Working It Out

Today’s guest post is courtesy of Heather, also known as Skinny Sushi, a blogger that Workout Baby flirted with at Fitbloggin.  He asked if she could guest post here today because he really likes her writing.   Please be sure to visit her over on Skinny Sushi too!

The biggest excuse I hear (and have made) when it comes to working out is that there’s no time.  There are just not enough hours in the day to fit in exercise when you’ve got work/school/kids/marriage/home/dog/food/sleep to worry about.

Believe me, I understand.  And whether you’re a student, a full time worker, a mom, or any combination of the above, you’ve probably got enough on your plate that adding even one more thing feels like too much.  But I promise you, working out is worth fitting in.

It’s all about baby steps, people.  So you work outside the home all day?  If you take public transportation, get off one or two stops before your destination and walk the rest of the way in.  If you drive, take the stairs up from the parking garage or park in the very back of the parking lot to get in some extra steps.  Take the stairs every chance you get.  Drink nothing but water (okay, and coffee/tea).  When you need to use the bathroom, walk to the one on the far side of the building, the next floor up/down, or the one in the basement.  If you get a lunch break, use it to workout.  When I was working full time in an office, I worked out for forty five minutes out of every hour long lunch, and then I ate my lunch while working at my desk afterward.  My secret?  I didn’t shower after working out.

I know, I’m gross.  I kept deodorant and baby wipes in my gym locker, plus a pretty headband or hair-tie and some crazy spray that removes the oil from your hair.  After my workouts, I stripped off my workout clothes, wiped everything down with 400 baby wipes, toweled off, applied deodorant and perfume, and pulled my hair back.  And it worked.  No one ever knew I was working out at lunch.  If your building/office doesn’t have an accessible gym, go outside for a walk.  It’s raining/snowing/freezing/insanely hot?  Take the stairs up and down and up and down until you can’t anymore.  I promise you, if you really want to do this, you WILL find a way.

Yes, I said it.  And I meant it.  When I was first trying to lose weight, I was infuriated by that statement, the thought that the reason I wasn’t successful was because I didn’t want it badly enough.  Of course I wanted it.  “They” (those people who said those things) didn’t know me and they didn’t see me cry in dressing rooms about the way my body looked.  They didn’t watch me delete or severely edit every picture of myself to hide my shape and size.  “They” had no idea how badly I wanted it.

Well, guess what?  They were right.  I didn’t want it badly enough.  I didn’t want it enough to inconvenience myself, to get a little sweaty, to skip lunch, or to get up earlier so I had the time to walk to work from a farther bus stop.  Until one day, I did want it enough, and I started to make it work.

Now that I’m a stay/work-at-home mom, I’m finding new ways to make it happen.  When my daughter was first born, I was totally overwhelmed with just the effort to get her what she needed and still get sleep.  Once she was about eight months old though, I felt like I had things under control enough that I might be able to divert some energy to finally losing the weight.  I started doing short workouts (fifteen minutes, three days a week) either while she napped or when she was in a good enough mood to hang out in her high chair with some snacks.  After a few weeks, I extended it to half hour workouts, and she still seemed fine.  Then it became a half hour five days per week, and still she was alright.

Now, in fairness, my daughter is an angel.  I know plenty of moms whose kids would NEVER put up with being left to their own devices for that long.  So do it when they nap.  Do it when your husband/wife/older child/neighbor comes home.  Do it after they go to bed.  Do it before they get up.  If you want it, you can make it work.  My daughter gets up between 8 and 9am.  So I am up at 6:30 getting my work and graduate school homework done before she wakes up.  Once she is up and fed, we go for a half hour walk around the neighborhood.  One half hour is not long enough to really cut into anything else I have to do during the day, and it has the added benefit of getting her nice and sleepy so that she’s ready for her morning nap when we come home.

I plan our dinners (often crockpot meals) so that they are either done when her Dad gets home, or will still cook for a while.  That way, we all go out together.  Every other day, her Dad pushes her in the stroller while I slog along next to them trying to do the Couch to 5K program.  My daughter loves the time outside, we get to spend a little time as a family doing something healthy, and my husband is enjoying the exercise too.  We come home and eat, and then it’s time to put baby to bed.  On the days in between, when I don’t run, I stick to our morning walk and then fit in a half hour workout on DVD or On Demand during her afternoon nap or quiet time.

I promise you can make it work.  And stop comparing.  No one is saying you should do as much as I do, or more, or less.  Your only goal is to move more than you do now.  That’s it.  Just do something extra.  Another five minutes every day is worth it.  Make it work, and the benefits in terms of health, energy, and weight loss will be worth the effort.

photo credit: soulsick

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