Gretchen Cheney

Before I became a mom staying in shape was just a matter of routine for me. When I got up in the morning the first thing I did was either go to the gym or go for a run. It was the perfect start to my day. Of course it wasn’t always easy finding the motivation (my husband helped me out with that), but I always felt so good afterward. After a few months of this routine I couldn’t imagine not working out in the morning. It was almost like sleep for me—I needed it to have energy for my day. This routine helped me have a wonderfully easy pregnancy, delivery and recovery when I had my son. I credit all my success in birthing to my daily exercise.
Since I’ve had my baby it’s been another story...my life seems much more hectic and I have been finding it hard to make the time to exercise. At first it was mainly because I was so tired in the morning that I would have to take a nap instead of working out, then the weather was an issue (too cold to run outside and what would I do with Carter at the gym?) and my husband was so busy at school that he wasn’t much help. So my daily exercise routine turned into maybe once or twice a week if I was lucky!!! Not only was exercise going down the tubes, but eating habits as well. I use to be able to control what I ate really well because I brought my lunch and snacks to work with me—I had a limit to what I could eat because I could only eat what I brought with me. Now that I’m home whenever I get bored, I head to the kitchen! Something had to change. I could tell a huge difference in myself without exercise--less energy, less muscle, less confidence. I was starting to feel like such a slob. So, I haven’t TOTALLY fixed the problem, but I have found a few things that I can do with my baby that help me get through the day even if I can’t go for a run or go to the gym:
Dance
My little guy loves music and he loves to dance with me. After dancing with him for awhile one day I realized that I was really winded. So, when I know I am probably not going to make it to the gym I have a dance party with my son! I put on some fun music and we get jiggy. Carter thinks it’s hilarious to watch my crazy dance moves and I always make sure to throw in some jumping jacks and other aerobic moves in there. It’s really fun and I am always sweating afterwards.
Stairs
We have a set of stairs in our house that really come in handy for a little bit of aerobic stimulation. During the day I’ll run stairs either with Carter or when he takes his nap. Carter has a bit of an obsession with going up and down the stairs so since I am on the stairs so much anyway I try to throw in a few sets of calf raises in there!
Commercial Breaks
I have a few shows that I watch every week--The Bachelor and The Biggest Loser among them….I feel guilty and slovenly when I watch T.V, so I’ve made a deal with myself: NO Sitting during commercials. During commercial breaks I do my ab workout. This makes me feel better about watching TV.
Snacks
I realized that I need a structure to my eating habits or else I eat junk all day. Since I am feeding Carter little snacks every couple of hours I’ve made it a habit to eat when Carter eats. Of course I only feed Carter healthy snacks so I end up eating several small, healthy meals. It works out great!
Human Weights
Carter is the perfect size to double as my little weight machine; he climbs on my back while I do push-ups and I do bicep curls with him in my arms. He has fun and I build muscle; it’s a win-win.

None of these things can totally replace the value of actually going to the gym or taking a good long run, but it’s better than nothing! I am still trying to find the balance in my life between being a good mom and taking care of myself too. I am finding that the better I feel about myself and my body the more energy I have and the better mom I am—I need to remember that!