Moms and dads with limited time need a weight loss plan that is quick and easy to execute. In this guide, I’ll share my simple strategies that lead to lifelong weight loss for busy moms and dads.

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Does any of this sound familiar to you?

It’s been a long time since you’ve been in shape. Maybe since college. Maybe since high school. Maybe never.

You want to finally get back to your playing weight.

You want to look good naked.

You want to be able to run around with your kids without feeling like you want to vomit last night’s sushi.

All of this is fantastic. But, the problem is your budget is small and you can’t afford some crazy fitness courses or personal training sessions.

Or maybe your time is so limited because of (oh, I dunno) kids and work and marriage and work and everything in between (like work).

Today, I’m going to breakdown the most important and easy to implement steps to finally realize long-term weight loss for busy moms and dads.

It won’t involve crazy long cardio sessions, trips to random spin classes that eat up your time and budget or even hours of meal prepping for the week.

But before we get into that, allow me to introduce myself, my name is Pete and my full-time job is being a stay at home dad to two energetic little halflings. So, I totally understand just how real this struggle is firsthand.

Like many parents, my day is packed with tea parties, toddler meltdowns and diaper blowouts.

I even packed on the dad bod starter kit (and then some) early on in my journey into fatherhood.

But, utilizing the exact strategies I share in this article, I beat the battle of the bulge and now I’ll show you how to do the same.

Don’t just take my word for it. I’ve worked with other moms and dads, living the same busy, hectic, crazy days as you to help them reach their goals.

Like my friend, Michelle, who is mommy to two cute younglings but limited in time. With a full-time job and a busy day, she needed short and effective workouts and simple nutrition strategies to lose weight and keep it off.

So you see, achieving a standard of health and fitness that sets an example for your kids, makes you feel better, and has your partner thinking you’re hot again is possible.

Despite all of the push and pull of work and demands that parenting dumps on you.

What it takes is an approach that implements smarter training, realistic nutrition strategies, and simplistic tweaks to your lifestyle.

Let me show you how to get there.

In this guide, you’ll learn:

• How to lose weight with a busy lifestyle
• The Four Pillars of successful weight loss for busy moms and dads
• A realistic diet plan for busy moms and dads
• The busy parent workout plan––a full body routine you can do today

Let’s get into it.

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How to Lose Weight with a Busy Lifestyle

Did you know that even the most intense CrossFit session … that crazy sweatfest at your local Orange Theory … even cycling for your life in a SoulCycle class … only burns a couple hundred calories each time?

Seriously, they’ll bill themselves as some ultimate fat incinerator that shreds thousands of calories at a time. Nope.

Even though you feel like depositing last night’s sushi on the floor after one of these classes, you still haven’t even burned off the calories from that spicy tuna roll that’s now staring back at you.

Mind blown.

My point here is that nutrition is the key to weight loss.

Yes, movement absolutely plays a role and will always play a role in a holistic approach to being healthy, looking good and feeling great. But, in the ratio of fat loss, it looks more like 80-percent diet and 20-percent exercise.

Once you fully understand this guiding principle, it will save you a ridiculous amount of time in your day. You simply don’t need to workout every single day for hours on end.

As I’ll show you a little later in this article, you can find successful weight loss in a busy schedule with workout routines as quick as 10-15 minutes.

How do you get started?

When you are crunched for time, you have to work more efficiently. You have to work smarter, not necessarily harder, to reach your goals and be more productive in the limited time you have available.

It starts with mastering the biggest buckets in the weight loss arsenal.

The Four Pillars of successful weight loss for busy moms and dads

Calories are the king of this entire process. You can simply sit on your butt and restrict your eating and still lose a ton of weight.

You won’t necessarily be healthy. You might not even look healthy if you’re just starving yourself. But, you can lose weight.

In order to look and feel the part so you can not only drop some pounds, but have the stamina to keep up with the kids at the playground, you need to understand the four most important pillars of fitness.

The Four Pillars of redefining the Mom Bod or Dad Bod and turning around your health and fitness to work for you:

1. Sleep like the dead
2. Stop stressin’
3. Realistic diet plan for busy moms and dads
4. Busy parent workout plan

Let’s tackle these concepts one by one and put together your action plan.

Fat Loss Pillar 1: Sleep like the dead

Sleep is awesome. It’s this fantasyland of pure comfort and serenity where beautiful dreams allow us to escape into this peaceful cocoon of rest and relaxation.

Until we have kids.

Our children are awesome at trolling us on every level. They destroy our schedules and keep us up at all hours of the night, or have us waking up at zero dark thirty where we question our wills to live as we deal with their boundless energy.

Sleeping is when the body regenerates and the muscles grow and the magic sauce of fat loss really takes hold.

When lack of sleep becomes an issue, all sorts of negative stuff comes into play that blocks your body’s ability to lose weight.

Poor sleep is linked to heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and even depression. It’s also one of the strongest risk factors for obesity. It can hamper your ability to get amped up for your next sexy time performance.

The best advice I can give for getting the minimum seven hours of sleep per night is to build structure into your day.

Structure leads to freedom.

Look, I’m a stay at home dad. I totally get it. Sometimes, there’s going to be nights when sleep is impossible because of sick kids or regular drama.

But, you have to do the best you can to set a regular bedtime for yourself and get a decent amount of sleep.

Every night, I’m in bed by 10pm so I can pop up at 5am. This gives me a solid two hours of time every day for work, mindfulness and sanity before my energetic daughter wakes up to wreck … er, start my day.

If you are serious about finally losing weight and keeping it off … you need to find a similar set up that works for you.

My challenge for you is to try it my way for two weeks. That’s just 14 days. It’s less than 5-percent of the entire year.

Go to bed at the same time every night for two weeks. Wake up at the same time every day for two weeks. Aim for at least 7 hours of shuteye (more if you can swing it, but … kids, so good luck).

I promise you’ll be more productive. You’ll have more energy. You’ll be more efficient overall if you make this commitment.

If not, it was only two weeks and you can curse my name and go back to your normal sleep schedule (or lack thereof).

Fat Loss Pillar 2: Stop Stressin’ – Get your mind right

Work. Parenting. Family matters. That fourth quarter of the biggest game of the season. That epic boss battle against a dragon that’s wasted you five times already.

They are all stressors––some a little more serious than others.

A little bit of stress is a good thing, actually. It primes us for battle. When a dragon attacks the village, it’s that signal to our flight or fight response system that boosts our courage to attack the beast and save the day.

Working out is a form of healthy stress (when not overtraining). Dropping calories for a period of time is a stressor on the body, too. We are cool with these types of cortisol signal increasers.

We aren’t so cool with the day to day drama that has us curled up in the fetal position crying in the back corner of our bedroom because we can’t deal with another temper tantrum from our toddler.

We aren’t so happy to get continued stress on the endless drama of living paycheck to paycheck or the anxiety from arguing with our partners about little stuff like who’s on top this time (kidding).

When too much cortisol hits the body, the ability to focus on things like fat loss and dropping that spare tire are not a priority. Your body is in a heightened sense of constant alert and wants to eliminate that threat before it can even think of looking like Chris Evans before the next Avengers.

How do we get our mind right?

Journal. Meditate. Live life according to the Code of the Jedi Order. Whatever that looks like for you. Find ways to eliminate the crazy stressors from your life.

For the next two weeks, upon waking up after your solid seven hours of sleep, I want you to simply focus on some deep breathing to start your day. If you’re into meditation, awesome. I use an app called Calm. Headspace is another popular option for guided meditation.

If you think mediation is some weird shit, cool. Just sit up tall, and focus on 10 really good and deep breaths.

If you want take it to the next level, break out a pen and notepad and write down 3-5 random thoughts or goals or things you’re grateful for … and even things you absolutely hate.

Whatever it looks like, I want you to spend about 5-10 minutes upon waking up for a little “me time” and self reflection of some kind. That’s only 0.3 percent of your day.

Coupled with the ability to sleep like the dead, these two pillars are the most overlooked by most aspiring dieters. Yet they are two of the most important.

Once we’ve prepared the mind for the battle, it’s time to send the troops in for a full scale assault on that belly fat.

Fat Loss Pillar 3: A realistic diet plan for busy moms and dads

Here’s the plan: Eat (mostly) whole, natural foods with adequate protein. Simply said, but sometimes harder to implement.

Especially with picky eaters living in your house demanding special orders every night.

Or random snacks like goldfish and crackers and candy lurking around every cabinet.

But, make no mistake about it. The most important part of your weight loss plan means dialing in your calories and watching just how much you eat.

Let’s make this simple and destroy all of the confusion out there about working out once and for all:

Burning more calories than you eat is the key to losing weight. And managing how much you eat is the number one way to make this happen. No amount of exercise is going to overcome a bad diet of overeating.

Here’s the plan for finding and keeping that caloric deficit in order to finally see some results.

It starts with determining how many calories you need to lose weight. Then you’ll concern yourself with two things: total calories and protein. That’s it.

It really won’t matter if you are high fat/low carb or low fat/high carb, or a combination of both. Remember, calories are king and protein helps preserve muscle so you can look and function like Captain Marvel raining down fire on some aliens.

The most basic way to get an accurate caloric deficit target for yourself is to utilize your bodyweight and find an appropriate multiplier based on how active you are on a daily basis.

Multiply your CURRENT bodyweight (IN POUNDS) by 10-12

• 10 = completely sedentary (i.e., and office desk job or just sitting on the couch watching way too much Netflix)
• 11 = somewhat active
• 12 = moderately active

Note: You can also use numbers like 10.5 or 11.5 if you think you fall somewhere in the middle.

For example: Let’s say you are 150 pounds and somewhat active, you’d multiply your weight by 11 to get a calorie goal of 1,650 calories per day (150 lbs x 11 = 1,650 cal/day).

The second most important piece to the nutritional puzzle is protein. Protein helps build and maintain muscle. Muscle is what keeps us sexy and allows us to have the strength to pick up our heavy toddlers.

You don’t need a ton of protein. You just need the minimum to keep things efficient. Remember, smarter … not harder.

After you figure out your calorie goals, aim for about 100 grams of protein per day at minimum. That’s it. More is okay. But, this isn’t about the most optimal. This is about simple. Simple gets done.

So using the example from before, if you have 1,650 calories per day with 100 grams of protein (100 grams of protein equals 400 calories, by the way) … you have 1,250 calories to play with for carbs and fats.

That’s it. Track calories. Track protein. Enjoy the rest of the day.

This gives you a ton of flexibility to help avoid the pitfalls of busy parenting.

If you want a more complete guide to calculating your calories needs for weight loss, be sure to check out my comprehensive article.

And if you’d like a little more guidance into how to set up all of your macronutrients (proteins, carbs and fats), you can read this ultimate guide to macro counting.

Try the food tracking process for a couple of weeks to get a feel of how you eat, when you eat and even why you eat. You’ll likely notice some interesting trends and areas for improvement.

Here’s how this plays out for the busy mom or dad with a few simple diet hacks:

1. Load up on the essentials (namely protein and vegetables) in the meals that you can control.

If you know dinner with the family is some less than ideal combination of pasta and chicken tenders because the kids toss anything green across the room and your partner can’t stand anything that’s not fried or covered in sauce, then you’ve got to make adjustments in the other meals of the day.

Start the day loading up on as much lean protein sources like chicken, tuna, egg whites, turkey, etc. Add in a ton of vegetables like peppers in your omelets. Add a few handfuls of leafy greens and make a huge salad.

Save the rest of your calories for carbs and fats for later in the day, if that’s the meal that will cause the most stress on your diet plan.

This structure allows for more freedom to enjoy the bigger meals guilt-free and still lose weight.

2. Don’t worry about food prep … just cook in bulk when you can.

If you enjoy and/or have the time to block out a Saturday or Sunday to make a bunch of meals for the week, cool. But it’s not needed. It’s not what I do, either.

I cook about 95-percent of the meals for my house and my biggest tip is to make things in bulk. It’s far easier to simply double or triple a recipe to allow for leftovers than to worry about making separate meals altogether.

When you double a meal, that leaves room for easily re-heatable lunches or repeat dinners.

Making pork chops one night? Great. Double it up and save half of the meat. The next night, chop up that leftover meat and heat it up with some frozen vegetables, soy sauce and some rice for a quick stir fry.

3. Have a list of a few staple meals

I have a rotation of about 10 quick meals that I make over the course of a week and a half. Every dish can be made in one pan or pot, includes a lean meat (like chicken or pork) and has some vegetables.

And of course, each dish is large enough so we can enjoy leftovers for lunches later in the week.

I highly suggest that you start with a few recipes that you can make in a jiffy and use those as your go-tos every week. Eventually you can expand to provide some variety. And you’ll also get quicker at making the meals.

You will not be perfect on day one. This all might take a little more time when you are new to the idea of cooking and tracking calories.

But you will get the hang of it and it will get easier as you go along. Remember, structure leads to freedom.

When you are more rigid in how you plan out your schedule, you’ll be able to find more open spaces in your day.

This includes everything from sleep to relaxation to cooking and even being more efficient with your workout schedule.

Fat Loss Pillar 4: The busy parent workout plan

Working out is what you need to look great nekkid.

You can achieve this physique goal by picking up heavy things and putting them down a couple of times per week.

The key is to get some level of consistent movement that will allow your muscles to actually realize they are still needed for something other than a round of Call of Duty while sitting on your couch.

It can be running. It can be CrossFit. It can be interval training. It can be a combination of everything.

For my friend Mark, it was a handy recumbent bicycle in his living room. While watching Netflix, working in a round of video games, Mark peddled away with rounds of intervals on that bike and lost a staggering amount of weight.

Again, find something that you enjoy. Because that is what will keep you locked into the journey.

Now, all of that said, it is important to note that incorporating a meaningful resistance training program with a goal of getting stronger over time will serve you far better in the long run than just jumping up and jogging and cycling everyday.

For more on that, be sure to read my guide to the best weight loss workout program here.

But, if you are a busy mom or dad who is serious about living a focused and purposeful life free from the anxieties of the usual daily grind, when the hell do you have time for consistent strength training?

Great question. You need to adapt to the schedule, my friend.

What does this look like? Here is the formula to achieve awesome weight loss for busy moms and dads:

• Twice per week, I want you to lift heavy things
• Once per week, I want you to do some cardio-based activity
• Every day, I want you to find a few minutes to walk a little more

Let’s start with lifting heavy things.

It’s not nearly as rigorous or time-consuming as you might think.

What we’re looking for is enough movement to make sure our muscles are getting some kind of a challenge on a regular basis.

Moving and taxing our muscles just 2-3 times per week with efficient movements can lead to fantastic results. Doing so at a rapid pace with minimum rest intervals means you can get in, get out and get back to the day-to-day grind.

Included here are three full-body workout routines that are short on time, but heavy on fat-burning effect. Each circuit should take only 10 minutes so you can get back to work, play or spending more time with the kids this holiday season.

The circuit style fashion of the following workouts will push your body to make optimal changes in the short amount of time provided for each routine. Increasing reps, rounds or weight each week will ensure you are getting stronger and making progress.

Workout A: Alternate Reality

Instructions: Set a gym timer for 30 seconds of work and 30 seconds rest. Complete all the movements in order, working and resting for 30 on/30 off. At the end of one round, rest for 2-3 minutes and repeat once more.

Lunge jump – alternating legs 
Alternating DB row
DB push press
Plank

Workout B: Two to Tango

Instructions: Set a clock for 10-15 minutes and complete as many reps as possible on the Goblet Squat until 1 rep short of failure, then switch to Push Ups and continue to alternate between the two movements resting only as needed.

DB Goblet Squat x 1 Rep short of failure
Push Up x 1 Rep short of failure

Workout C: Press the Issue

Instructions: Set a clock for 15 minutes and complete as many rounds as possible while maintaining perfect form.

DB Squat to Rotational Press (Right Arm) x 8
DB Squat to Rotational Press (Left Arm) x 8
Alternating DB Row x 8/arm
Plank to Push-up x 20

Complete one of the following three circuits 2-3 times per week on non-consecutive days. Be sure to take at least one full day off for rest every week.

If you have the time, you can easily perform two of the circuits in one session. Just be sure to rest for 3-5 minutes before advancing to the second circuit, and take one day of rest in between these doubled-up sessions.

Cardio-based activity

Next on the list of movement priorities is some cardio-based activity to get the heart up.

At least once per week (or more if you’re so inclined), I want you to do something really fun that keeps your heartrate up and gets the entire family involved.

A few options:

• Hiking with the family
• Playing a round of football in the backyard
• Challenging each other to an old fashioned race (or laps in the pool)
• Running around the park for a game of tag
• Climbing up trees and walls at the playground
• Turning off the screens, cranking up the music and dancing with loved ones
• Have more sex 😉

That’s it. Just be active with the family once per week. Enjoy the time together, have lots of laughs, get competitive, sweet a little bit and have fun.

Exercise doesn’t have to be some boring slog on a cardio machine of choice. You don’t even need to leave the house to do it. Just move creatively.

Walk a little more

Every day, your job is to find a few more reasons to walk. Set a timer on your phone for 60 minutes and when it rings, get up and walk around the house or the office.

If you live in a big city, walk to pick up your lunch instead of having it delivered.

Or if you live in the burbs, park a little further out and walk the length of the parking lot.

Or pace the sidelines while the kids play [insert sport of choice here].

As I’ve laid out enough times in this article, cardio is not needed to lose weight. But, walking is a fantastic way to burn some extra calories.

Don’t approach cardio with dedicated sessions for exercise, instead the smarter approach is to just factor some more walking into your regular activity.

Putting it all together for the ultimate weight loss plan for busy moms and dads

Wow. You’re still reading. Kudos to you for not having the attention span of a puppy, or a toddler.

You’ve read through to the end because you realize the importance of being healthier and finally dropping those excess pounds.

It may be the motivation to set a better example for your kids. It may be the motivation to feel better and drop that belly fat so you fit in your clothes again. It may be the motivation to just simply look better naked.

Whatever your motivation, take pride in knowing that you’re finally taking that step forward. But how do you put it all together to make it work for you?

Great question.

Let’s break it down into a minimum action plan that will get you on the fast track to dropping some weight.

1. Aim for a minimum of 7 hours of sleep every night

2. Find 1-2 methods for reducing stress––meditation, journals, sex, playing video games, hanging out with buddies, playing a sport, more sex, etc.

3. Determine the right number of calories needed to lose weight and start counting protein and calories towards your goal

4. Implement a workout plan that maximizes efficiency, yet still provides progressions for strengthening the muscles

5. Find ways to add more movement in your day by getting the whole family involved with some fun

Employ these strategies and you’ll be well on your way to long-term and successful weight loss.

Let me help you find more time in your busy day to finally lose that unwanted weight … 

Need help trying to figure out this whole mess? I get it. It’s an incredibly daunting task to take on a weight loss program, especially with kids tugging on you and time running out on you.

Let me be your guide to help you navigate these confusing waters.

If you have any questions, reach out. I answer all of my emails at pete [at] petecataldo [.] com … Hit me up with the subject line “Busy parent weight loss” and I’ll answer any questions you have about making this work for you.

Or you can hit me up anytime on the socialz on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

If you enjoyed this post, maybe you’d like more knowledge bombs from me. I’d be honored if you join my mailing list to get regular updates every time I post something pretty dope.