feeling guilty about going to the gym

[whoabethy]

Hi there,
DD is 6mo. old and I weight the exact amount I did the day before I gave birth (209lbs.) Meaning I have gained 6+ lbs. since giving birth. In my defense, I had a c-section and DD was a winter preemie, so we were stuck in the house for about 2 months. But now I'm trying to get back on the wagon!

The problem I'm facing is this...I get home at 5:30 and DD goes to bed at 7:30. If I go to the gym after work that's only 1 hour with DD on weeknights.

I want to go to the gym. I'd like to feel better about my body and my health. But, I feel so guilty spending all my DD time at the gym.

Any ideas?

-Beth

[nola79]

What about weekends? Could you go maybe one weeknight and sat and sun? That would give you 3 days/week but you'd still have time with dd. Or, do they offer late night or early morning hours/classes? I belong to a 24 hour gym so if I had to, I could go after dd went to bed or before she woke up.

[nola79]

You should come join the postpartum thread...there are some good workout ideas on there that do not even involve a gym.

[ryleigh'smama]

Do you get a lunch break? Is it long enough to get some gym time? I started working out and did the 3 days a week thing Wed, Sat, and Sun and that worked really well for a couple of years. More recently (last 6ish months) I started working out during my hour long lunch break. I love it even more. My hair never looks the same after the gym...but I'm happier! I eat at my desk, which works for me, but some don't like it.

[Penelope]

Could you go after her bedtime?

[LeslieB]

if I had known about all the great DVDs out there, when my ds was a baby, I would have probably skipped the gym. Check out Beachbody.com. The workouts are great, and the best part about it is that you can workout on your own time. I found it really hard to workout when DS was that young. At that point I just ran with him in the jogging stroller 3 days a week. I didn't start at the gym until he was 9 months old, and I felt so bad leaving him in the gym daycare. I barely made it 45 minutes those first few months.
I didn't start using DVDs until he was 2.5, but when I did, I felt so much better. I could workout whenever I could find the time, and I didn't have to leave him. Plus, I got in better shape than I'd been in a long time.
Good luck!

[ithappened]

how about going at lunch?

[FoxintheSnow]

What about early in the morning? My gym opens at 5am.

[ewp11100]

I wanted to second the going in the early morning. I started going to the gym 1/3 of my way into my weight loss (at 242lbs) and it was supper helpful as exersice was not happening with a 3yo and a 9mo. I felt very guilty about going as my dd did not like it at 1st. Looking back on that time, it was hard, but I'm glad I stayed motivated and kept loosing weight. I would try to do just one week night, one morning, maybe one lunch and weekends? I know for me losing weight means I have to work out 5-6 days a week, so you may need less then that Even now just trying to keep tone and weight off I workout 3-4 days a week. Good luck!