FIVE EXERCISE STRATEGIES FOR MOMS WITH “ACTIVE” KIDS

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After having my daughter, losing weight was easy. No sleep. No time to eat. Breast feeding. Trudging up the steps 20 times a day to clean up yet another blowout. Not to mention the incredible anxiety eating away at me about caring for this tiny, fragile little being. But after a while, the anxiety began to fade, I started to sleep again, the diva weaned herself and my ass expanded seemingly overnight.

When you’re pregnant, it’s assumed you can eat whatever you want. I mean when you spend all day creating new LUNGS you need the extra fuel. Same with breast feeding – although you actually need a few more calories when breast feeding than when your pregnant. I guess becoming a maker of liquid gold as opposed to creating a living, breathing human takes more work. Go figure.

But as my life was transforming and my stay-thin tactics started to flitter away, my eating habits didn’t change. Going from eating whatever, whenever back to a diet of rabbit food and tasteless chunks of chicken is not an easy feat. So here I sit, on my exponentially enlarged butt.

I don’t have time or money for the gym. The last time I attempted an exercise DVD, I ended up with a 27 pound 18 month old sitting on me yelling “Bounce! Bounce!” Not exactly motivating, people. I went in search of exercises I can do without getting up before the sun and while entertaining an “adventurous” toddler. So if you hate 5 a.m. AND have a household to run, read on.

Walking – Walking is one of the best exercises you can do. It’s low impact. Free. And best of all, you can wear out a toddler in just 20 minutes.

Pump up the jam! – If that reference eludes you, get off my blog right now! Seriously. Just kidding. Don’t go anywhere, I have 3 more tips for you! Is there a better way to play with your child and get a good workout in than dancing? Turn on the music – it doesn’t matter if it’s top 40 hits or Mickey Mouse singing nursery rhymes – anything that will get you moving will surely entertain your toddler while you burn some serious fat.

Get outside! – Hike, swim, participate in a fun game of hopscotch, ride bikes (don’t forget the helmets!), garden, play a game of soccer or kickball or softball. Whatever it is, have fun and get moving!

Jump in the game – Too cold or rainy? Bring the fun inside. Jump rope, do jumping jacks, run in place, lunges, squats, play tag. Surely you can take a cue for how your kids play to get involved.

Grab a controller – Got a video game addict in your child … or hubby? Turn on the Wii or Kinect (no, they didn’t pay me to say that) and challenge your kid to a serious game of tennis or bowling or whatever it is that they also enjoy.

Do these in short bursts and you’ll end up with the recommended 30 minutes of exercise a day.

Now get off your tushie and MOVE!

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Comments

  1. Walking up hills with a 30 pound child in a stroller is one of the hardest workouts ever!! OMG my but has been killing since I started!!! But don’t forget to strap them in…I made that mistake yesterday and half way through my walk I noticed Mason was half way out of the stroller…oops.

    Whenever I ask Mason to dance he sits down and gives me dirty looks…he is just like his mommy, an awful dancer

  2. I’m terrible at exercising. Like really, really terrible. But as I see that passing along to my 5 year old daughter, I’m more motivated to change it. One thing that we do is just turn on my iPod and dance. However we feel like dancing, we do that. It’s so much fun, you forget that we forget we’re actually burning calories.

  3. Ian LOVES to dance. He also likes to sit on my shins and hold onto my feet while I do leg lifts. And loves nothing more than walking around the neighborhood. The other day, he actually pulled me off the couch and then got behind me and pushed me to the door so I’d take him outside. kids can be great motivators. And I can’t wait till he’s old enough to play WII with his momma.

  4. Okay, before kids, I believed postpartum ladies were heavier b/c of pregnancy weight. Partially true, but mainly b/c–who has time to exericse/money for a gym/time and energy to shop for and make healthy foods….could preach to the choir and go on, but bottom line: thanks for the tips and feeling your pain 🙂

  5. These are great ideas! I miss the free exercise I got with breastfeeding. I ate everything and got skinnier than I had ever been in my adult life. *sigh* (Thanks for linking this up over at #findingthefunny with us this week!)

  6. I have this theory that if I did exactly what my 11 month old daughter does all day, I would burn soooo many calories. When I crawl on the floor with her and run around pushing her push toy, it’s an awesome workout. Unfortunately, if I did that all day, I wouldn’t have any time or energy left to cook or clean…or read blogs….I’m totally with you on the dancing one. It’s the only exercise I actually consider “fun”.

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