Tips for Staying Healthy While Raising a Child
Tips for Staying Healthy While Raising a Child. Once you have children, it is common for you to “lose yourself”. You may find yourself wearing yoga pants (even when you don’t do yoga) and oversized t-shirts. If you find yourself wearing yoga pants daily, what you may find next is that you are overeating and not keeping your body healthy (it is easy to do). I personally did it myself. One day I tried to put on my “real clothes” and found they didn’t fit. So instead of throwing a pity party for myself, I decided to take my health into my own hands.
Tips for Staying Healthy While Raising a Child
Exercise: It is very important to get the body moving. If you want a better body, then you need to move it. A daily 2-minute sprint is supposed to be very good for the body and is linked to removing fat. If you don’t have time for a full workout, consider a 2-minute sprint instead.
I recently started Leslie Sansone 5 Mile Fat Burning Walk, and at the end of each walking mile, she does a 2-minute “Boost” or jog. I found this very interesting, so at the end of every workout I am adding a 2-minute Boost and I will see where it takes me!
Other tips to help you move your body:
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator
- Park far away from your entrance
- Use your lunch hour to add some exercise into your routine
- Get active with your children
In general, people who exercise in the morning are more successful because they get up and get their body moving. If you make working out a part of your everyday routine, you will not only feel better but get your metabolism going first thing in the morning.
Ways to burn calories:
- 100 Calories – jump rope for 10 minutes
- 200 Calories – brisk walk for 30 minutes
- 300 Calories – aerobics workout for 30 minutes
Nutrition: When it comes to eating, what I have learned is that you should always eat breakfast! It is the most important meal of the day when it comes to getting your metabolism going. Breakfast was named that for a reason. You are truly breaking the “fast” from the night before. When you are trying to lose weight it is very important to NOT EAT after 6:00 PM or 4 hours before going to bed. So if you are going to bed at 10:00 PM then you would not want to eat after 6:00 PM.
Most people don’t eat before 6:00 AM so you have been fasting for at least 12 hours by the time you eat the next morning. This is why it is so important to eat a balanced breakfast. It is the best way to get your body going in the morning! I have been eating like a “king” for breakfast, a “prince” for lunch and a “pauper” for dinner. By simply making this change, I have been able to see an increased weight loss. I use the Biggest Loser Digital Kitchen Scale to assist in keeping my portions in check.
Another key component to weight loss is water intake. While each person’s hydration needs are different, the Institute of Medicine advises that men and women try to consume about 3.7 and 2.7 liters of water a day, respectively, including water found in food and other beverages. I like to use the Brita Bottle with Filter because I can fill it up wherever I am and it filters for me!
Sleep: If you want to lose weight, you need to sleep at least 8 hours at night. It takes deep sleep to release your Human Growth Hormones while you sleep. If you don’t go into a deep sleep at night (which takes up to 8 hours) then you won’t release these naturally occurring hormones and you will not have as much weight loss.
I was very guilty of getting very little sleep (5-6 hours a night) before making the decision to put me first. Now I go to bed at 10:00 pm and sleep a full 8 hours every night. I really think this is a major piece of the weight loss puzzle. I personally use this Sleep Sound Machine to help me fall asleep.
The key here is a healthy mom makes for a happy mom, so be sure to put those yoga pants away unless of course you are really doing yoga!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions are 100% my own.
Melissa is a football and soccer mom who has been married to her best friend for 24 years. She loves sharing recipes, travel reviews and tips that focus on helping busy families make memories.
These are great healthy tips. I have the water thing down but can definitely work on some of these other tips.
Great tips to help moms stay healthy while still raising up their family! I struggle with all of the areas, but maybe these ideas can get me jump started again. Thanks!