Working Mom's Dilemma

kettie · Oct 30, 2021

No matter how strong and smart you are..sometimes we get stuck somewhere. And that is something I am going through right now. Being a 35 yr old woman with bunch of responsibilities of home and office, I keep finding some time to spend on myself but fail everytime. How do you all do it? Keeping yourself maintained along with working. I used to have a good body shape full of strength and a bright face but now with my busy schedule and sitting continuously in front of lappy I have lost myself completely. So much so that I don't feel like looking myself in the mirror.
Help me out. Need guidance on how you all maintain your routine while working. In need of same high motivation.

Laks09 · Oct 30, 2021

@kettie - Welcome to the fitness forums. Since you are a busy mom, it’s likely overwhelming to do it all. That probably makes you not to anything at all. Instead of trying to make huge changes, try starting small.
Are you trying to achieve some strength? If so, start with small 20 mins home workout videos. Fitness blender, beach body etc have multiple workout videos of all kinds online. There are coaches like Caroline Girvan on you tube who have a lot of short videos that start from beginner to advanced. Look into it.
There are also a ton on home walking videos and yoga etc.

The most important part of working out is to see what activity you like to do. I feel like if we found what we liked, we will try and squeeze in the 20-30 mins somewhere in our day. If we don’t chances are we won’t sustain the activity.

If you want to focus on diet, then start there and slowly add in an activity of choice. Start small - drinking 8 cups of water a day, reducing the amount of rice etc can make one mindful. From there, slowly tweak your diet to suit your needs. Then add in workouts once the diet is a part of your lifestyle.

Regarding motivation, I’m not the most motivated person. I’ve realized over time that discipline trumps motivation. We can’t be motivated at all times to do the things we are supposed to do. Im sure even in work, you have higher interest activities and things you’d rather not do. Think about how you get yourself to do those things? Is it having a deadline, making a schedule, writing things down? Use the same for your lifestyle change. For me, I have to push myself out the door most days. Once I start then it’s lovely but to get going, there are a million things that come in the way. To make me do it, I run with a friend once a week. The fact that she’s waiting makes me drive there at that particular time. I’ve had similar luck with signing on for Zumba classes.
There are people who are highly motivated to do it all and then there are people like me. I need a lot of pushing to get over my inertia. When we post results of long runs or intense workouts, it feels good. People who read it say how motivated you are! Only I know the daily
struggle to keep at it. Sometimes I post just for that feedback. It helps me a lot!

kettie · Nov 1, 2021

Laks09 said: ↑

@kettie - Welcome to the fitness forums. Since you are a busy mom, it’s likely overwhelming to do it all. That probably makes you not to anything at all. Instead of tryTThaing to make huge changes, try starting small.
Are you trying to achieve some strength? If so, start with small 20 mins home workout videos. Fitness blender, beach body etc have multiple workout videos of all kinds online. There are coaches like Caroline Girvan on you tube who have a lot of short videos that start from beginner to advanced. Look into it.
There are also a ton on home walking videos and yoga etc.

The most important part of working out is to see what activity you like to do. I feel like if we found what we liked, we will try and squeeze in the 20-30 mins somewhere in our day. If we don’t chances are we won’t sustain the activity.

If you want to focus on diet, then start there and slowly add in an activity of choice. Start small - drinking 8 cups of water a day, reducing the amount of rice etc can make one mindful. From there, slowly tweak your diet to suit your needs. Then add in workouts once the diet is a part of your lifestyle.

Regarding motivation, I’m not the most motivated person. I’ve realized over time that discipline trumps motivation. We can’t be motivated at all times to do the things we are supposed to do. Im sure even in work, you have higher interest activities and things you’d rather not do. Think about how you get yourself to do those things? Is it having a deadline, making a schedule, writing things down? Use the same for your lifestyle change. For me, I have to push myself out the door most days. Once I start then it’s lovely but to get going, there are a million things that come in the way. To make me do it, I run with a friend once a week. The fact that she’s waiting makes me drive there at that particular time. I’ve had similar luck with signing on for Zumba classes.
There are people who are highly motivated to do it all and then there are people like me. I need a lot of pushing to get over my inertia. When we post results of long runs or intense workouts, it feels good. People who read it say how motivated you are! Only I know the daily
struggle to keep at it. Sometimes I post just for that feedback. It helps me a lot!
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That's true... sometimes you need to go back and learn to take baby steps first. Thanks Laks09. Its better to just start working upon it without thinking too much about how will I do and what will happen.