Sam Cam, Jools Oliver etc - how do they fit exercise and beauty stuff in

[Luckytohavemybaby]

Do they get lots of help? Wondering if they do their running and work outs at 5am as they seem quite hands on mums.

Arguably, you could be fit while eating a crappy diet. (Speaking as a health writer I do not recommend this, it must be said.) Certainly if you're run a marathon there's no real problem with packing away quite a few calories more than if eg you have been sitting on your @rse all morning writing a feature on health. (Speaking as a health writer I can assure you this is true fact.)

I know I should do it at the weekends but I feel guilty taking the time for myself when I am at work away from the children all week. I really need to get in the habit of it though, so much healthier than not doing anything.

I should also add that I do not want to look like Sam Cam. There is a posh vacuity that does not fry my personal onion.

Good nutrition is key to developing fitness. If you are fit and eat well you tend to look good without spending a lot of time or money on makeup, clothes or beauty treatments.

I spend maybe three hours a week running, which is time I used to spend either sleeping or watching TV.

Arguably, you could be fit while eating a crappy diet. (Speaking as a health writer I do not recommend this, it must be said.)

what exactly is a 'health writer' ? Do you have medical qualifications?

You can't be fit by just eating . Cardiovascular health, muscles and bone density need exercise not just food.

I used to work for a woman who seemed to spend Friday afternoons with her children as she took Friday afternoons off work. In reality she had the afternoon off work spent half an hour picking her kids up from school then I had them until 7.30pm when my day ended. During this time she would exercise etc. it's all an illusion nannies in London working for high earning/profile families work upwards of 70 hours a week. I know I certainly did.

Pinkfrocks why are you writing when you could be running mate?

been and done it, darling .

I agree you have to want to do it as well!

Pink why the aggression?

This thread is inspiring me, it's true that enough commitment and desire to exercise mean the vast, vast majority of us could manage to do it - if it means taking time out from eg sleeping or resting then so be it.

I am in the same boat as another poster who is having +/- 4 hours sleep in chunks though, so not sure using up more energy is a good plan for me right now! But I am so determined. I follow a fitness model on FB - Emily Skye - and she is so inspiring, it's really cheesy but she posts inspirational quotes about how if you really want something you have to work for it and so on. I've followed her the whole pregnancy and now baby is out - well once I'm recovered - I am determined to get properly fit. She posts easy videos of short little workouts that in theory anyone could fit into their day. Check her out, there are a few similar people on FB, she is flogging a paid for fitness programme but posts loads of videos for free.

I've never been actually fit - I look slim and decent usually due to good diet - high protein and carb, lots of water and a reasonably active lifestyle, but actually being fit and properly defined is a goal I feel I want to aim for now.

Oh you can be very fit and eat badly.

Usain Bolt had a McDonalds before he broke the world record .

A lot of my undergrad students eat dreadfully, yet they're up at the crack of sparrows to row. Many of them drink like fish too and some smoke (though that is increasingly unpopular).

You can also be thin and eat badly.

As for the Olivers and the Camerons, well, of course they have help on the domestic front and lots of money. Time and money spent on grooming.

The hands on thing is an odd one. Obviously the Olivers' brand is built on them being down to earth, accessible types (and I suspect they were when it all beagn twenty years ago).

But the reality today, is that their lives are far removed from your average Joe punter. Obviously, they still have a vested interest in presenting themselves as 'normal' as possible, because they want to sell us stuff.

Sam Cam is a little wiser in that she keeps her gob shut.

Thank you, WF.

Me? I'm a journalist. No, I don't have medical qualifications. I just write about stuff. For all sorts of publications, from the v technical to the v popular. I do not claim to be an expert but I'm reasonably clued-up. Also I am quite good at not taking myself too seriously.

I have really started taking care of my appearance and fitness over the last year. I have 3 DC and very very limited support. I am at home f/t with a toddler and take her to my 30 minute HIIT exercise classes twice a week. I also get out for a run/fast walk early evening and/or weekend day at least once a week.

I have to have a morning shower while supervising (or listening out for ) a wild toddler, a lot of evenings I am doing child-related things as I am quite involved in voluntary committees etc, plus oldest is out training until 7pm or later 4 nights a week so there are lifts, late dinner, homework or emotional breakdown when she gets back... etc....

However I do feel better and actually I don't have to spend too much time on actual beauty given I exercise regularly, drink a lot of water, eat healthily and spend some time "organising" my wardrobe and routines when I have a spare couple of hours. I'm definitely no Sam Cam though and I do have stomach muscle separation which means my tummy is never going to look any good (unless I have serious physio and/or surgery, which cost money that I don't have!!!).

To be fair, both Oliver and Cameron are well groomed. It's not just natural beauty resulting from exercise .

And grooming takes up time and money. I know, I'm well groomed .

The reality is we all have the same amount of hours in a day. If we're doing A, we're not doing B.

Grooming also depends on type, WF. Some of us like me radiate a kind of forcefield of Poor Grooming which we try at best to parlay into bohemian charm. Fit charm that eats its veg, but never able completely able to conceal the hippy chaos that lurks within.

I have a baby and a small toddler. I have no time for exercise, and moreover no motivation. I'm exhausted.

Novice Sorry, but you come across as having your head up in the clouds! Not in the real world in the slightest. I have no help with my two small ones and most days don't even manage a shower without one or both of them in the bathroom. When I'm organised, I get up before them to shower. In the same way, you get up to exercise. I just don't have the luxury of having someone to sort the kids out for me.

Money. Money is what buys time. Time is what gives you the opportunity to get in shape. Money also buys nice clothes to work out in , and nice trainers which are safe to run/walk in.

And for the likes of the 'rich rich', fgs, they can afford personal trainers who come to their house and make them do it! Not rocket science is it.

I wasn't actually describing how it is for me pink. How it is for me is I have to find time to fit in 30 mins of physio a day so I can cope with what I have to do in a day with minimum pain at the end. I would love it to be something more energetic, but not at the moment. I am working towards it. The only cardio I can do is brisk walking and not too much of that.

I was talking more generally about the reasons, mental or physical or usually a combination of both, that erode one's ability or inclination to jump up and down in the only 30 minutes you have to yourself in a day, and trying to point out that 'discipline' comes more easily when not everything falls to you.

It's amazing how much freedom money buys.

I still remember a news item about exercise a few years ago where they interviewed a woman with one child in a pushchair and another barely walking. She was carrying the push chair (with child strapped in) up a flight of steps, all the while apologising because she didn't go to a gym... I guess my point is that if you're children are small, you're probably getting plenty of exercise just keeping up with them.

Well my planned fitness class went out of the window when I belatedly discovered it was a bloody inset day
I was psyched up for it and I gym kit so did Shred at home whilst DD watched crap on TV
Am going to do an evening HIIT class later though.
I have an addictive personality and my addiction at the moment is exercise.
I agree that money and circumstances are important,yes there are only 24 hours in the day and something has to give.
I never exercised when I had young children, beyond walking.
now its something for me,that makes me feel better and healthier.

I agree that money definitely does help but it is also about motivation and priorities.

I admire any parent that can get up at some early hour for exercise. I used to do it pre dc but now I just prefer extra sleep. However both dh and I know that exercise keeps us both happy so we prioritise time at the weekend to do this. Dh doesn't see the dc much during the week but it makes him a much nicer person if he can escape on his bike for 3 hours at the weekend.

I'm lucky in that I don't work and whilst dd is at preschool 3 days a week and the others are at school I prioritise my exercise then. In the school holidays I go slighly mad if I can't get out for a run so have to do it at the weekend or evening. I do try and do a dvd but for me nothing beats getting out in the fresh air.

Grooming can mainly be done on a regular basis but again I prioritise hair appointments every 2 months because having bad hair makes me personally unhappy.

I accept that money makes some difference (you can have all the money in the world but no motivation to do exercise) as well as having childcare, be it partner, school, nanny etc.

I'm also back to a size 8-10 after dc2 by doing as much as possible within pain limits and eating well, I had the motivation of getting as much of my mobility back as possible by losing weight. But it was extremely hard, and I have no trouble empathising with others that struggle for different reasons.

My DH works ok hours and is very supportive (had to be), that is how I was able to do it, but I realise where I am fortunate and don't think it must be the same for everyone. Of course help makes a huge difference.

Years ago I was a nanny to a reasonably high profile celeb. They were regularly feted in the press as being a brilliant parent. They were, without a doubt, the crappiest parent I've ever met. They had zero interest in their children unless there was something in it for them. They flew off on a holiday 2 days after I started, leaving me in sole charge of the children for 2 weeks. I had no idea where the children's schools were, what their schedule was, who their GP was, etc etc. I didn't know that one of the kids had an allergy as she hadn't told me. I didn't have a contact number until 5 days later, when I called her DP's company and demanded it. Yes, she was super fit and gorgeous and, in the media's eyes, a SuperMum. She really really wasn't though.

I'm not suggesting that SamCam et al are anything like this woman btw. I'm just saying, it's easy to have a public persona that's very different to the reality.

I remember David Beckham winning some father award when he was actually living in a different country to his DC!

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