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

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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.

Pregnancy is not the time to take up radical new exercise regimes. Concentrate on just building a little more activity into your daily life and building up gradually. So walks out with the kids if you have a double buggy, sitting down less and doing more vigorous housework. Personally I think it's madness to pay someone to do your housework so you can go to a gym where you pay gym subscriptions but each to their own. The time and faff of getting ready for and getting out to the gym seems like a waste to me when you can multitask and spend time with your kids and get your house clean at the same time.

When mine were your age I joined a gym with a crèche . The crèche was heavily subsidised by the gym to encourage use . I put them both in for 1.5 hours at a cost of about 5 pounds total and then would do 1 hour in the gym followed by an uninterrupted shower and coffee before collection . On days when I was exhausted I would still use my slot at the crèche but instead use the time in the cafe with a coffee and a book !
It gets easier as they get older , I started running when they were 2&3 as there was no travel time and my husband could watch them . Nearly 10 years on and I'm still in the same routine .
Ps I don't think you have to be a gym member to use the crèche in some gyms .

Pps I went to the gym whilst pregnant ,the instructors gave me a different set of exercises which was tailored to each month of pregnancy
I did wear a heart rate monitor towards the end to make sure I wasn't overdoing things ( that was mostly for spinning classes)

swimming is probably best seeing as you're pregnant. can you get out one evening and once at the weekend.

As for when you're not pregnant, dvd's when the dc's are in bed, go out for a run when your dh gets home, book a exercise class at the weekend? You'll probably have to try lots of different things and different schedule's to find out what's best for you. It won't happen overnight.

I was always at the gym pre-dc's so it comes naturally to me. The even get hauled put to parkrun now they're older.

I walk the dog twice a day, early morning and late at night, or in the afternoon with the children on weekends/holidays. I have a treadmill set up so that when the DCs are in bed I can run a few miles without having to leave them as DH works away often. And I take them swimming a couple of times a week, which isn't real exercise because it's mostly shooting "for the love of god stop splashing me" at the smallest one. I also go spinning twice a week. Fell off the cycle at the end of my first session. 6 months in and I could still kick the instructor in the face when she shouts "push yourself, Charlotte".

Exercise doesn't come naturally to me; in my happiest state I'm in pyjamas on the sofa eating a bag of sweets. But the payoff is that if I exercise, I still get to do that without needing a crane to lift me out the house.

I used to walk everywhere. I childmind now and have different nurseries etc to fit in, so it's not always practical but I walk whenever I can. Pushing a double buggy increases the workout and if I put a buggy board on the back, I am pushing nearly own body weight!

I have a toddler, am pregnant (although only a little bit) and work FT and I've found the ONLY way I can fit exercise in is to incorporate it into my day, so I run (and I use the term loosely) to or from work (6miles) once or twice a week.

As mentioned above, pregnancy isn't the time to be embarking on radical exercise regimes, but with young kids you can load them in the buggy and walk, walk, walk. I live in a big city so don't have a car and I can't tell you the number of laps of my local park I used to do on mat leave. Try things like walking to the supermarket instead of car or bus, walk to play dates or soft play or whatever. I think as long as you try not to be too sedentary for most of the day (she says, from the vantage point of my sofa!) then that's a great start. Just take it one day at a time. Good luck!

When mine were little I used to:

Get up early to go for a run before DH left for work (sorry!)
Go running at the weekend
Go for a bike ride with the baby in the bike seat while the toddler was at nursery
Go to an exercise ,lass at 8pm

With great difficulty.

Now I no longer need to use my work breaks to pump breastmilk I can use them to lock myself in the disabled loo and do my workout routine.

I also take the toddler in the garden most days and do some hula-hooping or skipping.

Also housework and walking. Although walking is quite time consuming isn't it?

I have thought about using the creche at the gym but my daughter is a bit clingy so I would feel guilty (and broke).

Oooh, I forgot to mention the outdoor gym. It's free and next to our local park so if I have time I can let the toddler run around the park until she is worn out, stick her back in the buggy and spend 20 mins at the outdoor gym.

I miss swimming though.

When mine were little I used to:

Walk everywhere with them in the double buggy.
Walk or cycle to the shops when DH was minding them.
Made sure I just got more exercise in the house, eg running up & down stairs more, jogging on the spot for a couple of minutes at a time, dancing with them.
Did lots of very fast & very energetic gardening when they were napping, with a baby monitor by my side. (large garden and not enough time to do it at a more leisurely pace).

Never eat their leftovers .... I had a mummy friend who was convinced that toddler leftovers didn't contain calories

YY to not eating the kids' leftovers Middle.

Here's what I do (work 50+ hours a week, one toddler):
Run at lunchtimes at work, 5 miles a time
Run home from work when time allows
Bodyweight exercises at home (triceps dips, push ups, plank etc)
Go to the gym on the rare occasions I have time, once or twice a week
Walk wherever possible instead of driving.

Works for me - I just don't have any "rest" time, but I think being fit and active, and a size 8-10, is worth it.

Don't push it too hard while pg though,be kind to yourself!

God I do cactus. I suppose it depends on your schedule. My heart is racing like mad the amount of miles/incline/speed I do

It is massive weights you are pushing when you push a buggy with 2 children in. For me it is usually over half my body weight. I have lost 1 and a half stone in 6 months from only doing that post baby. I am 8 stone 6 now but if I keep buggy pushing I want to be 8 by summer. I have never been to a gym I just incorporate it in to my home life

I expect these have already been mentioned, but this what I used to do.
Walk everywhere. Wear comfy flat shoes or trainers and walked as quickly as I could. Some days I would be walking about 8 miles.
DVD when they were in bed (or You-tube nowadays).
I used a stepper (or the bottom of the stairs). Lately I've started doing 2 stairs at once - much harder
Wi fit. That might be great for someone who's pregnant, because it's not too strenuous.
I also have a set of dumbells. I got some exercises from youtube.
Plus, things like squats, lunges are great and something you can do in a few minutes. Try doing some exercise when you're watching tv, eg.