Lose Weight While Watching Television: Mommy Tips

I have heard so many mothers complain that they can't lose their baby weight because they have no time to exercise. But, miraculously, these same women find ample time to clean their homes, play with their children, grocery shop, and watch House. Don't they know that they can utilize these activities for exercise? I have, and I still do.

Exercise is defined by most dictionaries as any activity that raises ones heart rate above it's resting rate. It doesn't take a lot to do that. Every morning that I huddle my kids together to get them off to school -with the added chore of chasing my two year old down and buckling her into her carseat- my heart races. That is exercise. Here are a few activities that should be safe for most people:

1. Set your timer when you start your housework.

Write down what needs to be done for the day, and try getting it done in a certain amount of time. Pace yourself of course, accidents can and do happen. And if what needs doing fails to get done in that time period, just reset your timer. The point is to challenge yourself. Challenge is exciting. And excitement raises your heart rate.

2. Don't worry too much that a vacuum will wake the baby.

I actually wear my child while I vacuum, in his Snugli, of course. I wouldn't recommend it for people with back problems, but it gives me a work-out. And baby always seems to fall asleep.

3. Stretch, crunch, and squat while watching television.

If you begin a routine when your show starts, and continue through the commercials, pretty soon you've done a 30 minute work-out. How's that for multi-tasking?

4. Don't stare at your boiling pot.

You can use this time to do squats. I even do a few counter pushups when I'm cooking dinner. Just don't do it too close to the stove.

5. Play ball with your children.

This one is always fun, but too many mothers fail to get involved in this activity.

6. Do you have stairs?

I set my oven timer for five minutes and run up and down the stairs. If I do this three times throughout the day, I've worked out for fifteen minutes. It may be a broken work-out, but it's still work-out.

Just because you don't have a gym membership, doesn't mean you can't find ways to take off some of those unwanted pounds. If you maintain your regular caloric intake, but work off an extra 250 calories per day, it is possible to lose a pound every two weeks. That may not seem like a lot, but in a year that's 26 pounds.