Being a mom is one of the greatest joys, but it is also one of the greatest sacrifices in life. Once you have kids, life, in many ways, revolves around them. The time you once took on yourself has diminished and morphed into time spent taking care of them. While it’s time well spent, sometimes that takes its toll on your health. Frankly, if you’re a mom, you’re tired, you’re busy and you’re well worked. Who has the time, effort or energy to spare in order to think about your own health? The truth is, neglecting your own health may likely cause you to feel worse and invite larger problems later in life when your kids need you to be fit. So, how can you be a healthy mom? Follow these steps, and before you know it you’ll be a healthy mom on the block.
Love the Exercise
Consistent exercise is key to a healthy lifestyle, but let’s be real: if you hate running, you’re not going to run consistently or long term. You need to select an exercise that appeals to you, so that you look forward to it even when energy levels are low. Maybe that’s crossfit, maybe it’s zumba, maybe it’s spin class or yoga; maybe you need to sample a few different types before you commit to one form of exercise, or maybe you’re one of those people that really needs to change it up often to keep interested. Whatever you do, don’t fall into a sedentary lifestyle because you allow yourself to become bored with your exercise routine.
Plan for It
Exercise, no matter how much you want it, will not happen if you don’t plan it. You must make it a priority, and just like any other priority, you’ll have to plan around it. Take our advice – enjoy doing this guilt free. Arranging your schedule so that you can take time for yourself a few days a week can and should be something that you do and enjoy. At the beginning of each week, decide which days work best for you. Maybe you have a family member that can watch the kids for an hour a few mornings a week; maybe your kids are in school, and you just need to schedule the time for yourself so that it doesn’t slip by; whatever it is that you need to do, do it, and physically write the time into your busy planner to ensure that it happens.
Eat Well
Exercise and eating well go hand in hand; it really is interesting how they feed of of each other. You may notice that exercise is less than appealing when you’re eating junk, and eating junk is less than appealing when you’re exercising. Something happens when you start feeling better, noticing positive differences in your body, and feeling yourself in better shape: suddenly, you’d rather have some fruit, whole grains and nut butter for breakfast rather than a donut. Food is either medicine or poison for your body, so eating well is key to being healthy. Eat organic, eat real foods, cut back on sugar and simple carbohydrates – you’ll notice a huge difference in very little time.
Be Active
One of the most important yet overlooked steps to being a healthy mom is to remain active. This one in particular will benefit your family as well, and is great for keeping your couch potato self from taking over – an event that often leads to a domino effect of poor health decisions. Choose to be active by requiring time outdoors and in the playroom during the school week; instead of watching family TV shows, you’ll be spending time with your family playing games, running around, laughing and talking. This is healthy for the family dynamic and for the body, as it allows for consistent and light physical activity rather than only sporadic heavy physical activity – a hugely successful trick in increasing your metabolism.
With some planning and effort, you can easily become the healthiest mom on the block. Remain active, plan for exercise that you love and that motivates you, and make a habit of eating well, and you’ll look better and feel better than you ever have before.
