Finding time in your day to do everything you know you should is hard enough when you’re a single, childless person, let alone as a stay at home mum or dad! However, it’s actually when we are busy caring for our kids that’s it’s more important than ever to stay healthy. Sure, it’s not as easy to get to the gym, and finding the time or money to get to the local organic shop is harder when you’ve got a couple of young ones to take care of, but you need to make sure you’re still doing the right thing by yourself.
Indeed, incorporating a fitness regimen into your schedule can be as simple as choosing the right treadmill and making sure you do an hour while you’re watching your favourite show of an evening. Of course, we’d like to offer you a few more tips beyond simply choosing the right treadmill, so let’s have a look at these five healthy health tips for all you full-time parents out there!
Don’t wait for help
If you are making the excuse that you’re waiting for a nanny or a babysitter to relieve you of your duties so you can fit in a workout, stop now! Don’t wait for a nanny, just get out there and do it. Trust us, you grew a baby inside your body and now you are a human miracle, cleaning up and caring for your child and nurturing them. You can definitely find half an hour for exercise. If your baby is small, put them in a crib nearby; or if you have toddlers, get them to exercise with you. If they won’t exercise or play nearby, use the workout time as an excuse to use Netflix – just for half an hour.
Give yourself a break
While it’s nice to think that you can fit in half an hour of solid exercise, you need to know that sometimes you need to be kind to yourself and to know that if you can only work out for fifteen minutes that that’s ok! Just do you best, and don’t give up. The only time you fail is when you quit.
Don’t use the fact that you have kids as an excuse
Your kids shouldn’t be used as an excuse for why you haven’t done a workout. It’s not fair, and it’s a cop out. You are the reason why you don’t work out – so make yourself the reason you do work out. Your kids will really benefit from the workout and will have a great experience of exercise which they can carry on with them throughout their lives.
Get moving in the morning
Kids wake up early. It’s just what happens, so take advantage of it and get moving. Pop the baby in the stroller, get the kids on a bike and get your blood pumping. Not only is an early morning workout good for the body and mind, it’s a wonderful start to your day.
Reward a workout
Ok so it’s not the most exciting thing to watch mummy or daddy work out, but so long as your kids know that they’ll get a reward of some kind for their good behaviour, things will be able to continue as they are. You don’t have to reward with a treat (in fact, we recommend that you don’t, it’s never good to build an association with food and rewards) and you can reward with something like a favourite game or book to read.
All the best with your weight loss journey! It’s an exciting time being a new parent and it’ll be all the more rewarding when your health is where you want it to be.
