So I have officially become one of those people who is a regular at the gym! I can’t say I ever thought it possible really. Even when I have been in better shape, I dreaded the gym most days. Now, it’s the best part of my day (outside of my snuggles with Julia). So, how do I fit in 6 days a week, 2 hours a day at the gym? I plan!
First thing I do is write out a monthly schedule with all the classes I will be participating in each day. (I take an instructor led class 5 days a week now.) Then, I add in appointments, Jon’s scheduled days off, and any other events going on that month (such as church events/bible study or birthdays). With only having a toddler at home and no other activities for my family this schedule is pretty flexible. One tip for those of you with older kids in school and after school activities is to really important to calculate drive times and any “socializing” time you will have at events. Another tip would be to have a weekly schedule white board that you can write out each day’s events if they change from week to week. The other major scheduling I do is meal planning. This is crucial to saving time, money, and your waist line. I plan 2 weeks at a time for every meal for myself, and dinners for the whole family. I plan in any activities that might be away from the home too, so then I know I don’t have to defrost something that day.
Here is a sample of my regular Monday schedule:
5:45 – 9:30(depending on when Julia wakes up): Wake-up (like a zombie)
During this time I drink coffee, craft, shower, do quiet household chores, and work on blogs and meal plans. Sometimes I just take a nap too! *Every other Monday I make sure I have meal plans set up for the next 2 weeks*
9:30 – 12:00: Breakfast, cartoons, chores, snack time and play time. No specific order of any of this. Sometimes play time includes a trip to the library and a walk around the neighborhood.
12:00 – 1:00: Lunch time and more play time. I typically get Julia lunch around 12:30 and do dishes and clean the kitchen while she is eating. Once she’s done eating she gets a short time to play before her nap. Sometimes we run errands and this time is extended to about 2:00.
1:00 – 2:00: Start nap time; read a book & sing a song and tuck in for a nap! This is usually a good 20-30 minutes process.
2:00 – 4:00 (4:30): Depending on when Julia wakes from her nap (no longer then 2 hours long and past 4:30). During this time I do laundry, dishes, and any major cleaning that doesn’t require a loud machine (vacuum); have my lunch; craft; do a Wii Fit workout; fold laundry; major scrubbing clean-up jobs.
4:00 – 5:15 – Prep and make dinner. I usually will have something started before Julia wakes from her nap, and then snuggle with her during her cartoon hour before Jon gets home from work. This is also a great time to get on the floor and play with her if I already have food cooking.
5:30 – Dinner! I try to keep to this time each day so that Julia’s hunger cues stay the same. Typically she and Jon are starving by this time, so I can easily know dinner will be a success. I usually will eat only half of a portion before I leave for the gym and finish up in the evening if I’m in need of more food.
6:00 – 8/8:30 – I’m at the gym! I take classes either at 6:30 or 7:00 (Friday’s are at 5:15) and try to be early each day to get a warm-up in and a really good stretching session before the class. After each class I generally do weight lifting (low weight, high reps) and calisthenics (sit-ups, push-ups, and such). Twice a week I will do more cardio – elliptical or jogging on the treadmill.
8:45 – 9:00 – Julia’s bed time. If I get home earlier then 8:30 we just go from there. Since she loves to sleep in we generally give her a later bedtime. I’m sure I will need to begin changing this time when she starts preschool though.
10:30 – 11:00 – Finish housework or crafting and go to bed! I always make sure the sink is empty of dishes and that the laundry is either in the dryer or folded. This of course is a perfect scenario, and some days the sink is full and the washer is still going.
I hope you can benefit from this, and if you can’t well now you have a little more insight into my life that you could have cared less for. Get crack’n on those schedules!
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