Hello Everyone!

My name is Jenn, 42 years young, engaged to marry my perfect mate, and wanting to trim down so I can keep up with him.

I have had the MTM podcasts on my iPod for some time, and started listening a few months ago. The difficulty I have right now is finding the time to add MTM and fitness to my current busy life.

In August of 2007 I broke my left Tibia and Fibula while rollerblading. I had decided to add this activity to my life to help me lose the extra weight my sit-down job has added. I had bought new roller blades and was out for the second time when I encountered a little boy who stopped in my path. The result was a broken leg and surgery to insert a Titanium rod. Today most people find it hard to believe I broke my leg as I don’t walk with a limp and go hiking and am very active.

In December I met the love of my life. He proposed in May and I accepted. This man has brought such great amounts of joy to my life, and my son’s lives too. I have been working at losing the extra weight, but it is a slow process now that I have added wedding planning to my already very busy schedule.

I currently work 4 ten hour days with a 45 minute commute each way. I am usually up by 5:45am each morning and out the door by 6:30am with my carpooling roommate. We usually arrive home from work by 7:00pm. I try to eat a light dinner as I am usually quite hungry by the time I get home.

When I’m home I am usually working on wedding planning, or my other full time occupation, getting my BS in Information Technology degree. Fortunately this degree is online, so I can fit it in my schedule easily, but making sure I have the time to do assignments, check my “classroom” and do required reading, along with dinner at night doesn’t leave much time for a work out.

Recently I have accepted the role of finding my 93 yr old grandmother an assisted living facility. She lives about 300 miles away, and my mother is 2,000 miles away, so it is left to me to setup up and help with this much needed planning.

So, in short, I work 40 hours a week at my job, I work 15ish on school work, another 20ish on wedding planning, and now must add searching for a new home for my grandmother.

Now, a little more about me personally. I am 42, 5’10” and weigh 195 pounds. That’s only about 25 to 30 pounds over weight for me as I’m very muscular. I want to lose as much as possible before my wedding in August of 2008.

I’m hoping someone can give me some suggestions for ways to add activity, especially toning and strength training, to my already very busy schedule. I do go walking with my fiance, who by the way is a marathon runner, at least twice a week. He’s 6’4” and weighs in at 194. He wants to weigh around 180 when we get married, so we both have a goal of toning, trimming our waistlines and being more fit for our wedding, honeymoon and marriage.

Oh, and I live in the Puget Sound area, so soon outdoor walking will be soggy at best. I am in the process of getting a treadmill so I can “walk” while my finance is on his NoricTrak. Any suggestions from anyone, especially those local who know the weather patterns best, are appreciated.

Thanks for now…

Jenn

Hey Jenn welcome to MTM land, all I have to say is WOW! do you even have time to breath? Seriously… if your going to do this your going to have to find some time to do some exercise even if it’s only 20-30 minutes a day, you could always get some dumbells and do them on your commute to work, that is if your not the one driving! I suggest you sit down and try to budget out your time, see if there are any tasks that can be delegated or passed off to someone else,see what kind of spare time you have-lunch hours, commutes etc. and maybe take a walk at lunch,or have your lift drop you off a couple blocks away from home.
Good luck Jenn!

I second Shawn-WOW!!  And congratulations on your engagement!

Welcome to the forum Jenn.  You have a very busy life and will just need to fit fitness in were you can.

I have a question-You do 20ish hours of wedding planning, is this going to stay the same amount of time until the wedding?  Have you reached a point were you can delegate any of it?  Once you get the treadmill, could you some of it while your on there?  Or some of the reading for school?

Scott’s question-how badly do you want it?  You obviously want to be fit for your wedding very badly, so it needs to become part of your “wedding planning” time.  Like the planning, you can’t do either overnight.

I look forward to seeing you on the forum and once again, welcome!

Thanks to both of you.

Right now, in the wedding planning, we have the venue, but not the officiant, caterer, DJ, cake, photographer. I have delegated, and my fiance is very involved (he’s doing the DJ, photographer and videographer searching). My Maid of Honor is helping with the bridesmaid tasks. I am not alone in this, yet it is a very involved task.

Yes, I am quite serious about losing body size, and have done some changes to my diet and exercise. My grandmother noticed quite a change in my body when we went to visit her recently. The only concern is that the actual weight isn’t changing. I know that body shape and size are a good indicator of fat loss, but I don’t need to be putting on muscle that will bulk up, just when I’m planning to wear a strapless gown. Any suggestions?

My plan is to do as much reading etc. while on the treadmill. That being said, the one we just picked up is in need of repair prior to usage. That is the next thing to look into, when I have time.

Jenn

Welcome, Jenn! Congrats on the upcoming wedding, and for joining the website, we love having new people around!

I have a few questions, are the 4 days you work consequetively? And do you put your supper in the oven to cook, or is it more a quick fix thing? Last one: do you have space in your living room to follow a dvd?

The one tip I can give you for sure is try yoga. It’s easy to do, gives you the tone you’re looking for, and when you’re done, you feel amazingly refreshed. Unless like me, you have 2 dogs, and 2 kids thinking you’re on the floor to play. Then, it’s not so relaxing. But I love the feeling I get when I’m doing it.

Bree

Hi Jenn,

If you would like to try some yoga, there is a podcast, “20 Minute yoga” from yogadownload.com that I get through i-tunes.  They also include a pose guide (pdf) with the podcast.

Hi Jenn,

Welcome to MTMLand!

I, for one, was exhausted just reading what you usual week is like!  You certainly have your work cut out for you!  I wish I had some great idea to help you get some exercise in, but I don’t! 

I just wanted to say Welcome!  I look forward to seeing you around the forums!

Thanks everyone!

I have a location I can do the yoga, it’s a matter of determining when I will fit it into my schedule. I do work 4 days in a row, so the other three are busy running errands and doing wedding activities, as well as homework.

As an example, today my fiance and I went to a Bridal Expo and an RV show. We walked over 10 miles today. It’s back to work for me tomorrow. I have given up trying to watch any of the TV shows I like, and recreational reading is done just before I go to bed to wind down.

My problem is that I don’t want to be doing exercise just before bed. I am a night person, working a day schedule. If I do something strenous at night I won’t go to sleep and be worn out at work the next day. Waking up in the morning is a challenge at 5:30 to 5:45 to begin with.

Look forward to getting to know everyone!

Jenn

Hi Jenn,

Yoga is a wind down type of exercise.  I am a night person too and I found that the only time I could fit it in was at night.  I had no trouble sleeping although I know some people on the forum do have sleep problems if exercising at night.

Scott once mentioned that a hot shower right after working out will help you sleep. So, being the cynical type of person I am, I tried it. He was right—again (drat that man). Anyway, if you stand in a slightly hotter than usual shower and let it soak your muscles, then go to bed, you should sleep fine. And if you like to read before bed, just keep doing that, and this will seem a normal part of your bedtime routine.

Bree

Wow, Jenn, it sounds like you’ve got a lot on your schedule!

Congratulations on finding a great man!

It sounds like you’ve got a lot of time to reach your goal, too, and we’ll be here to support you!

Wow, you are certainly busy, and you sound motivated to do what it takes to get into shape and stay in shape. 

Do you have a lunch break at work.  You may be able to fit in a workout then.  I’ve found that getting away from the work routine during the day helps keep me focused and actually makes me more productive.  You don’t have to do anything that gets you so hot and sweaty that you need a shower, just move a bit. 

Keep going - I’m sure you will be able to reach your goal by next summer.

I do have an hour lunch at work, but since we are not to access personal email, etc., during working hours, I tend to look at email, do wedding research and try to do homework during my lunch hour. I will try to see if I can break away for 20 minutes, but that’s doing to be difficult.

Thanks for all the suggestions!!

Jenn

Heard your letter on the show. Did Scott’s answer help at all?

Bree