Is it really a schedule thing?

[anakiya]

I have been "active" for most of my life. When I started college I met my husband (then boyfriend) who used to lift in the summers and wrestle in the winter. I would wait for him in either his room or the college center. When in his room I would read his Muscle & Fitness magazines and would wonder what it would be like to be those women. I saw how much it took for my boyfriend to look the way he did. If those women looked like that (more muscular than he) how much more were they putting into it? How many hours did it take to look like that?

This brings me to my question. I'm a 42 year old woman and have been pretty active for most of my life. Except for the past couple of years I have always maintained a "normal" weight and never had to worry much about it. I have a full time job (no children). My job requires that I get on a train every day at 6:00 a.m. which means that I'm out of the house at 5:30 a.m., most days I have enough time at lunch to go for a walk when the weather is nice just so I don't sit all day at my desk in front of a computer. I then take the train again I don't get home from work until 7:00 p.m. and by that time I'm exhausted from the commute and from the stresses of the day. I still need to make dinner which normally is a salad or whatever I can grab (sometimes not the healthiest stuff) and sit on the couch waiting for my husband to get home which is not until about 9:30 p.m.

This week I'm on vacation and have decided to make some changes. It's been a week of working out every day and eating healthy. Believe it or not I am already seeing some improvements in my body. I have been looking at some of the women on this site and even some of the men and you guys all look amazing. I'm sure you all have full time jobs and families to take care of and people who need you to spend time with them. How do you do it?

I'm afraid that next week when I go back to work I'll feel totally overwhelmed and my motivation to work out will just dissipate.

Here is my question. How do you all do it? How do you find the time and motivation? Knowing my schedule now, what do you guys suggest I do? I know it's ultimately up to me but I'm thinking that if I can hear from some of you who have the same experiences as I do I will be able to at least try and continue on this path that I started on this week.

Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Thank you so much for taking the time. I'm looking forward to hearing from you all.

[freebirdmac]

So you have 2.5 hours until your husband gets home plus a train ride home. Time to get creative Make meals ahead of time. On the weekend and/or make extra during the week. You can pack a meal with or without a protein shake for the train ride home. Then go workout! You'll eat more post workout. Spend part of that 2.5 hours in the gym! Part of your exhaustion is the travel. Working out, even when you feel like you have no energy, will greatly help you. You just need to keep your nutrition up to par and get in the habit of a gym routine.

[ilovethe80s]

I think the hardest thing is getting the energy/ motivation to work out when you are exhausted. After work is a tough time to train. I have never had a 9-5 job I don't know how on earth people get them, I think those hours are make believe lol. It was always more like 7-8. Getting it out of the way first thing in the morning is awesome and makes your whole day go great, but for you that would probably mean getting up at 4 - which probably isn't realistic if you have to stay up very late as well. I think the best thing you can do is to find a gym near your office (or home), change for the gym at work if you can - getting dressed is half the battle. Then do not go home after work- go straight to the gym. If you go home and walk by the couch it will suck you in like quicksand. Once you're there hopefully you'll get your second wind. Have a snack there on the way and go there with a plan that maps out everything you'll do including rest periods so you don't space out from tiredness.

As far as the cooking, I think for every working mom or working woman, the most important thing is the crockpot. You can make complete meals in there or chicken/ protein for the week. I love taco soup in there, chicken/ vegetable soups, california chicken, crockpot salsa chicken w avocado + beans. You can just throw everything in in the morning and come home to a cooked meal (and only 1 pot to clean up but if you get a big enough crock each meal should last a few days, plus they have crockpot liners too). It really is amazing, my family was just out here visiting and we were busy all day, then come home tired at night and everyone would be like 'where did this food come from? how did you make that, you were gone all day' lol. I only cook big batches of rice or sweet potato 2x per week so it can just reheat with the meals or get thrown into the soups. I'll cut up salad veggies every few days as well - that actually takes the longest for me, chopping stuff up. So most of the time I have a big batch of green smoothie in there instead since that can last a few days as well. And egg bakes are really good to have in the fridge. Just mix up a bunch of eggs or whites or whatever substitute you use with things like chopped veggies, diced potatoes, crumbled turkey sausage or bacon, spices, cheeses etc, pour into a big lasagna pan and bake. This keeps in the fridge for like a week and good hot or cold for bfast, lunch, dinner or snack.

HTH!

[KaraPhoto]

and sit on the couch waiting for my husband to get home which is not until about 9:30 p.m.

You have a great block of time right there to do something active.

I think every woman around understands and sympathizes. The thing is someone I really respect once told me that if something is important to you, you'll MAKE TIME for it. Not "find" time, not "fit it in, but make the time to make it a priority. At first I have to admit, his words made me angry - I had all the excuses about how busy I was (I work full time, run a business, own a message board, plus keep house, have friends, etc. ... just like everyone else, my day is packed). But really it's true. If something is important to you, you make it a priority.

Like freebirdmac said, pack a meal/snack for the train ride home, then go workout. Or workout before you come home if there's a gym closer to work. I have a gym associated with my office building, so I leave work and walk right into the gym. I workout for about an hour (give or take), then towel off and walk to the train. While I'm walking I drink a protein drink. Another 45 mins and I'm home and I fix dinner - usually from ingredients I've prepared/precooked over the weekend.

It just means looking at the schedule you have and deciding how important it is to prioritize the exercise into that routine.

[kfisherx]

I have been "active" for most of my life. When I started college I met my husband (then boyfriend) who used to lift in the summers and wrestle in the winter. I would wait for him in either his room or the college center. When in his room I would read his Muscle & Fitness magazines and would wonder what it would be like to be those women. I saw how much it took for my boyfriend to look the way he did. If those women looked like that (more muscular than he) how much more were they putting into it? How many hours did it take to look like that?

I sincerely hope you realize that the women in that magazine who look more muscled than your boyfriend are using some form of steroids to get that way. I am just wanting to set realistic expectations here.

Other than that I agree with the rest of the folks. As it becomes important to you, you'll find the energy for it. (you already have the time) It is hard at first but after 2-3 months of struggling through it, it will become just a part of your regular routine. If you start with the program from NROL or New Rules for Women, it will have you in and out of the gym in 30 or so minutes. GREAT way to start!

[bethanyboo]

If it was me I'd try to find a gym by work and work out before heading home. There's not a chance in hell I'll make it back out to work out after I've gotten home and plopped on the couch.

[equestrian]

If it was me I'd try to find a gym by work and work out before heading home. There's not a chance in hell I'll make it back out to work out after I've gotten home and plopped on the couch.

^^^This is me! lol!

What the others said is true - you make the time, not find the time.

Now, it takes a bit of juggling at first to get the hang of it, especially pre-prepping meals. I try really hard to measure and cook on Sunday and store everything in the fridge so in the morning, it's grab and go. Then in the evening it's nuke the leftovers and be done with it. Sometimes I miscalculate and in the morn I'm standing there staring at the fridge saying, "I could have sworn I had one more serving of chicken!" It's really hard to get all of this done during the week when you're tired from working out.

And yeah, there are some days when I'm exhausted and stressed out from work and the last thing I want to do is hit the gym or go to Tae Kwon Do - but I do it anyways and I feel sooo much better afterward. It's a huge stress reliever!

You just have to experiment with different things and time-tables until you figure out a system that works for you. Planning ahead will save you a ton of time and effort.

[coconuttree2009]

If it was me I'd try to find a gym by work and work out before heading home. There's not a chance in hell I'll make it back out to work out after I've gotten home and plopped on the couch.

Same here. If I don't go straight from work, then it is much harder to go after I get home.
You might struggle a bit at first with your new schedule but in few weeks time it will become second nature.

[anakiya]

Thank you all for the information and the suggestions. The gym to which I belong is close to home, 10 minutes if that much and I can go right from the train before I even get home. You're all right in saying that it's going to be difficult the first couple of months. They say that everything takes 30 days to become a habit. I am sure I can give this a go for at least 30 days and make it a habit.

I'm going to work on a schedule and try to figure out meals that I can prepare to bring to work and to have on my way to the gym after work. It's not like I'm driving so that makes it easier that I can actually eat while just sitting there on the train right? I really want to do this so I guess I just have to get my body used to it.

Again thank you and expect to hear much more from me. Looking forward to all our improvements

[kickasskittykat]

Sounds like you've got it sorted :-)

A read you have to do something 21 times for it to become a habit ... So give it a month you'll have it all under tour belt running like clockwork :-)

Then when you take a rest day you'll be like - wow I don't know what to do with myself ( that just me?! )

Good luck- your half way there with the positive attitude xx