Healthy Lifestyle Tips for Busy Moms

Healthy Lifestyle Tips for Busy Moms

Being a mother, especially a working mother, is a daunting task. It is not easy holding down a full time job and raising children at the same time. Keeping yourself healthy often falls to the very bottom of the priority pile. You don't have time to exercise or watch what you eat - when you have time to sit down and eat - sound familiar?

Now give this some thought. Let's say you're thirty now, and your youngest child is five. In ten years, they'll be in high school, looking at colleges or finding a job in a few years' time. You'll be forty. Scientists tell us that our bodies slow down and need less energy once we turn thirty. We lose lean muscle, and gain weight - without doing a thing wrong. In another ten years, all of that has gotten worse. The less care you take of your health now, the more difficult it is to change it, and the more damage you have to try and reverse. You owe it to your kids to look after yourself, right now.

Stayin g healthy does not have to be complicated. You don't have to join an expensive gym, or spend hours every day counting calories and 'planning' meals. However, there are small things you can do that will make you healthier, fitter and maybe even slimmer - and better able to cope with the joys of being a busy mom.

1. Eat, and eat again
Instead of 2 or 3 meals a day, split them up into 5 or 6 smaller meals. Don't eat more, just eat less, more often. It gives your metabolism a boost throughout the day, so you'll have more energy, and burn up a bit more fat.

2. Get moving, mom!
Healthy exercising does not have to take place in a gym. Small things like going with the kids when they walk the dog, taking the stairs instead of the lift, walking round the block in your lunch hour can make a big difference. Walking is a great exercise, and you don't have to be fit to start doing it.

3. Don't eat the kids' leftovers
Many of us were raised to the mantra 'Waste not, want not', and rather than throw out the few mouthfuls the kids have left on their plates, we eat them. These small mouthfuls of food can add up. Instead of eating them, wrap them up for lunch tomorrow.

4. Play!
We're all tired after a day's work, and it's much easier to come h ome and hit the couch. Playing - whether it's with the kids or the dog - gets you active. Whether it's shooting hoops, playing ball or just a bit of rough and tumble on the bed - start playing! It's physical, it's fun, and it's good times with your kids.

5. Watch what you eat
It's not easy to eat healthily on a busy schedule. But, since the food you eat is the fuel that keeps your body running, you owe it to yourself to keep an eye on the junk and sweet stuff. You know what to avoid - so do it. If you can eat healthy, you're half way there.

6. Lose that extra weight - now
Life catches up with us, and before you know it, you've picked up more pounds than you ought to. Before it gets unmanageable, think about trying a weight loss program. There are plenty available online at a reasonable price, and many of them are quite flexible and easy to follow on a busy schedule. You can lose 10 pounds in 14 days quite easily on some of the programs, and th at may just be the kickstart your healthy lifestyle needs.

In an ideal world, we wouldn't have to worry about money for college, let alone the rent. We'd waltz out of our glamorous, well-paid jobs, zip to the gym for an hour with a hunky personal trainer, then breeze home to a gourmet dinner prepared by our loving husbands. That's when we wake up on the couch where we nodded off while the 7 year old read her book to us! Remember - laughter has a lot of health benefits too!

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