Mommy Fitness Blog: life of a “single” mom

April 5, 2011

For nearly a week, I’ve been a “single” mom. My husband is out of town helping his mother recover from surgery. We decided at very last minute for him to leave…so once we said, “let’s surprise her”, David found the first flight out. It was wonderful having the opportunity to help her, but at the same time, I realized almost instantly the challenges I would undergo now that he is gone. Firstly, I had four events this past weekend….all of which I attended by myself and the kids, not fun! Secondly, THERE goes my morning workouts! The boys don’t wake until 7:30am and the kids club doesn’t open until 8am anyways – but the problem is, is that my work day starts at 8:30am, which makes getting out to train a little difficult. Thirdly, I’ve been taking over my fitness program at the middle school for the past couple months and since there is no one to watch the boys in the morning, THERE goes the program!  Lastly, as many know, I am suffering from chronic back pain. It doesn’t help when you have a teething baby who wants to be held ALL the time. (he weighs around 25lbs!) and then, of course, the other boy gets jealous and I am forced to carry both of them (equaling nearly 60lbs) all stressing my back.

When my husband is home, I definitely do the majority of the child rearing, except during key parts of the day when I am running errands or attending a meeting. I wake and feed them, I take them to play groups, I cook them lunch and dinner and I personally put them down for naps and bedtime. My husband watches them sometimes and takes them a bath at night. But right now…the most important thing he does, is carry them! Because man does my back hurt.

So how has my workouts suffered with being a single mom???

Not a bit. Since Nicholas was sick last week, I couldn’t bring him to the kids club at the gym, so I ran outside. Other times I asked someone to watch them for an hour or I trained at home. I didn’t eat poorly because I really didn’t have a lot of time to eat. At the end of each day I swear they are always both lying next to me on each arm….I lay exhausted in the center drowning in fatigue. I’m realizing that having kids (especially very active boys…and they are not even 3 yet!!) is a workout. From picking them up, running after them and keeping up with their activities.

It’s interesting to think though – that if I were a single mom, would I  be overweight because I would be too busy to exercise and eat correctly? To be very honest, there is no doubt that I would still be fit. In my past, people have told me that I would get less fit after having kids, being a working mom or turning 30….to me, those people find excuses in themselves to be where they are health-wise. Because I KNOW for a fact, that I would never allow myself to be “shaped” by my circumstances! Firstly, I’m NOT an emotional eater. Most people who are overweight eat out of emotions: because they’re sad, stress, anxious, BORED! Secondly, being FIT embodies me! I wrote on facebook status yesterday that I was getting a 30 minute workout in-between errands….not because I want to, but because my day would be incomplete if I didn’t workout! Training is a habit…excellence is a habit.

My goal this week is to train every day BUT I don’t want to do any strength training. I really just want to perform cardio and stretch. My back has been bothering me in different areas every day. I saw a chiropractor twice, I went to a massage therapist twice, I did yoga, I stretch after workouts, I even add heating pads throughout the day – and NOTHING is making it feel better. I have to admit, that it WAS feeling a tiny better towards the end of last week, but after I took my kickboxing class on Saturday, I started feeling pain again. No good!

So – I have my Mom-Me fit group three times this week. I plan on performing cardio each day and may even take a spinning class tonight. I am scheduled to get my period on Friday so I know I will be battling some PMS soon – so….let’s hope this month treats me kindly!

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