I was once in the same situation as you are in now. What did I do for exercise? Not a fucking thing. Strap Riley to a stroller and walk briskly or just run if that’s your thing. Get some exercise DVD’s and include Riley in the workout. You won’t get pumped but you will move around some and you’ll both have fun. OR…Riley will get bored and leave you alone to exercise in peace while he flushes Cat down the toilet. I’ve got some yoga dvd’s which are nice, one geared for kids and one geared for me. Take Riley to the local pool (or a private one if you know someone with one) and while you hold him jog in place. Or hop up and down. Do ANYTHING but turn into the flat slob that I’ve become. Seriously, you complain about weighing a whopping 140 lbs (which may very well be large for you) and I weep because I’d give my left ovary to weigh 140 again.

Also: I will summon a renewal of purpose, a redoubling of efforts, and as god is my witness, I will NOT eat my way through a bag of Tostitos Scoops today even though I believe Superbowl Sunday is historically considered a national day of celebrating Munchy McMasticate, Patron Saint of Snacking.

No, instead there shall be carrot sticks. And lo, they will be…rabbity.

AMEN! Preach it, sistah.

One word: jumprope. It sounds like you have places (backyard, garage, driveway) to jumprope, so go for it! It’s an excellent cardio workout and great for the glutes/quads, as well. It doesn’t take up much room and you don’t even need to leave the house to do it! When you first do it, you’ll be out of breath so quickly, it will amaze you. Then it gets fun when you remember all the little jumprope rhymes from grade school (“Lincoln, Lincoln, I’ve been thinkin’, what the hell have you been drinkin’?” etc.) as well as the little tricks, like crossing your arms when you jump!

Somebody just turned me on to Namaste Yoga on FitTV. I haven’t tried it yet (maybe tomorrow) but it’s only half an hour and it’s supposedly a gentle intro to yoga and, you know, why not?

I don’t do gyms and I won’t run (I have issues with exercising in public unless I’m swimming lap or doing yoga), so I walk. I walk everywhere. We don’t have a car, so that helps the walking issue. When I was working, I tried to walk during lunch hours and if I could get in a 30 minute walk 3 times a week, I felt much better about myself. When I was pregnant I worked at the Y so I swam twice a week during my lunch hour. It was a great way to ensure I actually got a full hour for lunch instead of working at my desk while eating.

But I love Shannon’s jumprope idea. If we didn’t live in an apartment, I would seriously consider doing that.

Also, dance. Turn up your daft punk and dance like crazy with Riley. He’ll do his squats and you can break into a sweat.

The 6AM thing blows, I know. But running is definitely the best option (it’s portable! it doesn’t require heavy equipment! you can do it anywhere, anytime!), and I SWEAR, you will feel better about the 6AM once you’ve gotten out there just a few times. Because you’ll realize that, for that half-hour or even 20 minutes that you’re out there? NO ONE CAN BOTHER YOU. It’s YOUR time. And once you get used to hitting the road, even if it’s 3 or 4 times a week, you will CRAVE that run. You will look forward to your running days because you’ll have more energy and your head will be clearer — in fact, even if I had a shitty night’s sleep, I feel better if I run than if I stay in bed for another 45 minutes.

Beyond that, because it’s a lifestyle change and not a diet/exercise program, I agree with everyone else re: walking as much as possible, throwing in some dance parties with Riley, and all that jazz.

You mentioned that Riley goes to bed around 6:30 p.m., right? You could run then, or at least get out there and walk briskly. That’s when I work out – I wait a little while after we have dinner, then I hit the road around 7:30 p.m. for about 30 to 40 minutes. I say this because I tried hard – I tried REALLY, REALLY HARD – to get up, and I did not get over it, no matter how many times I tried. It’s DARK out there. And given that it’s dark out there in the morning, it’s really no worse at night, given the circumstances.

I don’t have a kid, but it’s hard for me to get to a gym for other reasons. We bought an exercise bike and I either watch DVD’s or read a book while I’m on it. There are always plenty for sale on Craigslist. Also, dip those carrot sticks in some salsa. Low cal, and less boring.

It doesn’t motivate ME, but I have a friend who steadily eats well because she says that otherwise she would be steadily GAINING weight. She was noticing that she was putting on about a pound a year, and so she changed her habits and now she holds steady. Occasionally she even loses a pound. Well, that’s nice. But if I’m eating carrots and salads, I want to see MAJOR LOSSES on the scale.

When I want to exercise at home–and it’s nice that this is the internet where I can pretend that’s often–I do videos. I had one of those Billy Blanks Tae Bo DVDs when everyone else in the world also had them, and I have to admit I actually liked it (when I say “liked it,” you understand I mean “on the exercise spectrum,” right? not on the “things I actually like” spectrum). I’d gotten sick of all the step aerobics and in fact of aerobics in general, and Tae Bo was a refreshing change. But now I’m sick of that, too.

I think what I’d do now if I decided to exercise, is I’d get exercise DVDs from Netflix if they have them, and I’d do one until I was tired of it and then get a new one. Or, I’d get DVDs from the library, but they only let me have them for a week and by then I’d only have gotten around to telling myself that I REALLY SHOULD try that video tomorrow FOR REAL. Or I’d see if I could find a good daily program on TV, because that gives me the feeling that I have an appointment I have to show up for.

This might not help, because I belong to a gym and don’t have kids and so have both a place to go and can make (it’s all about MAKING, though) the time to exercise. But if you joined a gym, you could put Riley in the Kiddie Room, right? Most gyms offer childcare.

Otherwise, I agree that running will give you the most bang for your buck. My iPod has vastly improved my running workouts — I don’t know how I ever ran without music before, so strongly suggest using an iPod on your run. Another thing to try: in high school for track workouts, our coach sometimes made us run “telephone poles.” (There was about a 2-mile stretch of straight flat road right near our school). Stride from one pole to the next, then jog. At the next pole, stride between two poles, then jog for two. Finally, stride for three poles, jog for three. Work up and down this “ladder” as time, fitness, and telephone poles will allow. This would be a good cross-training option.

I have only just gotten back on band-wagon of fitness, but I have been wallking around greenlake (it is 5 blocks away) and using the handy dandy DVR to tape Inhale Yoga from Oxygen network I think. I like yoga, but kinda hate all the new-agey goddess stuff that some of the shows have. This guy is a little wierd but at least doesn’t take himself super seriously. The show is esentially 40 minutes but kicks my ass in a good way. Also since there are commercial breaks would be easy to only do part of the work out but it feels great to do it all if you can find the time. I have roped the boyfriend in to doing it with me, and he is actually enjoying it too. And it is free off TV(if you already have cable anyway)!

Also, a wonderful secret for fast food if you need a quick lunch or something before a meeting is the Taco Time Chop Salad, and a cup of thier Chili. If you get salsa as dressing (instead of say… ranch) the two together are only like 300 calories but super filling. And actually taste good too.

Getting momentum in an exercise activity is where I have the greatest problem. You need a buddy to push you. Help you get over that hump of inertia, or lack thereof. Sometimes I can get up early and go for a ride or a run. Most of the time not. Living in the Northeast severely limits my morning activities, what with the 10 degree temperatures and all. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be with the added benefit of a little one to manage.

So as the profound advertising department of Nike says… “Just Do It.”

I love the jumprope idea and of course Dancing with Riley would be fun!

For me, although I don’t have a child yet…I recently quit the gym after aquiring a dog. Sheer guilt from not being home all day forces me to get out and walk her at least once a day – if not twice! I have images of myself strapping my future child into the stroller and still hitting the pavement with my pooch. I’ve recently started running one block – walking 2 (or 5 blocks) – etc, etc…just to burn some extra calories. I’d love to be able to run the whole way, but it’s just not my thing I guess.

I am a fan of classes at the gym, step, kick-boxing, etc. However, I too have (almost) an 18 month old and some days it isn’t practical to either get up early or make it there at all. For those days, I rely on Tae Boe and most recently Dance Dance Revolution… since it is a video game, it totally doesn’t feel like I’m exercising and Aiden usually gets in the groove too.

Most of the new DDR games have a work out mode.

http://www.getupmove.com/weightloss/tanya.asp

My hubby and I have just started running (sort of…) with our hip hop happenin’ running stroller. My son is only 4.5 months old, so I don’t know how well that will work with a toddler…BUT he LOVES to see things whizzing by him and squealed with delight at the birds on the golf course. It handles really well over lumpy terrain and so the jostling and 4 wheeler noises his dad makes really helps keep things interesting.
I have also recently taken up the same “change in eating habits” and since organic butter was on sale I bought a bunch and figured it would be OK to load it on my veggies. After all…it’s ORGANIC, and so it CAN’T BE BAD. Also, natural cheetos are NATURAL, so they can’t be bad either. Right? I see the error in my logic only when I try to put on my jeans.

I go for a run when my kid’s dad gets home from work. Sure, I have all day to think about how I don’t want to go, but then I make myself be ready so that when he gets home I can say a brief hello, throw the baby at him and take off. It’s great my special me time and a really good way to burn off steam after those looooong days. I take the dog, too. Walking is good, too. Arguably better for you and your bone density. And if you do it three times a week, before you know it, you’ll be anxiously awaiting you “alone” time.

I charge up my iPod and go for a jog, or at least I used to before I reverted back to my sluggish college ways. Now I’m back to walking on my treadmil while I watch TV or movies. It doesn’t give me the same burn as a good run, but I can do it when the sidewalks are covered in ice and enjoy old episodes of Project Runway at the same time.

I’ve done yoga too, and it was awesome. Helped me mellow out a lot.

Hi! Exercise DVDs work great. Leslie Sansone has a bunch of great walking/cardio ones. Good luck! :)

i’ve been having great success just cutting my food intake in half. lost 7 pounds over the holidays. AND I STILL ATE A LOT OF CHOCOLATE. a lot.

and as for cardio, well, there’s always sex.

I go to this awesome gym called “the construction industry”. I get paid to work out. Turns out, construction isn’t much of a core strenghtener. Oh well, at least my back and arms are fit. (damn you gut, I guess Bud Light isn’t really health food)

I’m in the same boat you are, well, except that I don’t have a toddler. But god do I want one. Sorry, a bit of just-recently-divorced popped up. I’m a “healthy” woman of 32, if you mean “healthy” to be 300lbs or so. I’ve always wanted to be smaller, but it’s always been a problem for me. My issues always seemed to be 1) I’ll start that diet tomorrow, 2) I don’t need to loose the weight right now, I’m still young (Hah), 3) Even overweight women are having babies safely. But since the demise of my marriage, I’ve been thinking about trying to get into shape. It’s kinda a way to maybe get back at the ass for dumping me, but I have a feeling it’ll also be good for me.

There is a gym on the second floor of my work building and I found out it’s only $38 a month. So I broke down and signed up. I told myself “If I pay for it, I’ll go.” Weeellllll, that was October of last year. Guess how many times I went? 3 I keep telling myself I need to go, especially since I’d have to pass it on my way out. Yea, hasn’t happened yet.

What I try to do at home is I have a medicine ball (think large elephant balls) and you can do some exercises on it without hurting yourself. I also have some dumbbells that I do some arms curls and just take 15 minutes in the morning and walk around my apartment complex parking lot. I counted 200 curls and it takes about 15 minutes.

Also, I thought it would be really hard for me to cut out a lot of the sweets and snacks, but so far it’s not that bad. I have a bowl of Circle K (I know, it’s actually called Special K, but no matter how hard I try, I always say Circle K) and then I have a morning snack of grapes, then a big salad for lunch, and afternoon snack of carrots and then some kind of chicken for dinner. I also try to drink one or two big glasses of water a day. And so far it seems to be helping a little. I think I’ve gone down 1 (alomst 2) dress sizes.

Now if I can just actually make it to the gym….. Oh, also, I bought a plus-size yoga DVD (which I haven’t opened yet, um yea), but I figured that would be good to use at home.

Good luck!!!

Some days I’m on campus from 9 in the morning till 9 at night. I have a break in the middle, but I just stay on campus instead of driving 40 minutes home and back again. So, sometimes I just go up and down the flights of stairs is the building I’m usually in. I feel a little like a hamster running around in those tubes or something. But, it gets the heart-rate up and there are showers on campus so I can de-stink before class.

But, I also really like the dancing idea. Maybe even get one of those dance/exercise videos. Or, get Turbo Jam. I haven’t tried it, but I’ve heard awesome things about it. Is there anyway to put a little tv out with the other exercise equipment? After you watch it a couple times, you might get the hang of it, and could watch it with the volume low so as not to wake Riley.

Good question, my wife loves/needs to exercise, and when I first moved in with my wife I would get up with her at 5:30AM everyday to jog five mile (if there is a prospect of sex a guy will do most anything). Thank god she blow out her knee diving and I didn’t have to jog anymore. ;-)
I don’t like to exercise because I get bored easily and I can’t get into an exercise routine unless there is a purpose or goal I am working towards. When I was single I would rollerblade eight miles a day (really good bike trails) but that was to build up my legs for skiing. Right now I am biking quit a bit because I have the Solvang Century in March and I don’t want to be picked up by the van, dead beside the road. I also walk the dog 1/2 mile a night but that’s for him instead of me.
If you are not the type who likes an exercise routine just for the ‘fun’ of it try setting up something that forces you to get in shape. My goal after Solvang in to day hike Mt. Whitney this fall. That’s 20+ miles starting at 8400ft and reaching the top which is over 14,000 ft. And since you have to reserve a spot to climb the mountain in Feb. you are kind of committed to follow through (or lose the five dollar reservation fee).
Good luck. BTW, Exercise DVD’s are pretty good, I fixed up a plate of nachos and almost sat through one once. ;-)

I second (or third, or whatever) the running. I have tried – oh, how I have tried – to do the gym thing. It actually works for a while. The problem is that I can’t keep it up. First I have to go somewhere, then I have to change clothes, then I have to work out, then I have to shower and change clothes again, and then I have to go to wherever it is you’re supposed to be. It was too much work before we had a kid, so it’s next to impossible now.

Hence the running. If you run in the morning (which I prefer) you just step out of your door, run however far you want to run, and then go in the house and take a shower. Then the rest of your day can be exactly the same. By the time you’re done washing your toes, it’s like it never even happened – except for the part where you feel great.

Alternatively, if you do not feel great, you get to walk around all say saying, “Oh MAN am I sore! I just ran some number of miles this morning!” to whomever makes the mistake of getting within earshot. It’s kind of a no-lose situation.

I find that if you run at night it’s far easier to skip on account of having a tough day, and the only person you get to complain to is your spouse, who will increasingly fail to acknowledge your unbelievable achievements, especially if they have to put the kid to bed.

Strap on the weights! Ankle weights. I wear them all day long on and off. It’s great for running up and down stairs with laundry…cleaning etc.

I tried the DVDs, tv shows etc… Didn’t work, because I could walk away…which I did. I even bought the really old Jane Fonda Workout tape (which for some sick reason I love, love, loved doing in highschool when I was uber skinny) and it didn’t hold me…not even for nostalgia’s sake. Anyway, the ankle weights have been working.

Have you and JB considered getting a used elliptical machine? I love a good workout, but I hate running so whenever I get on a treadmill or go outside for a run, I max out at 5 minutes – with ellipticals, I can go on for forever. It’s also very low impact so I don’t feel like I’m rattling my brain out while trying to watch TV or read a gossip magazine. Seattle weather doesn’t seem to motivate the newbie runner either.

I second the ellipticals. I personally would LOVE to be able to run, but it really hurts my chest and my knees. When I run, I also end up with a digusting spit/phglem mixure in my mouth and throat that makes it hard to breath in general. So.. I don’t like to do that.
I live thankfully on a college campus so there’s a Rec Center. I also live.. across the street from the rec center. Heh. I do 45 mintutes every night on a Elliptical (usually burn 500 calories and get in 4 miles..) and have been since the begining of fall semester. For some reason I’m still in size 16 jeans. (WHY!?!) *cough* But.. I’ve always been a stairs girl. I hate elevators, escalators, anything that makes getting up a level easier. I used to get tired at home just going upstairs from the basement. Spent a year at school living on the 4th floor and Pfft! One flight was stairs was nothing.. then I moved to the second floor. *Cry*

I’m also a big fan of DDR, but it can be really frustrating when your stuck at a really low difficultly level and want something more fast paced. I like fastpaced workouts (Did Aerobics at my school’s rec center when it fit into my schledule last fall), but they gotta be structure.. like a dance routine.

But yeah.. it’s too cold to go excercise outside. Maybe just running up and down stairs for 50 cycles? I did that over the summer to keep me in shape for stairs come fall.. That was doing a number for me breathing wise..

Munchy McMasticate is my new personal mascot.

Yeah, getting up at 6 a.m. to work out is definitely, as they say, a bitch. I am rooting for you, because if I didn’t HAVE to do it, I certainly wouldn’t.

And hey, if/when I get back to Iraq, I will totally send Riley a kick-ass “Who’s Your Baghdaddy?” t-shirt. (They’re all the rage with the infidels!)

The government sent us $400 in vote-buying rebates a while back, and my husband and I pooled our money and bought a really nice upright exercise bike. I also have one of those inflatable balls – I got a book about them, you wouldn’t believe how many exercises you can do with those things.

Hi, I know the feeling, I gave birth 13 months ago and STILL have about 10 kilos to go. One thing I can suggest is making your own yoghurt, I make it with skim milk and it’s SO easy. I add fresh strawberries/banana/ or any fruit we have on hand. I also add some ice-cream topping and make frozen yoghurt for my kids. It takes about 5 minutes to make. If you want the instructions email me at the above and I’ll be happy to give them. I also find that just walking and pushing the stroller twice a day to take my kids to and from school helps a lot XXX

I am not a morning person either so I do all my workouts in the evening or during the day when I have a break, as I’m lucky to work at home. “They” say you can get as much from several shorter workouts so if you find yourself challenged for a large chunk of time some day, break it up into smaller workouts. I’ve found success with rotating my workouts between exercise shows (TiVo), walking/running outside or inside on the treadmill. Our dog is addicted to walking with me now. I’ve heard great things about ellipticals too.

Ugh, you’re doing more than me! I talk about eating healthy and we’ve got organic this, that, and the other and I read all the labels in the bread aisle to avoid high fructose corn syrup, etc etc. Then I bake a cake. And eat half of it myself. But anyway, I would vote for walking, since you can always stick Riley in a stroller and just go out and do it. Not that it’s worked for me, since I’m really, really lazy. But it’s a way to a) get out of the house when he’s making you crazy, b) get some exercise, and c) set a good example for Riley. Good luck!!

I will never be a morning person no matter how I try. I agree with the previous poster that suggested a short run after Riley hits the hay. 30 minutes is PLENTY of time for a jog or a brisk walk, enough to get your heart pumping (you can get 2 miles in 30 minutes even walking leisurely) and hey, according to my HR monitor, I can burn 800 calories in 30 minutes of jogging (2 miles, I’m slow) and that’s a whole lot of cheese covered rice cakes. :)

We bought a jogging stroller in a fit of exercise enthusiasm in the summer. I took my daughter out maybe ten times but she didn’t particularly like it. I must say I enjoyed the “oh the baby needs something, I better stop” part of it when I couldn’t jog more than a block. Unfortunately the fact that we live in a condo so the stroller has to live in the depths of the basement as it’s too heavy to carry upstairs, plus the Minnesota minus-a-bajillion-degrees winter mean that it’s too easy to leave the stroller where it is. I wish I could remotivate… if we ever move to a house, we’re getting an elliptical.

I keep a couple of five-pound weights on the coffee table and made a deal with myself that I would used them whenever I watch TV for more than a few minutes. Just a few basic arm exercises and standing crunch things that don’t hurt too badly, maybe some lunges if I’m alone and feeling really ambitious. It’s a little half-assed, but it’s something, and the more TV I watch, the better my arms look.

My fiance and I have been big fans of this stuff lately: http://www.coreperformance.com/ It’s more like pilates/yoga with strength training thrown in. My friends are big fans of the Winsor pilates DVDs too, you can get those at Amazon.

I’m in the same situation right now. I have three weddings in the coming months, one of which is mine and about 10-15 pounds to lose and all I’ve been doing is just not snacking, but I’m eating whatever the hell I want. Worked for a week, and now…nothin’.

I do have a pilates DVD that has 5 different workouts that are only 10 minutes each..Ironically its called 10 Minute Solution Pilates and I can do it in the comfort of my room and nobody has to know. I did it a few months ago and stuck with it for two weeks and saw MAJOR improvement. Sure, it hurt like hell to walk the next day, but I was only doing two of the five workouts and I wasn’t even doing them together, whenever I had 10 or 15 minutes, I would just turn it on, and I wouln’t take it out of my DVD player. But then I stopped because i got bronchitis and I’ve just been too lazy to take Pirates of the Caribbean out of my DVD player and replace it with my pilates DVD.

So, if you’re up for the home-video/DVD route, it was only like $6….

I haaaaaaaaaaate exercising. Hate it. The concept of getting up early to exercise is completely foreign to me, and I fully admit that I will never, ever do it. HOWEVER, I have found something that makes me want to exercise, and that something is… Turbo Jam. Which makes me sound like a shill and a fanatic (and a complete weirdo) but it’s true. I have bad knees and can do it low-impact, and the music’s all dance-y, club-y stuff that makes me want to move, which is pretty much what every other workout I’ve tried has lacked. Seriously, there’s this one song in the 20-minute workout that I love, so I do the workout, just to hear the music. And that part of the workout involves jabs and hip-thrusting (it’s a very dance-y video, but doesn’t require much in the way of actual coordination, which is good because I have the coordination of a drunk duck), so by the time I get there, I’m totally into it. The chick that leads it is a total goofball but in a harmless way, so I don’t actually hate watching it. I’ve been unable to exercise for months due to health issues (fun!), and I’m totally jonesing to do Turbo Jam again, which is absolutely bizarre because, like I said, I despise the whole moving-off-the-couch thing, unless it involves going to get more popcorn (by the way, the 100 calorie packs of microwaveable popcorn they have now are fantastic to keep around). So, yeah, if you can grab it from the library or elsewhere, I’d recommend checking it out.

Riley isn’t up at 6am? Holy crap. You guys are so lucky. Juliet has us up by 5:30 every morning.
Every. Damn. Morning.

Ranie and I had the same problem about exercise. I should say I had the same problem. I don’t think she’s ever had to exercise in her life. Damn her. We ended up splurging on an elliptical machine we could use when we couldn’t get out for walks, hikes or biking. I hate the elliptical and for me it’s just to bide the time until biking is feasible weather-wise. She loves it, though.

I do the gym routine for weights every night before bed. Our gym is like 3 minutes away so it’s nice. Ranie does her routine at home with some hand weights. One thing to remember about weight training, and I’m sure JB has told you this, it is always best to emphasis your leg workouts. Squats, thrusts, etc. Leg muscle mass is by far the majority of the muscle mass on the body and a well-toned lower half will burn over twice the calories while at rest as your upper body. One of things that always amazed me at first Ranie’s body (aside from the obvious things) was how good she looked in contrast to her workout time. It wasn’t until I got better information that I understood that it was because she always focused on her legs most. It really works. Plus, as Ranie says, “do enough squats and soon you can bounce a quarter off your ass.”

Also, at least 2 times a week we’re doing yoga now. It’s hilarious to watch us try to be bendy and all but it’s worth it I think in the long run. Doesn’t take long, maybe 20 minutes each time.

We’ve also tried to do other little things to add to our level of activity. We park at the end of all parking lots. If it’s less than 5 stories, we always take the stairs, etc.

Speaking of food and dieting, as she’s got me watching my food again, we’ve switched to ultra healthy snacks. One thing I love to bake for her and I are Sweet-Potato muffins. Totally guilt free. Well, relatively guilt-free anyway.
It is simple to make:
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1-2 tbls cinnamon (to taste)
2 tbls baking powder
1 sweet potato (cooked and peeled)
1/4 cup nuts (whatever floats your boat)
3 egg whites
You can even throw in a little oatmeal or granola if you like.

Mix it all up and put it in a muffin tin or a shallow cake pan.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Totally yummy.

Also, I don’t want to be the perv of the commenters today but as somebody mentioned above, sex is always good for cardio. Some books say that 30 minutes of hot, wild monkey-love will burn 300-400 calories. I’m not sure if it’s easy to hits those numbers, but it’s always fun to try.

Put some music on and dance up a storm. Twenty minutes of that is as good as a powerwalk.

Oh yeah, and I’ve been counting calories lately using this easy free tool. http://www.fitday.com I find it keeps me on track and I’m very motivated now that I have to add in every single thing I eat. I refuse to cheat and put in everything from my starbucks non fat cap to the cup of fat free yogurt. At the end of the week I can see how much I’ve consumed vs how much I’ve burned. This week I’ve averaged a burn of 943 calories a day (total, basal + activities). It’s a great little tool.

Well, I do WW for help with my eating, though I’m not a nazi about it. I just keep a general track of my intake to make sure I’m not eating “hidden” calories, and I try to eat for nutrition… so brown rice instead of white, avoid high-fructose corn syrup, fiber up the wazoo (or out the wazoo, heh), fruits & veggies, etc.

For exercise, I joined a women’s gym that opened god-awful early in the morning so I could sneak out of the house, work out, and come back. I know it defeats the “without leaving the house” part of things, but if you find a 24-hour gym or something, JB could be home with Riley while you ran off?

Working out in the morning is a great pick-me-up. It’s better than coffee and it leaves you feeling pumped & energized. It took me about a month to get used to getting up at god-awful early, but once I passed the 28-day hurdle, it was golden. I lost 50lbs in a year. :)

I hope Alley is right about Turbo Jam. I just ordered it based on her comments. It’s the music that made me do it. Any excersize that is choreographed to great music makes the workout such fun.

I’m an at-home exerciser all the way because IT’S THE ONLY WAY. My son is 13-months old. I am a big fan of Cathe (www.cathe.com) and her step, kickboxing and strength training dvds. Yes, when you think of step aerobics you automatically think that a neon pink scrunchie and matching tube socks are part of the whole shtick, but she’s very no-nonsense and her body is bangin’. It’s really motivating and you can knock out a great workout in an hour or less. My home gym consists of weights, barbells, weight benches and a step (which you can purchase at Wal-Mart for under fifty bucks). As for food, well… sometimes a girl needs to EAT! But that’s when I step it up and make sure my workouts are hard and plentiful. Good luck to you, you can totally do this! Once you get a routine going it becomes as natural as… having that second helping of taters.

6 a.m.? I would love to be able to sleep until 6 a.m. but alas….
I get up at 4:30 so I can get to the gym by 5 a.m., work out for about 45 minutes and then back home so I am in the shower by 6 a.m., and ready for work by 7 a.m. so that I can focus my attention on my 16 month old Dean when he wakes up at about 7. And then I leave for work at 7:45.

6 a.m.? What is this magical sleep in number that you speak of?

4:30 a.m. sucks azz, but I’ve been pretty dedicated for the last few months, and I CAN see a difference…
But god would I love some sleep….

I won’t lie…I don’t make it there everyday, but it’s more than not.

I simply can’t get up early any more to exercise. For a while I was motivating and getting up at 6:15 and riding my bike but when the sun isn’t up, then I ain’t either! Besides, the child hears me get up and the last thing I need is to have her get up with me… I try to fit in either a walk at work or some rowing action (we just got a rowing machine donated to the workplace) or I ride my bike after the child has gone to bed. Yes, it eats up valuable tv time, but if I can watch tv for 3 hours, I can damn well ride the bike for 20 minutes prior. And, I find that I have also allowed myself to eat whatever I want, but I’ve somehow managed to loose 8.5 lbs since the beginning of the year, and I have zero desire to find them. The big thing is just writing it all down. And, if I had been able to wrench out my sweet tooth, the poundage would have been down more. But I love treats, and it was month o’ birthdays here, so I’m not giving up cake. Not entirely.

I do a bunch of little things that don’t involve going to the gym — I do crunches and arm exercises and leg lifts when I watch TV, and if I’m feeling ambitious I’ll sit on a balance ball instead of the couch when I watch TV… hmm, there seems to be a pattern here.

I also LOVE the Tae Bo tapes/DVDs, but haven’t been able to use mine since moving into the world’s least soundproof apartment — I’d rather not have the downstaris neighbors call the cops on me. But since you’re in a house, that’s not an issue. Seriously, they’re really fun and great for getting out frustration. Plus they make your arms awesome.

It’s so hard to find the time to exercise with a toddler. Recently, after realizing how active the every-so-annoying Wiggles are, instead of letting my daughter, who adores them, watch a 30 minute show every day, I get up and do all the stupid dances and crap that the Wiggles do. (Longest runon sentence so far today!) She loves it and gets up and does it with me and it turns into a low-impact 30 minutes aerobic tape. Or at least keeps me up and moving for 30 minutes without having to drag Bella somewhere or get up earlier than required. Of course my hatred for the Wiggles is growing in leaps and bounds and I might snap one day, but for now, it’s working. Good luck!

You guys are totally motivating and you’re giving me lots of awesome ideas (Turbo Jam? Hmmm!) but I have to ask, isn’t it PITCH DARK where you are after 6 PM? Here in Seattle if I went outside to run/bike after Riley went to bed (6:30, usually) I’d need a flashlight. Of course, that’s the case at 6 AM too. Stupid winter.

Stephanie, you’re a stronger woman than I. The very idea of getting up at 4:30 makes me weep.

I have a hard time with the whole “timing” part of working out. The best system I’ve come up with is I go to the Y after my daughter goes to sleep at night. It’s open until 10pm, so it gives me time to get in and run on the treadmill for awhile. I also sometimes get to watch good TV since it’s primetime when I’m doing it, so it makes it more bearable.