Many women have an extra challenge when dieting - Motherhood. A trip to the gym is out of the question with soccer practice and dance class to attend. But there is a way to fit exercise into your motherhood routine. Many women have an extra challenge when dieting - Motherhood. A trip to the gym is out of the question with soccer practice and dance class to attend. But there has to be a way to fit exercise into your motherhood routine if you want to lose weight, without losing your sanity. Below you'll find some suggestions for calorie burning activities real moms can do to fit exercise into their lives.

Hit The Road

Once the school age kids have hit the bus, take a brisk walk for an hour. If you need to, bring your child along in a stroller. Pushing the stroller while taking a brisk walk will actually increase the calories burned, not to mention that your child would probably enjoy it.

Exercise Videos

When the younger kids go down for a nap, pop Barney out of the VCR and insert an aerobics or workout video. You can also try getting your kids involved. At a young age, kids are usually willing to do anything that mom finds interesting. If you have a step workout video, try setting your child up with their own step (child -sized of course) so they can do it with you.

Cut The Grass

Mowing your lawn with a non-riding mower can help you burn quite a few calories. If you normally pay a service to mow your lawn, try cutting back the frequency that they come to every other time, and pick up the extra mowing yourself. Raking your lawn is also a source of a good work out. Not only will you be exercising, but you'll have a beautiful lawn as a bonus.

Get Your Dancing Shoes

Dancing is a great way to burn some calories. Pop in your favorite CD at home and dance with your kids for an hour. A night of dancing out with your spouse or partner could be a great source of exercise as well as a much needed stress reliever.

General Housework

Moderate everyday housework can also become a part of your official exercise program. Vacuuming, mopping and many other household chores burn calories.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that everyone, including at home mothers, can find a way to fit exercise into their daily routine. If you want to know how many calories you could be burning with some of these activities, check out this Calorie Counter Calculator to find out exactly how many calories you are burning during your normal at home routine, and how many more you could be burning by adding some of the activities above to your day.