Moral support needed-weight loss in lock diwn, injured, no childcare-how?!!

[gourd]

Over the last 3 months of lockdown my exercise has gradually reduced due to chikd off school and husband going back to work and my weight has increased. I need to lose a stone. I had a week off exercise with ear infection last week. Went for a run when I was able- all fine except calf felt tight next day. I did self massage, trigger point rekease and stretch for gastroc and soleus. Three days later -cant run. Four days still cant run. Soleus strain I think. Am icing it today and intend to warm, stretch, trigger point release later then build strength with single keg calf raises and glute bridges once pain level allows - I think injury caused by lack of exercise/too much sitting and resulting glute and calf weakness during ear infection week and general lockdown reduction in exercise levels. The problem is now husband is back at work exercise is evenings only with impact on family meal and just the fatigue having bern up since 6am when husvabd abd child get up means I can only do one evenibg a week then one day at weekend - husband goes cycling on day at weekends. Always find it hard to exercise at tea-time, partly with fatigue and partly as I'm hungry/missing family meal time having cooked for the family! Now it looks like no exercise at all for a few weeks whilst this injury heals.

Daughter also overweight now - was just ok before lockdown. She loves baking and eating (meat, protein and carbs mostly tho she also eats more fruit & beg in a day than many people do in a week) and doesn't enjoy exercising on her own. Before lockdiwn she did running club, junior park run, swimming lessonsnd football session every week plus running about at school and walking two miles to tiwn fir choir, plus weekebd walks abd bike rides with us. Now she wont exercise unless dragged out. She hates Joe Wickes, dance classes online etc. She likes bike riding and walking but recentky seems fed up with those too. I now cant walk. I can cycle ok, but roads are busy and don't drive so her bike rides are mostly at weekends with her Dad. I am hoping that daily walks will be possible once healing starts but dont want to aggravate the injury as I selfishly want to get back to running at weekends ASAP so dont want to prolong the injury!!

Any tips on how to at least get child active when I can't do stuff with her?

She hates the you tube exercise classes, simply watches, doesn't do it - I ended up doibg the classes by mysekf with her watching!

We can attempt bike rides, but I am quite frightened, as there is no back read - we have house a B-road from our house to go anywhere, and it is extremely busy, and hilly (so slow uphill with a child) and far too narrow for the number of vehicles, busses and HGVs on it. She is a proficient cyclist but still finds signalling one handed hard, and mostly rides on designated trafic-free bike path/bridleways (going there by car) and on Blackpool prom which is traffic free and pan-flat, but an hour's drive away. She is 9. We tried a road ride in flat Cheshire once and she was ok just v cautious abd slow. My husband wasnt happy I took her on the flat, wide and not-busy-on-a/Sunday road (he drove us to National Trust place and went in the house whilst we cycled - had intended to cycle there but it was not allowed in the grounds so we used the road) but I really think there is no choice now he is at work and I cant do anything on foot at the moment.

How on earth are we going to lose weight and stay active till September?

I will try to increase running once I'm healed but with a day a week at a weekend for my exercjse plus an evening if I have the energy after a long day it's going to take ages and be risky for re-injury as I wont be doing it frequently enough.

I have also had eating disirders in the past so try not to focus on diet too much but am made frequently aware how good our diet is (often appalled by what I see others buy and consume and I know we eat really well) but I do eat a lot and generally have a big appetite - although lack of exercise recently has reduced it quite a lot.

I am not eating cake or deserts now though - much to daughter's disappointment, as she bakes them every other day!

I get painful trapped wind and feel dreadful, crushingly tired/achy and headaches/dizziness if I have more than 5 hrs between meals though, so do need to eat lunch so skipping that isnt the way for me. Husband only eats two meals a day-always skips lunch, but I just can't and when I'm with daughter I eat with her, as I think family meals are important.

Lockdown, then husband's return to work before school re-opens and now this injury are a real challenge to weight loss. I also cant do any work myself even when allowed to on 4th July, (massage therapist), unless I use the precious running-time at evenings/weekends and don't even have time for any CPD, all very frustrating!

Reducibg portions might help - I have done that mysekf but only cos Im nkt as hungry at the moment. I thonk that will only maintain weight when Im not exercising though and I do need to lose some, and so does my daughter.

I dont want to restrict her eating so it comes down to exercise for her but how, when she only really enjoys doing it with others?

could you get your dd a pair of rollerskates, and have her skate alongside you whilst you run? You could do run for 5 mins, walk for 5 mins, and repeat until you get back into the swing of running. You could also set her challenges whilst you run, eg: ok dd, can you skate up to that tree and back before I count to 20? I hope your leg feels better soon!

Firgit to say I do 30 mins (around daily tasks, not all in one go) of weight training with dumbbells, some bodyweight exercises and pull-up bar and a few core exercises every other day which does help with lean muscle mass. I can still do that with calf injury as I mostly work upper body. I can also do the single leg Glute bridge - right side (same side as calf injury) is indeed weak, so am working on that. Its the cardio I can't do atthe moment abd an aware daughter desperateky needs - not just fir weight loss, lymph, blood circulation, muscle and organ developmrnt- I am worried it will effect her long term adult-health if she doesnt do some daily physical exercuse that gets her breathless during these developmentally important years of her life. I also worry ablut her weight as she is likely to get fatter in adolescence and afulthood, as physical activity tebds to reduce then, so weight loss now would be a good idea.

Thank you for that . I am not sure about skates- I wouldn't use them myself round here so not sure a child could - how do you brake going down hill? On the main read (B road) at end of our street the pavement stops after a mile so it would only be a two mile run/skate but is hilly so not sure how well it would work - suspect daughter would stop and want to go back or fall over quite quickly so would need lots of practice before I try running along-side her!

When I can run again I could run whilst she cycles. We have done that successfully-ish but its still only two miles, as the street going up hill from the house becomes a hilly rough dirt track with cobbled sections which she can only manage up to a certain point on her bike. It is still a "road" with housing so does have traffic abd horses/tractirs but they are going slow so ok fir biking, with mtb and some skill just not a good surface for a road bike or child. The main road (a B road on the map but not in terms of traffic) isnt suitable for cycling on without adult supervision and even then I am a bit scared but think we will have to try it.

On the street from our house to the track when we tried me running abd her bikibg, I was faster that her bike when I was running up hill, but I ran back down and up again (shuttle runs) so she was never far away. Obviously she is faster on bike than me running when on flat though - she does 11-12 mph easily, (sometimes 14-16 mph at Blackpool prom as it is v flat and tarnacced) so has to turn round on the track & ride back towards me every so often othewise she gets too far out of my sight. We can definitely do that once I am able to run uphill, which will give me some short shuttle-run/speed and fast hill running practice which is better than nothing & good cardio though more risky for injury - Im more of a middling speed/mid-distance runner usually.

Its the weeks till then that are going to be rather sedentary for both of us unless I can get the child to do stuff without me at home/in garden but she is really a social exerciser & definitely doesnt do it for the fun of exercise - whereas I need to run or cycle (on my own) just to stay sane! .

Oh yes - she will also dance wildly to music, and realky enjoys that, but only with me, usually making her fall about laughing with my ridiculous moves - not on her own!!!

ah, ok I see what you are saying about the hills and the skates. A scooter might be worth a look then? They are meant to be great for exercise and they have a brake at the back so less problem going downhill. You could do it along the pavement you mentioned, 2 miles is still 3km of running/scootering which is better than nothing. If you have a garden with a little patio/paving stones, you could draw her a chalk obstacle course like this, and when you are feeling better you can do it with her. Until then, you could time her doing it 2 times a day, and write the times on a piece of paper. get her to try and beat her previous time. When you compete with her, there could be a prize for the winner.
You could also get her to do a 10 minute shakeup with you every morning. They are made to be fun for kids and she can pick the character.
In terms of food, what sort of portion sizes does she have? It might be worth getting a plate like this, putting the food onto it so you have an idea of amounts, and then transferring it onto a regular plate (it wouldn't help her to get a complex about the amount of food she is eating).

I dont need that plate to know she eats far too much. I have tried to not mention it/not restrict though as I don't want food to become an issue for her as it has been for me. I try to limit potatoes now, as she will eat nothing else on her plate if she can see any potatoes left in the dish. We often new have neaks without carbs excelt other root veg or black rice, to try to avoid her eating too much carbohydrate. She almost always asks for seconds-of everything inc pudding and will eat a punnet of soft fruit ti hetself in one sitting. She ate a whole cucumber tiday. Ok that wont out weight on but generally that's the problem. Just eats too much food. In the past, before covid, she was so active she wasn't overweight but during covid with no activity clubs running and swimming pools closed she has put weight on and now has rolls of belly fat. She is pubescent which prob. doesnt help. I know she is a bit overweight but havent mentioned it to her- she slready uses hate words about Herself, saying she is is ugly and has a fat tummy etc (this is not from me - from copying her friends I think). Will keep on reducing carbs and try to say no nore often to requests for seconds or to another course if nothing legt - she will get herself fruit, yogurt, medjul dates, make own porridge with raspberries in it on the hob or eat muesli if she feels she wants more to eat after/between meals.

Btw i rately eat between meals despite daughter oroducing snacks for me (she even made me a cup of tea tiday - which i drank but declined the prrofmdge she nade!) i dont want to stop her doing things for herself or from cooking/baking but yeah she really needs to eat less. When she did oark run she took her bakes to that for others which worked well as it gave her biking practice and enjoyment without eating it all. We also used to bake for fun & give to neighbours but during covid we cant do that. I suppose I will have to ask her to stop baking with me or on her own till school and all her clubs reopen. Gggr, Another activity she cant do during covid!!

Instead of asking her not to bake, why don't you make contact with your local hospital and ask if they would accept a donation of cake once a week for the doctors? I know a few hospitals were, there was a news story of a couple who donated their wedding cake.
She will lose the weight again when her usual activities increase, I wouldn't worry. I only suggested the plate because it ensures she has healthy portion sizes, but she could have some more food if she wants and still feels hungry. Does she have something to drink with meals? Try giving her glasses of water with her food.

Do you have a garden? If so can you invest in a trampoline? Ds will use his on his own for hours. If not, would bribery work - we had a very successful 1 min of exercise = 1 min of gaming/tv or whatever approach when couldn't get him out for any walks or bike rides.

She drinks water with meals, sometimes in between meals and occasionally red bush tea. Has unsweetened coco made with skimmed milk at night. Hospital idea is goid. I will find out and i did think sbout doing it for bin collectors, but thets sane as for neighbours really - just wasn't sure, as if we have any bugs even if asymptomatic, don't we pass them on in any food we make - unless wearing gloves and masks? She sometimes helps with meal making too, so will try to get her doing more of that instead.

Trampoline - i thought she'd grow out if it in months if we gor one at this stage but the reason we dont already have one is husband simply wont entertain the idea at all and never has. I also wonder if, once novelty wears off whether again she would only use it with friends. Its the not wanting to do it on her own.

Same with her bedroom full of toys. Most are not used unless she has a playdate. I play with her every day atthe moment, for at least an hour, sometimes two to three hours a day of doll play. She doesnt really play on her own at all so no exercise unless Im doung it with her. She reads a lot-thats what sheis doing now! But that isn't going to help with lhysical activity levels!

The reason she prefers cycling over running is 'cos she doesnt seem to enjoy getting out of breath and has obviously realised cycling is much easier than going anywhere on foot - unless it's uphill! She chooses a flat bike ride with Dad on a bike path over a bike ride or walk with me near home as it's hilly here!

I did wonder about a space hopper! I tried getting one a few years ago but coukdbt find one i coukd afford at the time and was dissuaded by husband as he didntthink she'd use it - depends on weather I suppoose but so does any outdoir exercjse. She does have a bouncy bakance thing that you grip between your kegs and bounce on but hardky ever uses it. Making tracks to hop or tun along on pavement and hop scotch etc she quite likes, so we can try that out side the front. Ahain, not sure she will do it without ne/friends though. We have a garden but it's grass and flower beds, no paving so any chalk hop scotch etc has to be on pavement in the street.

Myjnhappyfeet - we do sort of bribe, saying she must go outside abd walk or bike ride (or whatever) each day if it us not raining but she reads a lot so i cant complain about tv watching. She does watc horribke histories abd enjoy Dr who abd Merlin and some of the Lucy Worsley history programmes (Tudors/wives of Henry 8th especially) but she watches about one hour a day so has to choose carefully &often sees half of something then other half next day. She doesn't play video games unless you count the school-work/times tables & bbc bitesize maths (guardians of mathematica) one, which i dont mind her doing for half an hour on what would normally be school-days. We have paper work packs and some online stuff from school to do daily but they only take about half an hour a day. We listen to radio4 homeschool history each week and the rest of the time she reads (2 of the school for good & evil/soman chainani books today, the entire 5 book series of Michele Paver - Gods & Warriors - last week!) or I play with her / do crafts or stuff like sewing doll clothes - but it's all sitting down, so getting out daily or at least getting active is important for me as well as for her!