Morning People - 5am work out — when is bedtime?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Working parent here, two full time jobs only 2x week WFH, 3 kids from elem to high school.

Afternoons are impossible because we pick up kids, have dinner; then run to activities and sports until around 9pm at night. I’ve tried to get workout during activities but usually logistics prevent anything more than a walk.

What I need to do is get up at 5am so can gym 530-630, then be ready to take kids to school by 7am, then off to work.

But getting home at 9, by time kitchen is tidy, and house is put back together it’s like 11pm, and then I get to bed. Going to bed 11pm/12am makes a 5am workout really hard.

Anyone BTDT? I wish we had a housekeeper or driving nanny, but not enough $$$ to make happen.

Turn the walk into a run.

Its a place not suitable for running because of lighting and terrain.

[Anonymous]

Haven’t read whole thing but I’m not going to wake up at 5 to workout, I’m just not. Perfect should not be the enemy of the good. If you can power walk 2-3 times a week while your kids are at activities that’s great! Maybe do orangetheiey once a week on the weekend and try to do a family hike or bike ride the other day. Use resistance bands and hand weights on your WAH days. Can you get a cheap exercise bike and do 30 min on your WAH days even while on a call where you are just in listening mode?

Read up on the concept of exercise snacking, it’s motivated me to try to get small amounts of exertion each day - running up and down stairs, doing 10 min of weeding in between calls, cranking up incline on treadmill for a few min at a time and so on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What in the world are you cooking that requires sweeping and mopping every single night?

Typical night:
Fresh salad (washing and cutting lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cukes, homemade dressing)
Seasoned and marinated meat (chicken fish steak) pan seared or broiled
Vegetables like cauliflower or broccoli or fresh spinach, roasted or steamed.
Mac and cheese made from real cheese (flour butter into béchamel and then melt cheese, so no craft)
Fresh cut fruit like orange slices and berries

Other nights we might make sushi, tacos, or pizza. We have a variety of ages and palates, and a couple vegetarians. And I’ll be honest my younger kids are messy eaters (despite constant nagging and punishment).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What in the world are you cooking that requires sweeping and mopping every single night?

Right? Sweeping, maybe, but my floor gets mopped every other Thursday when the cleaning ladies come.

You must be a shoes on house…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What in the world are you cooking that requires sweeping and mopping every single night?

Right? Sweeping, maybe, but my floor gets mopped every other Thursday when the cleaning ladies come.

You must be a shoes on house…

That makes no sense. Shoes on houses need more mopping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What in the world are you cooking that requires sweeping and mopping every single night?

Typical night:
Fresh salad (washing and cutting lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cukes, homemade dressing)
Seasoned and marinated meat (chicken fish steak) pan seared or broiled
Vegetables like cauliflower or broccoli or fresh spinach, roasted or steamed.
Mac and cheese made from real cheese (flour butter into béchamel and then melt cheese, so no craft)
Fresh cut fruit like orange slices and berries

Other nights we might make sushi, tacos, or pizza. We have a variety of ages and palates, and a couple vegetarians. And I’ll be honest my younger kids are messy eaters (despite constant nagging and punishment).

Are a short order cook? As an, different meals for different palates?

Also please tell me you are not skipping workouts because you think fancy Mac and cheese is so much better for your children?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don’t prioritize exercise and it is what it is. If you did, you’d make it work. You have kid(s) in high school, make them make dinner and do laundry sometimes.

High schooler does their own laundry and empties the dishwasher -- they can't cook because they get to home for the rest of the family to eat.

I want to prioritize exercise, but the only time I can carve out is in the morning, but trying to figure out how people do it, but clearly its going to bed way earlier than we can manage. Maybe once the kinder is less hands on we can get a handle on things; they usually occupy one parent entirely even without having an activity -- the older kids don't need much when it is their night at home.

We prioritize our kids health and development, hence the constraints on our school commute and activities. Sure we could leave them in SACC till 6pm while I hit the gym, or tell them they can't play any sports they can't walk to, but that isn't why we had kids, to just ignore them.

Yes you can, stop acting like a martyr who is the only one in here who takes care of her kids.

[Anonymous]

Do a trial run on the days that you work from home. Go to bed early, wake up at 5am and see how that works. It’s only 2 days so it’s doable to start.

You could also workout during your lunch hour either at home or at work.

I’d need to be in bed by 10 to wake up at 5am.

[Anonymous]

You need to cut back on the chores you do at night. No one needs to mop the kitchen every night.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What in the world are you cooking that requires sweeping and mopping every single night?

Typical night:
Fresh salad (washing and cutting lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cukes, homemade dressing)
Seasoned and marinated meat (chicken fish steak) pan seared or broiled
Vegetables like cauliflower or broccoli or fresh spinach, roasted or steamed.
Mac and cheese made from real cheese (flour butter into béchamel and then melt cheese, so no craft)
Fresh cut fruit like orange slices and berries

Other nights we might make sushi, tacos, or pizza. We have a variety of ages and palates, and a couple vegetarians. And I’ll be honest my younger kids are messy eaters (despite constant nagging and punishment).

Wow, OP, I think you are trying to be Supermom (or Superparents), and it's going to be incompatible with either finding time to exercise or finding time to sleep. We all have the same 24 hours in our days. I manage to do things other people never find time for, and vice versa, but we all have to make our choices about what doesn't make the cut. Making dinners like this every night plus a bunch of activities plus an impeccable house is going to crowd out most other things. The reason I have time to sleep and exercise is because we take on a limited schedule of activities, do not keep an impeccable house, and can throw dinner on the table in 25 minutes. I'm fine with that but I know not everyone would be. Something is going to give for you, OP, but I think you'll be happier in the long run if you make an intentional choice about what that thing is, and not just have it happen to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to cut back on the chores you do at night. No one needs to mop the kitchen every night.

OP doesn’t work 4 days out of the week. She can easily workout those days which is enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to cut back on the chores you do at night. No one needs to mop the kitchen every night.

OP doesn’t work 4 days out of the week. She can easily workout those days which is enough.

She has tons of options. 30 minutes of focused strength training every morning or evening plus walking during her kids’ activities would get her results. It’s THIRTY minutes. She just wants to be told it’s impossible or to believe if anyone else does it we don’t actually do anything for our kids.

Take your kindergartener to a track with his bike. He bikes, you run. Forget the dishes and do a strength workout in your garage. Fo to bed at 10, wake at 5 am 3x a week and do a 30 minute workout. It’s not impossible.

[Anonymous]

OP, I would Google zone 2 exercise. It's quite important and can really be a brisk walk, particularly if there is an incline, as long as it gets your heartrate up to about 105. A FitBit watch will track it (it's the fat burning heart zone). If that is something you can do 4x/week while you're babysitting an activity, that actually goes a long way to getting the exercise you need. Then maybe you can fit in some strength training in the morning on the weekends and your WFH days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to cut back on the chores you do at night. No one needs to mop the kitchen every night.

OP doesn’t work 4 days out of the week. She can easily workout those days which is enough.

She has tons of options. 30 minutes of focused strength training every morning or evening plus walking during her kids’ activities would get her results. It’s THIRTY minutes. She just wants to be told it’s impossible or to believe if anyone else does it we don’t actually do anything for our kids.

Take your kindergartener to a track with his bike. He bikes, you run. Forget the dishes and do a strength workout in your garage. Fo to bed at 10, wake at 5 am 3x a week and do a 30 minute workout. It’s not impossible.

You are reminding me that when my DD had tutoring or a sports activity, I would bring my running stuff and run at least 30 mins during that time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What in the world are you cooking that requires sweeping and mopping every single night?

Right? Sweeping, maybe, but my floor gets mopped every other Thursday when the cleaning ladies come.

You must be a shoes on house…

If you are OP - I’m the PP that said perfect is the enemy of the good and the point is something has to give. I also cook from scratch most nights, have a job and kids and exercise definitely was on the back burner for a while but I’ve improved in recent years and you have to give yourself from grace. Sweeping AND mopping every night? Get a stick vac and have a kid run it for three min every night after dinner. The mopping can wait a few days.