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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Please, please tell me how you fit exercise into your day?

67 replies

spad · 02/04/2015 22:57

I have two children and am pregnant. And I am very overweight I have to get some kind of proper exercise into my day. I just don't know how to fit it in.

How do you fit exercise into your day? I am especially interested if you have a baby and a toddler.

OP posts:

UsedToBeAPaxmanFan · 03/04/2015 04:54

What time does your dp get home from work? I go to classes afer work at my local gym which run from 7.30 - 8,30 pm. There are quite a few women there with young children. Could you find a gym with classes you could go to twice per week?

FindoGask · 03/04/2015 05:33

I exercise in the early morning, between 6 and 7 on working weekdays and 9 and 10 on the weekends.

chrome100 · 03/04/2015 05:42

I hate to say it, but I get up at 5....

Eyespy24 · 03/04/2015 06:07

I go swimming after my 2 (9mth & 3)are in bed. Pool nice & quiet then. Swam lots in my second pregnancy too.

Maursh · 03/04/2015 06:09

Hum, I think a lot of the other posters missed the part that you are pregnant! I wouldn't have been jumping around to 30DS at 6months and I was barely showing.

Try pre-natel pilates 10 minute solutions. There are 5 separate workouts, each 10 minutes. You can do one or all five or any combination thereof depending on time. LINKY TO AMAZON

Walk everywhere you can - anything under three miles is walkable and the fresh air and exercise will do your other children good.

Also, energetic housework and moving more will help if you need to shift a bit of weight but can't do vigorous exercise. If you are sitting at any time in the day, think about not sitting IYSWIM

When you are standing or walking or even sitting - think about your posture and try to gently hold in your stomach muscles. This might sound counter-intuitive for someone who is pregnant, but is a great form of ab exercise that you can do all day long. It is ace for countering diastasis recti.

LineRunner · 03/04/2015 06:10

As others have said, I walked. The toddler walked for a bit and then 'rode up' on the buggy, and I walked for miles chatting to her while the baby slept.

We also had a Wii and Wii fitness board. You can pick them up quite cheat these days on eBay etc.

LineRunner · 03/04/2015 06:10

cheaply!

dynevoran · 03/04/2015 06:18

Have a baby and a preschooler. Creche at the gym is the only way I can do it. DP gets home at 9 or 10 so evenings aren't possible. I generally drop DS1 at preschool and then drive straight to the gym and leave DS2 in the creche. Sometime I put them both in on days DS1 isn't at school.

I also do squeeze a run in the evening if DP is home earlier at around 8....last week I met a friend at the pub at 8.30 and decided to run to the pub for most effective use of time.

Mistigri · 03/04/2015 06:18

As you are pregnant, not used to regular exercise and overweight you are limited in what you can do - you certainly shouldn't take up, for eg, running without talking to your doctor first. I'm surprised this has been suggested.

If you have childcaring duties then you have to choose a form of exercise that you can do with the kids, or pay for someone else to look after them. Walking more is the obvious solution, and exercise is good for your toddler too. Even quite young children are capable of walking longish distances if they are accustomed to it.

dynevoran · 03/04/2015 06:21

also, our creche is amazing so gets booked up as soon as slots become available a week in advance. So it's easy to motivate myself as the slot is booked and can't be changed or wasted.

zfactor · 03/04/2015 06:48

Just keep moving - each time you sit down, unless you are genuinely exhausted, get up again! Every time you move, however small that movement is, you're using energy.

So, play with the children, put on some music and dance with your toddler, do some housework (involve the toddler, make it fun), walk to the shops or anywhere else you need to go (if it's too far to walk the whole way, get off the bus a stop or so earlier, or park the car further away), if you have stairs go up and down them more often than you need to - just incorporate more movement into your everyday life; there's no need to do specific 'exercise' (and it's probably not a good idea while pregnant, unless you're used to it, anyway).

But be wary of 'rewarding' yourself for being active, by saying 'it's ok if I have this chocolate bar/cake/sausage roll because I've done X amount of exercise' - it isn't!

EllaMenopy · 03/04/2015 06:53

I get up really early (4.30am) to run. Sometimes I go out at night (10pmish). If I still lived near a 24hr gym, I'd probably do that too.

But I agree with PP who said weight loss is mostly diet. Hard when you're breastfeeding.

bonniebear · 03/04/2015 07:03

I found once I had children the day from dawn until dusk was constant exercise! It can be incorporated into your day so you don't need that much specific time. I have the 3 of them and I do a lot of zumba at home.

Allinson2014 · 03/04/2015 07:20

I carry the baby in a sling and walk the dog. We go for miles and I've lost three stone in 18 months. Although that would be difficult with a toddler to take along too.

Crabstick · 03/04/2015 07:38

I have a 4 and 1 year old. Apart from the usual buggy walks, trips to the park etc. I run 4 times a week and play touch rugby 1 evening a week once the children are in bed.

antumbra · 03/04/2015 07:39

I agree about talking to your doctor.
Please don't stsrt any gym classes while overweight and pregnant.

If you have anyone to look after your children a yoga for pregnancy class may be good, otherwise just walking.
I found it difficult to exercise at all when I had a baby and a toddler- depends how much childcare you have.

Much easier when they go to nursery/ school.

CactusAnnie · 03/04/2015 07:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Blueskybrightstar · 03/04/2015 07:42

It's so hard isn't it! When my baby was little I spent hours walking around the park and our local area pushing the pushchair - literally hours! I liked getting outside and having fresh air and I had quite a lot of weight to lose - I lost two stone this way along with a really strict diet. I couldn't go for early runs before kids woke up or anything as my partner works ridiculous hours and I was pretty much solely responsible for childcare at that point, and the sleep deprivation (standard for us all) was so harsh but actually being outside and exercising really helped. Good luck!

westcountrywoman · 03/04/2015 07:50

Does the toddler still nap? I used to do the 30 day shred DVD when DD (2) was napping, with baby in bouncy chair / on playmat / asleep in pram nearby.
Also LOADS of walking with double pram. They'd usually both fall asleep so I'd pop my headphones in and listen to music / a podcast to keep myself entertained.
I was at my most fit then. They're now 3&5. Walking at a snail's pace isn't conductive to burning any calories and now I'm back at work & I'm too knackered to shred in the evenings.

bonniebear · 03/04/2015 07:53

Cactus - If op put both children in a buggy and walked fast everywhere it would probably be more work than the gym. If you live in a area with hills it is 100x harder than the gym

Bellwether · 03/04/2015 07:54

I bought weights and I lift when they're in bed.

I don't drive, so I walk about 10-12km a day. That helps a lot.

ahbollocks · 03/04/2015 07:54

Walk fir 2-3 miles a day and watch my portions!

Pusspuss1 · 03/04/2015 08:05

I'm pregnant and with a LO too. I walk as much as I can, at least 45 mins every day, and use the Myfitnesspal app to help keep an eye on my weight gain.

GrettaM · 03/04/2015 08:06

I have a toddler. I get some walking in as part of my commute. I do 1 or 2 yoga classes a week and practice yoga in the evenings after he has gone to bed.

magichandles · 03/04/2015 08:20

Walk as much as you can while you still can. I have found weight a lot harder to shift since I started driving again 2 years ago and also since we got a cleaner - you forget how much exercise you do just doing day to day tasks.

I have 3 DCs now (5,3 and 5 months) and I can't exercise in the early morning because of a bowel condition. So I try to do the school/ preschool run on foot as much as possible as I figure it is good for DCs as well. I also aim to do ashtanga yoga 3 times a week (happy if I manage twice) and put DD3 in with their babysitter for one of those sessions and do one at a weekend and one evening a week when DH comes home on time so I can do tha.

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