I'm just waiting for when I can get back on track. Any words of wisdom?

How many of you have experienced a change in your life which has caused your quest for fitness to slide backwards? I'm pretty down about it right now. With the 5 mo & and 1 mo baby I feel like I dont have any time anymore to do anything, much less work out. (I finally had a chance to sit down!) I havent gained any weight, but I havent been able to go to the gym, or work out in the basement. Since I'm usually going on 3-4 hours of sleep a night, I find I just dont have the energy to do it. I WONT give up on my quest, but I'm just waiting for when I can get back on track. Any words of wisdom?

My only advice is do the best you can with the situation you are in. You may not have as much time to work out for awhile but that doesn't mean you still can't eat right. From reading the forum eating is a major component of being healthy. Stay on track nutrition wise and workout when you can. If your only getting 3-4 hrs of sleep a night I would be inclined to take the spare time sleeping rather than trying to work out. I have a feeling that if you try and do too much on only 3-4 hrs of sleep it may be counterproductive. It sounds to me like you may have a higher priority right now which is nothing to feel down about.

Wow, 1 mo old and 1 5 mo old I can understand you having a hard time finding the time to work out. I dont have kids but I think you should try your best to keep on track. It must feel empowering to know that you are beginning to shape the kind of people they will become.

Becuase of my lackof experience I cant offer any words of wisdom, but just hang in there and remember that you are raising human beings and that in itself should be an inspiring experience (even if it doesnt feel like it now).

I bet there is a lot of people like you. Maybe you can be the one to show the others that you can achieve things for yourself like weightloss while raising children. You could write a book about it. Hey I know I'm being optimistic but look what John did by simply committing to his goals.

Keep it up, its these hard times in life that define who we are and if we never give up, seperate us from the pack. :tu:

Marcus :tucool:

This is just one of the reasons why I never want children, but you have two so I'm guessing that children are very important for you.

With that in mind, it looks like a little sacrifice is in order. Now obviously I don't have kids, but everyone I've talked to says it gets a little easier and less demanding on one's time when they get a little older. Until then, I think you could benefit from a little pre-emptive damage control.

For example:


Don't worry too much about what you eat, but try to limit portion sizes
A few times a week, try to cook something really clean, so you remember what it tastes like and don't get completely used to fattening, sweet foods
Try to get a little exercise in, even if it's only walking around the block or even around the house
Remind yourself that this portion of parenthood is not permanent, you just have to wait it out


Also, please don't think of your children as burdens keeping you from your goals. Parenthood is a very noble thing :)

[Edit to say:] Or, you could just forget the damage control stuff and give it all you got. You never know until you try!

I didn't start working out until my kid was sleeping through the night - it took him about 4 months, but once he started, it's been like clock work. When he wasn't sleeping on a schedule, it felt like I was in a continual daze.
I agree with Duckfan - concentrate on the nutrition. Also, do what you can to get the kids into a good sleeping routine. Believe me, I know that this is easier said than done - but just try to put them down at a consistent time.