I don't want to be answering more than what was asked, but there's way more going on here than just mom fitting in one more thing into an already-overscheduled day, when she's not getting support from her kids.

What kind of exercise are they getting and can this be turned into some family activity, maybe? Also, Atkins is about more than looks; maybe a home-school activity on nutrition and metabolism and conflicting opinions in the press, etc. I can see a research paper in this, if any are old enough.

Strikes me that I'd be itching to give a lesson about its not being anyone else's business what other people eat, but then I don't have kids myself so maybe I'm just being idealistic. Maybe it's time for some of the kids to learn how to clean house, too?

Which brings me to yoga, because one of its benefits is the ability to stop and calm down, to pay attention to the interior. Most other exercises don't give me anywhere near as much calm afterward.