What exercise would you do if you were me?

[Brandybucks]

I have 4 kids, a 7yo, 5yo, 2yo and 2 month old. Contrary to what everyone assumes, running around after 4 kids does not automatically cause weight loss - well at least not in my case! I am probably 3-4 stone heavier than I was pre-children. Back then I used to regularly go to the gym and enjoyed it. I also walked a lot.

Nowadays I find exercising with kids almost impossible. The local gym has no crèche since covid so I can’t go there & by late evening once the 7 yo goes to bed at 8pm the last thing I want to do is go to the gym because I’ve just got 4 kids to bed and I’m getting up through the night with the baby so I’m shattered. Going for a run is impossible because it’s dark by the time my husband could take over. During the day I have tried doing home workouts but my 2yo constantly gets in the way and if I try to go for decent walks he doesn’t want to sit in the buggy for an hour. If he walks we go so slowly that I probably burn about 4 calories.

I do manage a bit more physical activity on weekends so I’m mainly interested in what you would do in my situation to get some decent exercise in the week? I know these days are fleeting and I’ll get exercise time back eventually but I’d really like to start losing some decent weight in 2023.

Your nutrition is going to have far more impact than what exercise you do. The 'right' exercise is anything you enjoy and can / will do consistently.

Itsnot really about what exercise really its about how donyouncarve out dedicated time for it. Ie when can you not be responsible for any kids for one hour twice a week. If you can work that out then take your pick of any exercise that you fancy. BTW I am in awe that you even have the motivation for this with a 2 month old!

I agree with @HouseyHouse21 it's predominantly nutrition that'll help you lose weight. Exercise is good, don't get me wrong, but healthy bodies are firstly made in the kitchen, rather than the gym.

run or walk before he leaves for work?

Thank you, that’s a good point about nutrition - I’m going to try to focus on that more at the same time. I just remember that when I consistently maintained a healthy weight before it was a two pronged approach with exercise but perhaps I should mostly focus on nutrition for now!

@SafariRushHour im trying to wrangle all the children out the door for the school run then although might get more of an opportunity now they are on Christmas holidays!

Do you have a watch that tracks your steps? Just try and increase them through naturally doing a bit more. Being generally more active burns more calories than a couple of workouts a week. And yes to nutrition

Another person just chiming in to say that your diet is much more important. I would start intermittent fasting as it literally requires zero effort or energy for you.

And I would just go for a run with a safety app on my phone and high vis. Once you get into good routines it will be spring again.

@Findyourneutralspace i don’t but I think I should get one. I had one a while ago and was a bit disappointed that i only got around 3000-4000 steps a day so I could try to get to 10000 as a good starting point. Thanks for the suggestion!

@Suprima - thank you, I didn’t even know you could get a safety app on your phone, I’ll look into that

You'd have to do an absolutely huge amount of exercise to drop any weight without changing your diet
If I were you I'd concentrate on getting early nights, cutting out processed food, increasing veg, upping protein, reducing refined carbs.
Then whenever you get time in the house, earphones in and have a dance to your favourite tunes ! It's good for the mood x

Nutrition as others have said - I lost my baby weight by calories counting with team rh which weee recommended on here. I also did buggy running - you have to wait until your youngest is 6 months but once you get to that point you could take the younger two out while the older kids are in school, if you enjoy running. Join the original buggy runners on Facebook for tips on what buggy to get and so on. It helped my mental health so much. My kids slept in buggy or we ran to playgrounds, sang, chatted, looked at sheep etc. also we go to parkrun and you can do junior parkrun with older kids on Sunday mornings so they get into it too while husband has little ones in playground.

I would do pilates. Core strength and stability is so important particularly after you've had babies.

@thankyouforthesun loads of great suggestions there thank you, so helpful to hear what worked for other mums!

Definitely look at your diet. I have been exercising regularly for years but nothing really changed until I got a grip on my diet. I wouldn’t recommend Team rh (fuck no, just google) but it’s easy to find a calculator online and track food carefully. You won’t see anything right away but stay patient.

You have 4 kids, including a 2 month old?!

You need to give yourself a break, first.

If you want to calorie restrict, that'll work. Pay attention to your protein though, make sure you get enough.

And if you can carve time out for exercise, use that time to do an active hobby that you actually enjoy. Even better if you get to socialise with grown ups at the same time.

Take it easy though. It must be years since you had a full night's sleep. Plenty of time for radical body changing efforts when your little ones are a bit less little and your body has recovered from growing them all. x

I think its about breaking it down. 20 squats every time you wait for the kettle to boil.
The next day lunges. The next Day wall press ups the next day sit ups. Jog on the spot. Run on the spot. Do sprint bursts on the spot. Air punches (body combat/boxing style). 10 minutes mad half hour dancing with the kids every tea time. It all adds up and builds up your fitness and strength. The more you do the more you feel like doing. Walking in the evening in spring and summer is glorious. Steps whenever you can.
Get a good session in every weekend. This phase wont past forever.

I agree with a pp you have an 8 week old baby so don’t even think about this too much at the moment and it’s Xmas so I imagine you are full of busy

i also agree with everyone who said it’s mostly what you are eating that has caused your weight to increase and exercise will only have a minimum impact on your weight if you don’t look at what you are eating

but definitely don’t be hard in yourself 8 weeks post partum is nothing

I have the same issue .I've opted for tea-squats, which is as many squats I can do before the kettle boils (this started to try to keep warm!) and dancersize with the DC. So I'll put on some music and just dance around like a loon with them until I'm exhausted.

Thank you for all the suggestions! Despite having an 8 week old I have always seen the new year as a blank slate and fresh start so I’m quite keen to take advantage of that with both exercise and nutrition. Plus quite honestly I’m fed up with feeling so lardy!

If you only do 3-4k steps at the moment, increase it gradually. It will feel a big effort to get to 10k consistently and consistency is key. Start by increasing 1k a week or even month.
You want to be aiming for sustainable levels of activity.

I have 4 DC. Just over 8 years gap from my eldest to youngest: I really only did active travel (walking & cycling to get places, some countryside walks) until the youngest was about 4yo.

Walking is totally underestimated. You don't need to do an hour either.

Try get a 20 min walk in with the buggy every day, but brisk!!! And then do what you can at the weekend, a 20 min pilates video on YouTube or what ever you can fit in. Consistency and diet and sleep will also be really important but be kind to yourself, your baby is still so little.

Given your circumstances, I think you focus on things that can be done from home, in short snippets of time, with as little organisation as possible.

Running, cycling, weights, yoga (not for the calories it burns but because it will help maintain flexibility and avoid injury while you do the others) and when the spring comes, green gym - mowing the lawn, raking leaves, digging over flower beds etc.

If you can escape to do a class or go for an early morning swim, that too, but definitely the home stuff.

Pelvic floor exercises for now and more active ones when things settle a bit.