Last summer I was in the worst shape of my life. I'm not quite sure how it happened, but with the kids having three separate schedules and Dan working a lot, I could never find a workout groove or pattern and things went downhill. I hate the feeling of my body being out of my control, not that I'm skinny right now by any means (I love wine and ice cream too much for that), but throughout the last year I've made an effort to establish better workout routines and eating habits. And then summer came along and all my carefully laid out "me" time disappeared. So here it is, my ten step effort to stay healthy with kids in tow. Wish me luck.
1. My Up wristband. I bought myself an Up wristband and I continue to wear it constantly. The wristband is basically acts as a pedometer and when you feel like checking your "stats", you just plug it into a ipad or iphone. I'm a little obsessed with it and even the kids constantly ask "mom, how are you doing? have you made your steps for the day?" And if I'm low we'll end up walking to the library or the playground or taking Coco around the neighborhood. Basically it just reminds me to walk, a lot. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Little things. That really do make a difference.
2. Fitness Dice
. Because they're fun to roll and once someone starts rolling then everyone ends up following. And before you know it you've spent the last fifteen minutes doing jumping jacks. And laughing. 3. Join a pool. Because nothing in the world makes me want to work out more than wearing a bathing suit on a daily/weekly basis.
4. A Gaim tv subscription. They have everything from Rodney Yee to Jillian Michaels. So when it's too hard to leave the house with the kids I can continually try new workouts from home.
5. 7 minute aerobic workouts. Like this one. Or 7 minutes worth of burpees. Because sometimes during the summer it's hard to find more than 7 minutes.
6. Splurge on babysitters/camps. Because I love 10 am Bikram yoga, despite its lack of kid-friendliness (or, perhaps, because of its lack of kid friendliness).
7. Hiking. Arlington Magazine recently published a list of 7 EASY hikes in the metro DC area (click here to check it out). The kids and I have been checking some of them out. They can only go so far before claiming boredom or exhaustion, but it's better than nothing.
8. Health club daycare. When the kids were little they spent hours every week in health club daycare, but now they all hate it because "it's for babies, mom, babies." Um, well, not really. But I understand how the fun has worn off. Still, some days I'll resort to bribes to force them to come with me. Especially for kickboxing. But when bribes don't work (or when I just don't have the energy to load three complaining children into the minivan) I still have numbers 1-7.
9. Eat breakfast. I hate eating breakfast. Mornings are hectic enough, the last thing I want to deal with is a meal for me. But it really is true that if I eat toast with almond butter in the morning, I'm less hungry all day. So I'm going to try to start eating a daily breakfast. Really try.
10. Don't eat the kid food. One of my good friends lost about twenty pounds last year and has managed to change her diet so the weight continues to stay off. She gave me some great advice - don't eat the kid food and don't always force them to eat your food. Maybe that means they eat mac and cheese for dinner and you eat a salad. A good, yummy salad. Everyone is happy. Because trying to find foods that everyone likes becomes exhausting.
For those of you reading this list and thinking how pathetic it sounds, I assure you I am not in ANY WAY a diet or fitness guru. But I figured if I made a list and published a list then (hopefully) I will follow the list. So wish me luck.
What about everyone else? Any ideas for staying in shape when surrounded by children?
Oh thank you! I am trying shed 10 lbs of baby weight (7 yrs later) and for the past 6 months my husband and I have been diligently walking and I lost some weight. Until summer hit and the daughter is home. I'm trying desperately to get back on track. Off for a walk right now while my husband gives the kidlet her breakfast. Trying to be better about sweets consumption. I've also been going to bed too late, which makes me tired and not motivated to work out the next day. Thank you for all this inspiration!
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