with Britt Reints
Forget the 9 to 5; Full Time, All the Time is a blog about the mobile working life - when you have the freedom to work from anywhere and the responsibility of always having your smartphone turned on. Britt Reints works as a freelance writer while traveling fulltime in an RV with her husband and two kids. She explores balancing real-life bills with an unconventional work life, and finding time to maintain relationships with family and friends.
You can also find Britt at InPursuitOfHappiness.net.
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Before I became a mother, I was an avid exerciser. I worked out in the company gym with my work best friend nearly every day of the week. On weekends, I would take a 3-5 mile walk with a girlfriend. I weighed a good 40 pounds less than I do now and was fit. Not like Jillian Michaels fit. But I was healthy. And active. And my ass didn’t have it own zip code.
When I was pregnant with my son, I lost all my energy. The third person I shared our good news with was my VP. I was so tired that I was falling asleep at my desk every afternoon. So I asked to be able to work from home after lunch. He was so wonderful about it and agreed. Good-bye working-out every afternoon. Hello 2 hour nap!
It didn’t help either that my pregnancy cravings were nacho cheese, thin mints, and pancakes. I was ballooning and quickly. I gained 20 pounds in the first half of the pregnancy. When my son was born, I had packed on nearly 60 pounds. I always thought that I’d be one of those moms that quickly bounces back into her pre-pregnancy sizes. Reality is my pre-pregnancy clothes are still hanging in my closet nearly six years later.
The truth of the matter is that I haven’t made the time to exercise. As a working mom I felt like my only choices were to get up at the crack of dawn to head to the gym or to stay after work to get my sweat on. I felt guilt enough about being without my son for eight or more hours a day. I didn’t want to miss any more. Since I often spent more hours working at home once my son went to sleep, getting up early wasn’t an option. I tried working out at lunch but found that the timing wasn’t a good fit. So for nearly six years, I’ve barely worked out. I’ve started up things that only lasted for a few weeks. Something has always gotten in my way. Scheduling issues. Late nights. Illness. My attitude.
About two weeks ago, on a walk with my family, I tried to race my 5 1/2 year old around the block. It was a devastating loss. For me. The kid crushed me. Not only can he run faster than me, he can run a much longer distance. Losing the race was pathetic but also a huge eye opener for me. I am out of shape. I am overweight. And the only person who can change that is me.
Last week, I took baby steps by walking a mile a day around our neighborhood. This week, I took it up a notch to a goal of 2.5 miles every day. When it is nice outside, I walk the trails around our neighborhood. When it rains, I drive on over to our YMCA to use the treadmill or elliptical. It’s only been two weeks but I already feel better. And feeling better has lead to eating better. And sleeping better. And even being a better mom.
There are times when the irrational mommy-guilt tries to rear its ugly head, but this time I’m not listening. And soon, I’ll be able to run fast enough that it will have to eat my dust.
Photo credit: nicciwashere on Flickr
My new gig is toddler exercise / movement videos! Seriously! My “family time” is too limited for me to cut out a chunk for kid-free exercise. The rest of my schedule is work and sleep. Also, one of my kids needs motivation to shake her booty, so I wanted an activity we could all do together. When the weather is reasonable, we can go to the park or for hikes / long walks, but this winter has been especially uninviting.
So anyhoo, we have some kiddy yoga, ballet, “creative movement,” and “move & groove” videos which are as good as anything to challenge the body and get the heart rate up. It’s open-ended how much effort you put in on any given day. I didn’t plan it this way, but this is actually helping me to get back in shape. Still can’t wait for the weather to improve, though, so we can get back outside.
SKL | March 4th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Robyn, I feel like you just read an excerpt from my journal. I put on 80 freaking pounds after having my first son, lost 50 of it and then put 25 of it back on after a death in the family. Now I’m pregnant with my 2nd, put on 30# the first trimester (thank goodness I’ve stayed the same weight the last 3 months, which at my weight, is a good thing) and already weigh what I did the day I delivered my 1st son!! And I still have 3 months to go!!! UGH!
Working out has been a HUGE struggle for me - well, since becoming a mom, that is. Prior to that, I ran all the time, worked out every single day in addition to that and ate WAY healthier. My husband finished an exercise room in our basement for me, but do you think that has helped?? Not so far. I’ve been so tired this pregnancy because in addition to working FT, I’m chasing around my almost 4yo.
I’m hoping that my 12-week stint of maternity leave (yes, I’m taking the whole 12 weeks allowable) will give me the flexibility I need to instill working out back into my life and then it will hopefully be a well-established habit when I return to work.
I’ve been trying to eliminate guilt in all aspects of my life and to help rationalize being overweight, I tell myself that the last thing anyone is going to ask me about when I cross over to the other side is what size I wore, but bottom line, I just feel better in every aspect of my life when I am thinner.
Good luck to us all!
Stacey | March 8th, 2010 at 11:59 am
I am trying to take my lunch hour as a walk as it gets warmer because I need to lose serious amounts of weight. Diet takes you only so far; I lost 25 lbs with diet but now need that extra kick from muscle development & exercise to lose more.
Mich | March 8th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
Wow. Your comment was totally understandable and also encouraging. My toddler is now 20 months old, and I had been so lazy all this time, even when I knew what I had to do - go to the gym and changing my eating habits. I was not obsessed or worried during my pregnancy about my weight. I just thought that it was normal to gain some weight and that I would lose weight slowly after giving birth, but in a normal way.
I also felt guilty for being 8 hours away from home and so I just wouldn’t make any plans for the gym in the evening.
But a few weeks ago I realized I am -like you said- ballooning. LOL. I tried on some pre-pregnancy blouses I liked to wear for casual Fridays. Ugh. Had to give them to mom, since they don’t fit me anymore- not at all!
Then, a friend at work showed me a picture of a night out one Friday 3 weeks ago- (my first night out in months), with some co-workers. I really looked different! I mean, my face, I look ugly! it was not me anymore. Then I decided I have to do something. Quickly.
So I have just started going to the doctor, and I am also looking for the right gym to start this weekend.
I just found your post and members comments encouraging, thank you.
Thelma | March 8th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Quite interesting I open this up to see this article first. Just this morning I was thinking to myself, “how many excuses will I keep making before I determine I need to exercise?”. I’m in the same boat practically. I too stopped exercising and as a full time working mom with a 3 yr old son this became the ultimate excuse to stop exercising. Both my husband and I have gained 30-40 lbs since we met 10 years ago. I’m definitely out of shape and not healthy. Today is the day to make significant change for me and for my family.
Lisa V. | March 9th, 2010 at 8:55 am
i feel ur pain. i, too, gained a bunch of weight when i was pregnant. it’s sad to say that i lost the weight when my son was about 1 and now, i’ve gained it all back and then some. i used to get up at 4:30 a.m. and do yoga or pilates four days a week. well, it took me a minute but i now realize that as seasons change in my life i need to adjust. so since, i now have a toddler and a fiance, i can’t get up at the crack of dawn and i don’t want my son spending “extra” time at daycare. just last week, i decided to do something a little different. what if i leave work no later than 4 twice a week an, i can workout at home (i have my fitness coach on wii) for an hour then workout out on sundays for an hour also. i know it’s recommended to exercise 4 days a week for at least 30 minutes but i’m babystepping my way into healthy habits. so 3 hours a week is good for now. so far so good, it’s only 2 days a week and my son doesn’t seem to mind me coming a little later. in fact, he loves being with the kids so much that he is often sad to leave them. thank u for sharing your story. it’s nice to know that i’m not alone.
from the desk of ...me | March 18th, 2010 at 9:09 am
Thank you so much for this discussion. I am in the same boat as everyone here. I was so happy with my weight when my oldest was years old, and then I got pregnant with number two and gained 65 pounds. I had lost my pregnancy weight the first time through weight watchers and became a lifetime member. Then with my second pregnancy, I was so happy not to count points, I went crazy. Of course I had huge cravings and didn’t stop at two pieces of cake at every birthday party. Now my second is 21 months old and I’m still 25 pounds from my goal. I do not like the way I look. I joined the YMCA, and try to go twice a week, but it is not consistant. I’m a professor, and I had this week off. It was wonderful. I thought I would go to the gym everyday, but I had to catch up on my life. I did end up going to my favorite bakery without hesitation.
Anyway, you all inspire me to do whatever I can to add more exercise to my life. I wanted to share my silly way of getting exercise. I put on my ipod when I do dishes, and do dance moves between the dishwasher and the shelves. I even do squats as pick up a clean dish to put away. It is something.
Tomorrow I’m going to take my toddler for a walk. My last day of my vacation.
Thanks!
Hillary | March 18th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
I hear all of you. The weight has come off from the second pregnancy, but I still can’t fit in my old pants. Everything has shifted and I know I need to tone everything up. Stuff jiggles that shouldn’t! And the mommy guilt is the worst. I can’t spend more time away from my girls than the 10 hours I’m already gone from home. I don’t mind getting up early, but I’m still getting up in the middle of the night with the baby so I have one excuse after another. I’m hoping I can take after another post and just take baby-steps to get a little more active and maybe after the baby sleeps better I will have enough energy to get up early and start a routine. I’m keeping my fingers crossed anyways!
Julie | March 31st, 2010 at 1:58 pm
I hear you. In 2006 my husband and I became husband and wife and in the half a year before the wedding I lost 40 lbs and felt like a new woman. I had always tended to being overweight so this was great for me. Fast forward to 4 years later and almost two years after having our baby girl and I am still carrying 30 of those pounds I had lost before. I’ve tried things that haven’t stuck. I did loose 10 pounds earlier this year and I found out tonight (my first run since December) that running 10 pounds lighter is way easier. I’m looking forward to how easy it might be to run 30 pounds lighter then I am now. Aiming for sometime in the next year before I lose my shape again (hopefully) to have another little one….then we’ll start the yoyo all over again.
MamaLisa | July 15th, 2010 at 11:42 pm