3 Simple Habits for Happy, Healthy Moms

Hey City Moms!! Can you believe it’s already the middle of March?? It seems like just yesterday it was Christmas stuffing our faces with cookies and now we are nearly 3 months into our well-intentioned New Years resolutions! Like most of us, we are eager to make healthy changes and really get into those ever-present fitness goals. But as a mom like you, I have a LOT on my plate and even more on my mind. A new fitness and nutrition plan seems to always take a back seat. How can I make time for myself when SO MANY PEOPLE in my house need something from me around the clock? Is it selfish for me to prioritize my health and fitness goals?

I’m glad you asked. Taking a step in the right direction should be just that.. A STEP! Did you know that if you make ONE behavior change, your chances of succeeding at that goal is 80%! If you make TWO OR MORE goals at a time, your chances of accomplishing those goals reduce to 20%! So, let’s set ourselves up for SUCCESS and take ONE step at a time. Then, over time of implementing one positive change at once, you will have multiple good habits established, so much so that they naturally become your lifestyle. 

Here are the first 3 positive habits to establish and send you in the direction of becoming a happier, healthier mom! 

1. DRINK YOUR WATER

The goal here is to drink HALF YOUR BODY WEIGHT in ounces everyday. For example, if I weigh 145lbs, I need 70-75oz. of water per day. I like to use a 24oz. water bottle and wrap 3 rubber bands around it. Each time I finish 24oz, I remove one rubber band so I don’t have to think about writing it down! (Ain’t nobody got time for that.) The key with water intake is consistency. Try to hit your water goal everyday. If you hit it one day and forget the next, your body will HANG ON to extra water because it doesn’t know when it will be replenish again! On the contrary, if you consistently give it what it needs, it will continue to release the extra water it holds on to and subsequently de-puff yourself in a hurry! Water is nature’s energy drink, so replace those sodas and Red Bull’s for more water. You will be AMAZED at how you feel!

2. ESTABLISH A CONSISTENT AND MODERATE CALORIC INTAKE

Tell me if this sounds familiar… One day, I act like I’ve never seen food before and my stomach is like a bottomless pit. There are handfuls of snacks, candy, drive-thru fast food and of course, room for dessert. The next day, I wake up feeling not only SO FULL, but GUILTY and start to fear weight gain. Maybe the weekends are the time you let yourself go a little crazy on cals and then restrict and “punish” yourself all week long trying to right your wrongs. This cycle of bingeing and restriction is doing SO MUCH HARM to your metabolism. With all the information (good and bad) floating around about diets and nutrition, it’s hard to know what’s best for you or where to start. One of the best ways to start is just to pay attention to how many calories you are taking in everyday. Establish a healthy starting point-everyone is different, but I would say anywhere between 1600-2000 calories per day is a moderate intake. Once you start giving your body the CONSISTENT amount everyday, you will start to repair your metabolism. From there, you can steer the ship a little more accurately, knowing what your body needs to either maintain, lose or gain necessary weight. I know this is vague, but in the effort to keep it simple this will be a game changer. Use the free app called My Fitness Pal to track your food and get to know how many calories you’re eating. Don’t stress if it’s 100% clean food or justify that it’s “healthy fats” you’re eating. At the end of the day, it’s calories IN vs. calories OUT that will make the biggest change.

3. GET MOVING!

I am a big believer in that there is no WRONG way to exercise. The goal here is to take a STEP in the right direction and get creative with how you break a sweat! Keep in mind that down the road, you will want to educate yourself on the MOST EFFECTIVE ways to workout, rather than just thinking that doing the same things for years will eventually get you to your goals. For beginners, just get moving. Trade driving to the park with your kids for walking and then intermittent JOGGING to the park. Rather than sitting on the bench with your iPhone in hand, come up with games that require chasing, jumping, skipping and playing in more active ways. I know it’s hard. I usually opt for a break too. But it not only means so much to your kids to be hands on at the park, it will do your body and MIND some good too!

So, let’s set ourselves up for SUCCESS and take ONE step at a time. Then, over time of implementing one positive change at once, you will have multiple good habits established, so much so they naturally become your lifestyle. 

Remember, make one behavioral change at a time. Start these next 7 days with DRINKING YOUR WATER. If you can do ALL 7 days without missing one, you can “graduate” to taking on the next step. Let’s not be so hurried. Change takes time, patience and consistency. Share your goals with your spouse, friends or other family members for accountability and start to become the strongest and happiest mom you’ve ever been THIS YEAR!