Our Mommyhood

Posts Tagged ‘exercise’

I keep meaning to find time to go to the gym. I know with the kids and the household it is hard to break away, but I need to get out of the house and workout so I can feel better about myself. Everyday I say that if I could just lose 10 lbs I could fit into some of my outfits.

Well, I decided that I have to make the decision and get my husband to help with the kids so that I can work out. I thought I had a good plan until I looked at my clothes for the gym and started to have anxiety knowing that I really could not go out in public with some of those outfits. My only problem was that I really did not want to go to a sporting goods store and feel the pressure from the sales staff about getting all the latest equipment, shoes, socks, etc.

I decided to just hide online and make these purchases and have them delivered to my house.  The best part was most sites offer free shipping, so I would not pay any extra for this convenience. I started at Nike since they are one of the most know brands. I actually found Nike Coupons to get additional savings from the online price. It did seem that the price online was actually cheaper than what I previously found in stores. Then, by chance I saw the flyer from our newspaper for Sears, so I went on their site and found that they have some great brands of workout gear.

Who would have thought I would find something at sears. In addition there are Sears Coupons for your online purchases and I found coupons for $5 off and free shipping. My lucky day!! All in all, I have some great ideas coming to the house and now I can feel confident in going to the gym. Now all I have to do is put a schedule together so that I can make it there two to three times a week. By the way, maybe I should look for online coupons for the gym!

Monique Rowe is a guest writer for My Coupons.com and also writes about living onless at The One Income Dollar.

Growing up for girls in this world is a lot harder than it used to be, though it is getting better, with more representation of different body types among models. But perhaps the most important thing that you can get across to young girls these day is that it isn’t about losing weight to be skinny, it is about being healthy, of which losing weight can be a byproduct.

News flash – women have curves, are supposed to have curves! On our bellies, our breasts, our hips, our thighs. While it is understandable that you would like to become more fit – becoming more healthy is not always intrinsically tied to losing weight. Muscle has more mass, and weighs more, so you may slim down, but the number on the scale may stay the same.

And even losing inches isn’t the battle you’re fighting when you are trying to become more healthy, when you go about it the right way. It’s about positive body image and a healthy knowledge of your body and how it functions; it’s about eating healthy and not downing a pint of ice cream every other night.

It’s about good habits, and young girls mirror their mothers. If you have good habits, your daughters will mirror you. And if you start these good habits (watching your portion sizes, balancing your vegetables and starches, exercise) expecting to lose a dramatic amount of weight quickly, you will probably be sorely disappointed. Yes, you might lose some weight initially very quickly, because your body is adapting and doing a kind of cleanse of bad eating habits, but that weight loss won’t be maintained at that level.

To break out my girly side, I will paraphrase what Stacy and Clinton say on that makeover show on TLC – wearing clothes that fit your body will not only make you look better, but will improve your self-image.

Translate that idea to body image in general, and practice what you preach to your daughter. If you like your body as it is now, things will fall into place much more smoothly. And it isn’t a paradox to like your body and yet realize that you need to be healthier. Promise. Everyone will have days where they slip into negativity in the long process of adopting healthy habits and reaching your body’s healthy weight (which may or may not correspond to your personal goal weight) – but be positive and upbeat and keep looking forward, and soon your forced healthy habits won’t be forced at all.

But remember – this is life. If you live your whole life pining after that pint of ice cream you promised yourself you couldn’t have, more harm than good will come of it and your self image will become negative and suffer for it, and your daughter will notice that even though you say weight doesn’t matter, it affects your outlook. This is your life! Everything in moderation, including moderation – let yourself splurge every once and a while on that decadent cake or that favorite ice cream.
Show your daughter that living life isn’t a chore to be slogged through because you aren’t happy with the way that you look. Enjoy your curves and work to live healthy, have confidence and smile through your days!

Ann Michaels is a freelance writer who tries to integrate healthy living into her everyday routines with fresh, local produce and natural health supplements, as well as a healthy dose of exercise.

By Julia Magnusson, Staff Writer, It’s Not Like a Cat (@notlikeacat)

The plan was to run a winter half marathon, followed by a fall marathon, followed by an ultra in 2012. After all, I’d run a ton when Max was a baby; in fact, I dramatically increased my distances because I could never get him to nap, so I’d put him in the jogging stroller and meet up with a running mom friend (now a very close friend) whose baby was the same age as and just as nap-resistant as Max.

We’d run and run and run and run and run. One day we accidentally ran 13 miles. I forget if the babies slept. They must have. But Justine and I had so much to talk about.

After Ben was born, I found a double jogger on Craigslist, with an infant sling and looked forward to running with both boys.

Unfortunately Max, who’d loved our single jogger (and still does!), hates the new stroller. It was just the double version of the one we had, but I think the infant sling makes him feel squished. I know he’s also busy with other things, as he is a very busy almost-three-year-old with desires and curiosities of his own, so he may want to do something other than sit in the stroller for an hour while I run, but I’m pretty sure the stroller is the problem.

Add to that the 70-plus inches of snow we got this winter—or just this year? Does it matter, really? All that matters is that every street was narrowed to one tiny lane, every sidewalk was completely impassable, there was no curb access through the four-foot-high snowbanks and running in the street with a double jogging stroller was asking for an accident. Even just running by myself, some days, was a death-dance with snow plows and ice.

But I tried. I became too disorganized to book spots in the gym daycare in time. The all-night-feeding baby left me too tired in the mornings to get up early to run before my husband left for work. I still managed my Sunday long runs and an occasional midweek run, but otherwise my running has taken a back seat.

When the roads were clear and Max was willing to go in the stroller, the baby needed his morning nap. See, this second child is a total crib napper who won’t sleep anywhere else.

And to think that I used to think that women who didn’t work out much after their second baby weren’t trying hard enough…Sorry! I had no idea!

Now the snow is finally gone and the sidewalks are available again. In another month the baby will be able to sit in the actual stroller seat, meaning I can get rid of the infant sling that squishes Max. Ben will still need his morning nap, but maybe we can eke out a regular running schedule before or after it.

I have to figure this out soon. I have a 10-miler coming up, followed by a late-spring half marathon, followed by a fall marathon. While I’ll certainly be able to finish all the races, I won’t finish them fast unless I actually start training.

I had no idea running could become so much harder with all these other factors thrown in. When will the baby ditch his morning nap, anyway?

How do you manage to find time to exercise if you have two kids with very different schedules?

By Julia Magnusson, Staff Writer, It’s Not Like a Cat (@notlikeacat)

As of this writing, I have run four times since my knee surgery. In fact, it’s like life is normal again;  I met my trail-running group last Sunday for a trail run, met my old running partner for a midweek three-miler and met my trail-running group again this morning for a predawn run.

It’s beautiful.

Plus, despite several last-minute cancellations at the gym, I’ve been working out almost regularly lately.  Well, “regularly” is kind of a stretch; my schedule has been so spotty that I did nothing but one run for four days straight, then did three workouts in two days (oops).

Whatever.  I’ll smooth it out.  I’m adapting to my days spent wholly with children, to my new life as a mother of two and to resuming my former identity as a fairly fit runner. So far, so good.

As I fall into a regular routine of running and working out, other things are starting to fall into place. For one thing, my daily and weekly routine is becoming more regular. We are resuming a nice mix of “gym mornings” (gym followed by errands or playground), adventure/social mornings and spontaneous mornings (usually due to  a failure to make it to the gym, thanks to a recalcitrant toddler and his resistance to wearing pants or something).

For another thing, I’m happier. It’s not just the endorphins that are starting to flow through me again. The nervousness I had about having to begin to run again after seven months’ off is dissipating. I didn’t lose as much ground as I’d expected to. I can run again, maybe not as fast or as far as before, but I’m not holding anyone back on my group runs, my running partner didn’t complain about our pace and the upcoming (as of this writing) Turkey Trot is definitely doable…in my new Vibram FiveFingers, even.

Third, I have a goal: a half marathon in February.  I ran this particular race last February and I’m excited to run it as a non-pregnant runner. My friend and running partner, Sasha, will probably train for it with me, which is a double bonus, as she is great to run with.

Running is again becoming a rock I can orbit, one solid regular thing in my daily life that I can claim as entirely my own, something I can count on (usually) that no one but me is accountable for. Sure, getting out the door with both children and getting them settled into the jogging stroller won’t always be easy or smooth, but once we’re out there, the run itself is up to me. Entirely mine. Mine to do well at.

And sometimes that tiny bit of ownership and sense of control is enough to keep me feeling like the old me.

What do you do to feel like your former self, your self before children? Tell us about it in the forum!