Oh, It’s Tuesday: Exercising for Busy People

This doesn't seem like the safest exercise, but I adore her outfit! Image Credit: Bob Bobster

It’s funny, b/c when I had a full-time job and was exercising regularly, and was writing 32 CANDLES during my off hours, I thought I was busy. But as it turns out, even without the job and a relatively easy rewrite of 32 CANDLES and Fierce and Nerdy, I’m way busier now that I have a baby.

I’ve mentioned before that I want to be in way better shape for any future pregnancies, since while my eggs will only be 31, if the IVF gods are kind, I’ll be 34 while carrying a second child and 36 while carrying the third. I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s going to take my body nine months to maybe never to get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight, but I haven’t come to peace with the fact that for the most part I’m not exercising.

So starting today, I’m bringing back the 21-day-challenge. I want to formally exercise (going to the mall for an hour or picking up the house won’t count) for at least twenty minutes every day and since I can’t restrict my calories and nurse at the same time, I’ll settle for cutting unhealthy snacks all together — though when I write things like this, I am immediately inundated with tempting mental images of sitting in front of Grey’s Anatomy with gummi candies and coconut cake. Oh, the humanity!

Betty and I are flying to New York on October 21st and after that we’ll spend the rest of the month in St. Louis. I don’t have to be at my old weight for the New York meetings or my homecoming, but the funny thing about exercise is that no matter what weight I’m at, I tend to feel better about life and myself when I’m doing it regularly.

Still, how do new mothers with insane schedules find time to exercise? Any advice would be mighty appreciated.