Comments on: Switching up the exercise, switching up the meal template

By: Maureen

Maureen — Sun, 15 Oct 2023 08:43:58 +0000

In reply to Elisabeth. While I don’t follow a laundry routine per se, I highly approve of separating small items vs bigger items. This strategy is useful for timing aspects too — smaller items like socks and undies can be left overnight in the dryer without any wrinkly consequences. (The same is true for towels.)

By: Mandy

Mandy — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 19:46:15 +0000

I swim April 1 through November 1 and do yoga the rest of year, walking and treadmill.

By: Jen

Jen — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 18:05:45 +0000

I am working to get myself into morning exercise. For several years my kids went to bed like clockwork at 8pm and i very dutifully did many workouts after 8pm on weekdays. It seemed easier than mornings in those years when i was not guaranteed a full night of sleep but now as they are older and extra curriculars are creeping in (along with more in-office time where I can’t always get a lunch workout done) means the 8pm is getting pushed later. I have dabbled in past with morning workouts – usually summer heat or a looming race necessitated it and i did it but it never stuck.
I have thankfully recruited a couple of friends to help with this – a friend who can be counted on to pick me up at 6am to go swim and another to meet me on the dark streets for a run. But i know this shift will help me get the consistency that I want – I keep telling myself that ‘future me’ will be happy I am doing this. Still a work in progress though.

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 12:25:29 +0000

In reply to Elisabeth.

@Elisabeth – I hadn’t thought about separating out small and big items. I do my own laundry separately, and my husband does his. So those are both easy to put away. Then the kids get grouped in maybe two loads, twice a week — and then they are often responsible for separating and putting away (not the 3-year-old). It doesn’t seem too overwhelming. Occasional towel/sheet load done in there somewhere.

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 12:24:10 +0000

In reply to Seppie.

@Seppie – yep, one reason we got the treadmill is that sometimes it is a battle to leave the house to exercise during winter. And while I have this idea that I might do it in the morning it’s a lot less appealing during the school year when I’m up at 6:30 vs. summer when it tends to be 7-7:30- so I can set the alarm for 6:30 and get a run in.

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 12:23:08 +0000

In reply to Calee. @Calee- Sunday nachos sounds great! We often do hamburgers + hot dogs on Sunday nights but few of the kids seem really into that so maybe need to rethink it. And excellent about Texas A&M! My husband is a grad and had a great experience there.

By: Louise

Louise — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 10:04:31 +0000

Definitely another vote for a seasonal change in exercise routine. When and where I want to exercise in winter changes quite significantly which has a knock-on impact on what I do. Dallas Hartwig wrote a whole book on this. Our meal routine changes as well. My son plays a sport that can only be played in the summer in the UK (cricket) so, whilst he trains a little in the winter, there are no evening or weekends spent eating on the go at matches.

By: Calee

Calee — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 02:16:04 +0000

We have never been a day of the week = particular food, but I created Sunday night nachos this summer and it has been amazing. We’re at a stage of life where our daughter is almost never home for dinner (karate or teaching karate 5 days a week) and out son has baseball most evenings so the evenings are focused on post-sport ice protein and ice cream verbal rehashing of the workout. Our girl’s off to Texas A&M next fall so I know routines will change again. I love a good rhythm to our days and am treasuring the one we’ve got for now!

By: Seppie

Seppie — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 22:13:51 +0000

We just hired someone to come and do meal prep two days a week, which means that my menu planning and grocery routine has to happen before she arrives.

And the seasonal shift dictates a shift in exercise routines – in the summer, I bike to my workouts and yoga classes at 5 am. In the winter, I do not want to leave the house when it’s still cold and dark.

Last winter I never acknowledged that and it was a constant internal battle.

This year, I’ve decided that afternoon and evening are perfect for working out. I can come home, shower, and go straight to bed if I want. This will make mornings much cozier!

By: Elisabeth

Elisabeth — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 20:48:59 +0000

Laundry. I feel like I am constantly switching laundry routines.

Right now: doing socks/underwear separately because I hate having to pull out those small items from among larger things. I do a load of just big things – shirts, shorts, shirts – and a load of small things…and it’s so much easier to put away.

Check back in a month; I suspect I’ll have a new system, but for now it’s working. Tomorrow it’s a “big item” load!