To think a 'healthy lifestyle' is quite challenging in a hectic life with work and family commitments?

[mids2019]

So I have been diagnosed with high blood pressure and the GP has advocates 150 minutes exercise a week, balanced diet, low stress etc

Am I the only one thinking with family, work and household commitments this can be a bit of a challenge?

I can do 2.5 hours at the gym but it means in reality eating into family time. The dies maybe be possible but I think I would end up preparing my own meals and time is a factor.

I completely understand where the GP is coming from and the advice is welcome but seems a real challenge to follow.

Am I the only one to feel like this?

Can you work walking into your life? That's what I do.
I gave up my car but you don't have to go that far!

Agree with gym not being necessary. Movement is important and getting your heart rate up. Incorporate walking into your daily routine, you don't need me to tell you how, it can be done quite easily. 150 minutes a week broken down per day is not too onerous really. That's just 20 minutes every day or half an hour five days a week.

It's what I do 5 days a week. The thoughts of a gym or swimming pool fills me with absolute dread TBH, so I walk, fast.

You really don’t have to spend two and a half hours in a gym.

Can you walk your school run?

Do you have a garden? If not maybe look into renting an allotment. (Which your family can also engage with.) Dedicated gardening is very strenuous.

Do you own:

A skipping rope?
A weighted hula hoop?
A yoga mat?
Hand weights?
Trainers for running?

Or, more ambitiously:

A rowing machine?
An exercise bike?

You can use all of those at home.

Obviously you’ll lose a fair bit of family time if you keel over with a heart attack or whatever - but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t incorporate physical activity and a healthy diet into normal life. (Get a weekly veg box.) The combination would do wonders for your stress levels, too.

I quite like youtube dance workouts, yoga or dumbbell workouts. You could easily do a 20 min one every day and it wouldn't eat into family time as you wouldn't need to leave the house. If you add in some walking too, that would be plenty.

I should take my own advice tbh! I do the walking part and occasionally a youtube workout, but I really could do more

I have the same issue. I wear a Fitbit and I dance. I dance when cleaning, cooking, brushing my teeth, whatever.

20 mins a day with 5kg weights. Squats, lifts etc.
eating healthy meals is easy... just don't buy unhealthy food. It needn't take any longer than binging pizzas and chips in the oven really.
After a few months you'll be in the habit and won't look back!

I think it’s more than ‘a bit challenging’ !! Hence why such a huge number of people are obese!! It’s expensive and tbh I think. A luxury many can’t afford in the UK now.

I agree modern life is structurally unhealthy. Long hours, busy schedules, cars, late nights, TV etc etc.

But you can change that bit by bit.

Radical changes are hard to impose in one go.

The best way to change is to start an easy/short change then increase, so build in five mins exercise each morning and each fortnight increase by five (so 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 30). It takes telve weeks to entrench a habit.

For food - just start improving bit by bit.

Ditch your car where you can.

At night do 60 seconds deep breathing, then increase as you did your exercise by another 60 seconds each fortnight.

150 minutes is just over 20minutes a day.....that's a couple of km walk at lunchtime, walk the school run, a HIIT workout before breakfast, a strength training session once the kids are in bed, it's really not a lot!!
You should all be eating a balanced diet because if it's not good for you, it's not good for any of the family.

Can you do parkrun? You can get it over and done with by 10am on a Saturday.

The only way I ever fit in exercise with a family was to cycle to work. It was about an hour of cycling - so I had a spin bike I'd use in the evening until I was good enough to do it one way.

Is there a way you can use your commute time OP? Even if you get a foldup bike and get off the train etc early you can cycle halfway until you're good enough to do the full journey

For reducing blood pressure what is particularly good is to go for a 20-30 minute walk every day after a meal and intermittent fasting. It's much better to move more in your every day life than go and do an hour at the gym twice a week and rest of the time being sedentary. Intermittent fasting doesn't take any time out of your life, if anything it gives you more time as you will lose one meal a day to plan/prepare.

Priorise your health, it's by far the biggest favour you can do to yourself and your family. You are also setting a better example to your kids that way.

Why can't the family be involved? Go on walks, do exercises from YouTube or using Wii. Take the family swimming or climbing.

Organise healthy family meals and snacks, stop buying junk. The BBC good food website has lots of ideas.

Agree with everyone saying you need to incorporate it into lifestyle as far as possible. Cycle to work. Walk everywhere you can. Take stairs not lift etc.

How old are you children? The age/stage they are at affects the type of exercise that is easier to include. It's good to model prioritising exercise as healthy lifestyle (I wish I had done that now when nice were small).

Small children that you can steal into a buggy for walking/running or back pack for hiking. Preteens easier to encourage in family bike rides. If you are lucky there might be a nearby parks with outdoor gun equipment for strength training but these do seem to be very variable in quality depending on area.

That said prioritising regular gym/group exercise classes sessions for yourself while children are at home if that inspires you to exercise more is also a good thing to model -prioritising said care and future health.

My first suggestion would always be a brisk walk at lunchtime. Doesn’t eat into family time and you’ll have a clearer head to get back to work in the afternoon.

I wouldn't have time to eat if I did that - i only get 30 mins. Can't eat at my desk really due to the nature of the job.

But walking to and from work and school run is doable.

I suppose it depends what works for your personal circumstances.

The diet and stress far more important than the exercise, especially if the exercise is causing you stress!

A fitness tracker and 10k steps a day is what's needed, I agree with the lunchtime walk.

Absolutely! I find it so incredibly hard to look after myself.

Yanbu, its really hard especially if your job is sedentary (which is lots of us lets be honest).

I do 3 exercise classes a week, each an hour long but my 2 midweek ones are after my daughter has gone to bed so I don't feel like I'm missing out on time with her. She's little though so bedtime is 7pm. My other one is on a Sunday (early) and I tell myself it's just an hour and then I get the whole day with her.

I do think it's important to model healthy behaviours like exercise to our kids, so think of if as part of parenting?!

The recommendation is 150 minutes of moderate exercise, 75 minutes of vigorous exercise or a mixture of the two.

The trick is to prioritise the exercise and fit everything round that, rather than the other way round. I appreciate that’s easier said than done. But it’s the only way exercise gets done and becomes a habit.

As for the diet, when you say you’ll have to make your own food - will the rest of the family not eat healthy stuff?

See other people on this thread are saying ignore the exercise and focus on diet and stress. You’re saying prioritise exercise. There is so many mixed messages that it’s all sooooo overwhelming and exhausting before you even begin to action anything!

It is really difficult. I already know everything the doctor is telling me and know what I need to do about it. However, as a lone parent with two DC and a full on job I'm not sure how much I can adapt things to make any significant difference.

I’m not saying ignore diet. It’s really really important which is why I asked a question about cooking.

But the gp advised 150 minutes a week and the op asked how to get that done.

Exercise is perhaps secondary for weight loss. But it’s very much important for well being and for stress reduction which are also on the OP’s to do list.

How old are your DC?

At the moment you seem to be saying that you want your family to continue an unhealthy lifestyle. Surely not.

Tweak everyone's food. Get active at the weekends.Don't sit in the car whilst a DC does a sport or club, route march somewhere.