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Exercising with kids



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How do those of you with full time jobs and young children fit in exercise? I work at 5am to 4 pm and then pick my son up from daycare and have to make dinner, cleanup and spend SOME quality time with my kid who was in daycare all day...I currently work out Saturday and Sunday and my husband watches him then. I set goals to work out after he goes to bed each night but I’m FRIED by then and struggle getting to the gym and back by then.

It’s tough between Mom guilt and take care of myself guilt.

I’m doing great on my weight loss at 2 months post op but I know I will need to increase exercise as my metabolism catches up to me. I even enjoy it- just have a hard time getting it done weekdays.

Any tips? Ideas? Good home tricks?

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Incorporate your son into exercise. Dance parties, going for walks, playing at the park, tag, hide n go seek. Don’t have to be typical exercises to burn additional calories. Plus you are teaching him at a young age to live a healthy and active life style. Maybe one to two days a week you can get up 30 minutes earlier to work out in addition. It’s hard to juggle it all. I’m a full time working mom of 4. There are weeks where I have it all together and there are weeks where I suck at it all. Learn to extend yourself grace. Learn to cease what moments you have and let go of guilt. Part of being a good mom is taking care of
Yourself. If you stay on your recommended eating plan you will continue to lose weight regardless of how much gym time you get.


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How do those of you with full time jobs and young children fit in exercise? I work at 5am to 4 pm and then pick my son up from daycare and have to make dinner, cleanup and spend SOME quality time with my kid who was in daycare all day...I currently work out Saturday and Sunday and my husband watches him then. I set goals to work out after he goes to bed each night but I’m FRIED by then and struggle getting to the gym and back by then.
It’s tough between Mom guilt and take care of myself guilt.
I’m doing great on my weight loss at 2 months post op but I know I will need to increase exercise as my metabolism catches up to me. I even enjoy it- just have a hard time getting it done weekdays.
Any tips? Ideas? Good home tricks?



I have the same issue. I either have to go before the kids get up or after the kids go to bed. I don’t feel like doing either of those right now, so I am not exercising and my weight loss has stalled.


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It’s tough. Early mornings tend to work best. We often take walks with the kids (put them in the backpack) or go to a playground and chase them or i’ll Put my son in the kayak with me. Finding time is tough, but now that there is more daylight in the evening it helps.

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Thanks guys. Yes maybe it will get easier when the winter finally goes away here in PA! Maybe going for family hikes and trips to the park will be the solution after school! No guilt that way!


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I go to a rec center and they have a day care there as well. There may be something like that as well in your area. My children are older (16 & 13) so they don't go, but I have taken them to the gym with me and there is no cost. They just walk on the treadmill or stationary bike and watch Netflix on their phones.

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@atphiladelphia, true Philadelphia Freedom will soon be yours when you can stroll outside without an icecicle forming on the end of your nose. I was hoping now that since spring has sprung Mr Winter would slink off to his dark cave,but it hasn't happened yet, just more snow.[emoji69][emoji300]

Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

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Yeah right to everyone who thinks you should get up earlier to exercise!🤣 Did they miss that you get up at 5am?

I can relate and have 2 boys (4yrs and 18 mos). I lift free weights in the living room for our evening quality time. Both of them think it is fun to "exercise". By that I mean that the 4 yr old messes with the resistance bands and mimics what I do with 2 lb weights and the 18 month old rolls around the heavier weights and bangs them with a toy hammer.

Let go of the mom guilt. Life with kids is a mess, but you can make it a fun mess 😁. Try home exercise as time together on weeknights. 1 trip to Target should get you what you need.

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If you belong to one of the Philadelphia area YMCAs , they offer up to 2 hours of child care per day. Maybe sneak in a half hour work out between daycare pick up and home and let him have some play time at the Y. (My girls used to love the kids room at the Y.) When they are little, its really hard and the weather here has been MISERABLE. I'm not going to tell you to get up any earlier, because I feel your pain - the alarm goes off at 5:30 here to get the high school freshman out the door and the rest of us off to work. Once the weather gets better, it will be easier. Maybe you can add some walking at lunch during work or park further away (or get off SEPTA at a stop or two further from your work.) Good luck.

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