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?

Eat porridge oats daily and walk daily. These will both help.

I started doing couch to 5k in those circumstances. Set in stone the days I was doing it and fitted it into the day somehow

Exercise before DC get up. 30 min weights or Pilates or yoga at home, do a YouTube follow-along - it costs nothing.

Fast. Save money on food by fasting.

It's really not very difficult I promise.

I found a walking pad helps. I work from home and can use it for 20 minutes after meals and in the evening when watching TV.

I was advised the same so now I do 7 x 30 minute gym classes a week.
Five of them are 6.15am until 6.45am to keep it outside of family activities.
So I get everything ready for work and school the night before and have a proper routine which has actually made everything easier to be on time.
Apart from that I make sure I eat well most of the time particularly breakfast and lunch so if need be I eat same as the rest of the family.
2 litres of water a day

Since doing all of this I'm 3 stone down, much healthier and all levels are normal.
There is no quick fix it took a year but was worth it.

Why do you have to go to the gym?
Walk some of thexway to work.
Walk with your kids
Use housework as a workout. You'd be surprised at the number of calories cleaning a beathroom can burn.
Be a bit creative with exercise and meal planning

I agree. If I go to work, plan all my meals, make my lunches ahead, home cook from scratch, do my daily exercise, do my physio, ring the elderly relatives, clean etc etc then frankly I feel like a drone and life starts to feel pointless. I think high energy people can cope but if you are a lower energy person then it all just feels like a massive purposeless slog.

OP it is difficult to change habits.
Start by doing one thing at a time (- actually Michael Moseley's just one thing podcast is very good for motivation.)

Tackle food first.
Find quick easy meals to cook. Use a smaller plate.
Often on here people seem to have time consuming but delicious healthy meals all the time.
Now my family life will never, ever allow for that so I go quick and simple, not much meat or salt, but homemade. That makes it cheaper
No snacking.

Movement - Couch to 5k is good, but there's lots of work outs on YouTube that require no equipment that you could do at home. Also, headphones on and dance through the housework.
If you have any previous injuries you'll need to adapt or try something new.

Good luck OP. It is tough to make changes and different family circumstances can throw issues in your path that others might not appreciate.

I had no inclination to go to the gym but I get several hours exercise walking to and from work and walking to the shops etc.
As for food, I have a whole repertoire of quick and easy healthy meals. I also tend to make one or two big dishes at the weekend. This means after work I can just reheat something I've already prepared.
You do have to be organised but it's doable. It's just about changing habits.

@ladymammalade no parkrun won't fix everything but it is a start. It is a weekly commitment that can easily be carved out and you can work with others to improve as it is a supportive environment for beginners.

It can be done, based on the majority of the gym I attend being parents with FT jobs, you just have to want to do it.

For me it means 6am classes, home at 715 and DC are still in bed (DH at home). DH goes in the evening when I take DC to their clubs apart from Wednesday when we switch as DH also coaches for DC1 football team. Sometimes DC1 and I squeeze in a 5km run whilst DC2 is training. Both DC also attend kids classes at our gym so they're happy in that environment and can sit in the big reception area for an hour whilst DH or I do a class - very helpful for me when DH works away. Basically, it's family life.

Food wise I just make as much use out of the air fryer and slow cooker as possible. Loads of protein and fruit/veg although this is definitely getting more expensive with DC getting bigger (10 & 6)

If your kids are under 11 then you can very easily exercise with them: playing games outside, going for walks etc.

If they're a bit older then it gets harder, but conversely they don't need you round all the time so you can pop out for a daily walk without it being an issue.

You don't need to be specifically in the gym to be more active.

Surely a balanced diet and intergrating more physical activity is beneficial for the whole family? Not just for their immediate health but also for ensuring they see healthy and balanced behaviours exhibited which they're likely to carry into adulthood?

It doesn't have to be a million miles an hour or all or nothing though.

I do stregrh exercises in the morning before DS and DH are up, and then make sure to walk wherever feasible. Alongside this I do running and pilates, but as a family we go cycling, swimming etc so we have family time just that involved being active. Food wise just make small changes to what you're already making; like i don't have garlic bread with pasta/lasagna but DS and DH love it so do ill just have salad with mine which takes seconds to put on the plate.

Could you do half an hour exercises after kids are in bed? This was how I started running last year - just half an hour after they've gone to bed three times a week and then incorporated with walking in normal schedule I am probably hitting 150mins a week now.

It's hard to overemphasize what a positive impact it's hade on my overall health. Once you get into the habit then positive action just reinforces more positive action - I find it easier to make better food choices now, like not snacking/having seconds, and I feel overall less overwhelmed.

The difficult bit is starting though - just try and identify 2 or 3 half hour slots to do a run/workout video/some gym and go from there.

I have 2 10 minute breaks and a 30 minute lunchbreak. My 2nd 10 minute break I go for a 5 minute walk around the car park and go for a longer (15-20 minutes), on my lunch break. Is it possible to stand whilst working and do a walk on the spot for a while? When doing household chores put some music on a have a little dance whilst cleaning.

Do you not put salt in your food?
There are plenty of suitable sauces in jars.
People can add plenty of veg and good protein and they have what can be a healthy food. It's about balancing what can can do. Doesn't have to be 100% super foods to be healthy. People do best they can with the time and resources they have.

This doesn't sound too bad to me 🤷 No proven concerns about bit of modified cornstarch. Sounds actually pretty much as what zi put into sweet and sour sauce.
Water, Tomato Purée from Concentrate, Sugar, Mixed Peppers (4%), Carrots (4%), Modified Maize Starch, Spirit Vinegar, Pineapple (2%), Pineapple Juice from concentrate, Onions, Salt, Ground Ginger, Colour (Paprika Extract)

It's the added sugar, salt and preservatives which are the problem. I can't believe people don't know that jarred food is processed and has added sugar and low quality ingredients.

Of course it is processed but as I said, not all jar sauces are bad.

People don't need to do everything 100% to eat healthily

I said that earlier.

I posted one that didnt have sugar in it (apart from the sugar from tomatoes), there were tons more that I couldnt be bothered to copy and paste and that wasa the first one I found, I didnt have to specifically look for it, why do you keep insisting that 'jars' are 'bad'

Most food is processed in some way, jarring is a historical method of preserving food, just like canning, salting, potting etc.

Processed food in general is bad for you. It tends to have added sugar, salt and preservatives.

If you want to eat out of jars, knock yourself out.

jar sauces are not necessarily bad? is that controversial

I think if it's a choice between pizza and chips or using a jar sauce for ease then the sauce is the healthier option.
I exercise most days using a training app, I have dumbbells and resistance bands at home for strength training and cardio is walking/running or going on the rowing machine we have at home. It can be hard to start but once it becomes habit it's easy to fit in. I haven't been able to exercise for a couple of days due to illness and I really miss it.

Yes it is challenging and it requires headspace to work out how to do it, what is possible and what isn't - and headpsace is sometimes lacking in itself

Take on less is the only answer - commit to less, build in down time - so there is time to make a proper dinner ( that can be quick and easy - think egg, chips and large homemade coleslaw )

Years ago Sundays were so boring because everything was shut and nothing was possible online - but it was also valuable decompression and catch your tail time

Yes, I will, with my nut butters, my chickpeas, my artichokes, my olives and many other jars of bits and bobs

People like you are the problem with OP trying to find good advice about a healthy lifestyle when you use a nonsense term like 'processed food in general is bad for you'

Cheese? Tinned fish? Tinned tomatoes? Bread?, Butter?, I mean the list of processed foods is unending because generallyl food is processed to make it edible and tasty, we do this in our own kitchens.