I’ve had four babies in five years. Before becoming pregnant with my oldest I was really skinny and borderline unhealthy with how underweight I was. I started each pregnancy heavier than I started the last. In my eyes, what was the point of losing the weight if I was just going to get pregnant again? Let me tell you, friends, healthy weight management is a lot easier after one baby than after four babies.
So fast forward a bit to now. I am heavier than I’d like to be, my body is much squishier than I’d like it, and overall I’m just not feeling healthy or fit. I have decided that I need to make some serious changes, but traditional diets are just not my thing. I have a really busy life that often has me sitting at the computer for hours at a time, and I’m a terrible cook. I know I’m not alone here. We’re busy as mamas, but that doesn’t mean that we can let our health slip through our fingers. I’m putting together some plans for the New Year (seriously, who doesn’t get inspired this time of year?!) to make some small changes to take charge of my health and work on my body after baby!
Healthy Weight Management for Moms
Fitness
I don’t have time to spend hours and hours at the gym, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t fit some fitness into my life somewhere! When you have small kids, I don’t think there’s any better way to get some fitness in than work out dvds. You can easily pop in a dvd at nap time and get a great workout done in as little as twenty minutes. The key to making this work is to have a variety of dvds available, and make sure they’re dvds that you enjoy doing. I have a few Jillian Michael’s dvds, some Zumba, and I’m borrowing the 21 Day Fix from BeachBody to add some variety. If you hate the workouts that you have, you’ll never use them. I also do have a membership to a local gym, so I’ll get there when I can because I love cycling. I am not committing to exercise every single day because it isn’t realistic and I’d give up by day three. I am committing to workout three days a week and to be active for ten minutes every single day. (Seriously, as a work at home mom if I didn’t make myself get up I’d be at my desk all day long some days!)
Nutrition
This is probably the biggest struggle that I have with healthy weight management. I am a big fan of chocolate, I forget to eat until well past lunchtime and then eat everything in sight, and roughly 80% of my meals are processed foods that can be microwaved. That was really hard to put out there, but I’m guessing some of you busy mamas may be in the same boat, so I’m being totally honest here. So what is a chocolate loving microwave using mama to do to lose weight and get healthy? Small *small* changes! I don’t cook, but thankfully Chris does. We’re going to be experimenting more with batch cooking and meal planning. One of my biggest struggles has been lunch, so I will be making plenty of healthy foods with Chris on the weekends and then separating them out into my very own microwave-friendly lunches I can eat throughout the week. I’m also going to focus on adding things to our diet, instead of limiting things. Instead of saying I’ll never eat chocolate again (unrealistic) I’m going to say that I will eat a fruit or veggie snack before having chocolate. If I want the chocolate bad enough, I’ll be willing to eat some carrots first!
Young Living Products
If you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll know that I’ve been using Young Living Essential Oils and they’ve absolutely changed our family’s wellness. From keeping us healthy to helping us sleep, we use our oils every single day. When I decided that after Miss S I would be taking charge of my health, Young Living was the first place I thought to look. Not only does Young Living have oils that help to promote healthy weight management, but there are several products to help as well. From meal replacement protein powder shakes, to energy bars, to the famous Ningxia Red, with Young Living, healthy weight management is completely possible for even the busiest of moms!
This is New Years. It’s a time for fresh starts and new possibilities. Don’t make a “New Years Resolution” to lose 50 lbs and never make a plan or follow through only to start all over next January. Make a commitment to yourself to make small, manageable, true lifestyle changes and make a difference in your life, your health, and your wellness.
What does healthy weight management look like to you?
