Woman warming up stretch

Health and Fitness Tips For Full-Time Working Moms

It’s a given: mothers already have a lot on their plate. They’re looking after the kids, keeping an entire household together, and juggling other important matters, like a full-time job, for a start. There’s not a lot of free time, so it’s usually spent on sleep or binge-watching a favorite TV show.

Working moms are tired—and that’s all the more reason for them to stay on top of their health. But how can busy mamas live a healthy, active lifestyle in between taking care of their families and careers?

Finding time to squeeze in a quick workout will be difficult but not impossible. All it takes is a little bit of practice and a lot of getting used to. Here are some tips and tricks that’ll help working moms live a well-balanced life, all while keeping health and fitness a top priority.

Health and Fitness Tips For Full-Time Working Moms

Start with a Motivation

Every goal is easier to achieve with the right motivation in mind. For career moms, there are a lot of reasons to stay healthy: shedding off the baby weight, getting fit, or boosting their health to better take care of the kids, or all of the above.

Whatever your vision is, make it a motivational mantra to fuel you during the lazy days. Keeping a vision in mind will help fuel moms on their health and fitness journeys. It’ll also help them reach the end result faster, whether it’s acing a target weight or simply feeling good about living healthy. And the fulfillment that comes with accomplishing such goals is surely an added bonus.


Find Time to Exercise

Here comes the tricky part: creating an exercise routine. For moms with full-time jobs, this seems like a daunting task, but there’s a secret to that—strategic planning.

Planning weekly workouts early instead of simply exercising on the fly makes goals more achievable. If there’s only 30 minutes in a day to spare for a specific exercise, that’s a lot better than nothing at all. On top of planning, it’s important to be flexible. Just because you can’t get in your minimum requirement of 30-minute exercise per day doesn’t mean you should give up working out for that specific day. The main thing to consider is getting your body conditioned for regular exercises.

Learn a thing or two from these practical examples:

  • Wake up a half hour earlier each morning for a gentle stretch or a good Pilates session in your own living room.
  • Use your lunch break to hit the gym and do some strength-training exercises.
  • Walk home from work when possible.
  • Use the stairs.
  • Go for an evening jog around the block after tucking the kids to sleep.
  • Attend a local Zumba or spin class while the kids attend weekend workshops.
  • Play action-heavy games with your kids

It’s easy to feel like there’s not enough free time to sneak in any exercise at all. Here’s a pro tip: get rid of passive leisure habits. Scrolling endlessly through Netflix shows and social media feeds take up a lot of time. As tempting as this would be, you can use this time to keep fit and healthy instead.

Home fitness

Consider Getting a Fitness Coach

Staying motivated is one thing every working mom that’s trying to stay fit struggles with. Good thing there are personal trainers who’ll help them achieve their fitness goals safely and efficiently.

Working out unassisted puts anyone at risk for exercise-related injury. Personal trainers make sure routines are executed correctly, and body postures are achieved properly. They also teach preventive hacks that keep muscle injury at bay, such as applying a kinesiology tape to minimize inflammation and swelling. Getting the right posture and position for every workout move also maximizes the efficiency of the routine which means achieving your goals faster as well.

Fitness coaches do more than just guiding clients in performing certain exercises. They develop personalized routines according to your fitness requirements, helping working moms overcome specific challenges and ace their fitness goals better. It’s also good to discuss your schedules with a professional fitness coach. Creating time-efficient workout routines that won’t take up too much of your time but would give you the desired results is what most trainers do.


Eat Healthy Home-Cooked Meals

Face it: eating out is expensive. Fast food is unhealthy. So what better way to eat healthy than to cook nutritious meals at home. You get to cut back on expenses too!

For working mamas, setting aside time to cook can be challenging, but there are ways to make the work easier:

  • Plan meals on a weekly basis. Create your grocery list from there, and shop enough for the entire week or two. Don’t spend too much time grocery shopping every other day or waste several precious minutes planning what to eat for dinner.
  • Choose nutritious ingredients. Add in protein, carbs, and healthy fat sources to achieve a well-balanced diet.
  • If cooking meals daily is impossible, prep meals early. Stock up grab-and-go breakfast and lunch packs for the entire family. If possible, spend time cooking fresh dinner each day.
  • Find a day in a week to prepare healthy snacks. Cut-up veggies like bell peppers, celery, and cucumbers make great finger foods when you’re on the go.

You know what they say—if there’s a will, there’s a way. This speaks volumes to all full-time working mothers.

Spare time for family, but don’t forget to also spare time for one’s health. Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup. Fill your cup by investing in your well-being, and you—and your family—shall reap the rewards soon.

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11 comments

  1. It’s best to start with baby steps. And of course, the best way is to eat healthy, get enough sleep, and staying active. It also helps to find ways to manage the stress that’s constantly building up. I’ve found the waking up half an hour early really helps. Also, beginning the day with some sort of exercise actually gives us more energy throughout the day. Great tips here, Lynne! I think it really really helps if there’s a buddy to do it with–best motivation!

    • Oh yes I totally agree with you on those points Vidya – I love having a health buddy. I was so miffed when my exercise buddy moved from 2 houses down to over 400km away. We had such a great morning routine going during the week! Things have slid ever since then…. I need to get back on track big time.

  2. Motivation is the key. Sticking to a regular exercise regimen is something that I fail miserably, every time. Guess, it’s time to chuck the excuses and get out to burning some calories. Walking wherever possible and taking the stairs are easily doable. Thanks for the nudge and an informative post, Lynne.

    • That is exactly where I fall short too Shilpa! I can always get going and I start a good routine but it is keeping it up that is the problem.

  3. I discovered the best thing for getting in more movement in a busy day-to-day…. StepBet! You basically put in some money and make sure you get your step goals every day to win your money back and a profit. I find myself walking on the spot every evening while watching TV to get those goals. I realized how little I was moving when I was constantly working at my computer. Getting in regular exercise has made a huge difference in my energy, mental and physical health.

    • Thanks for that great tip Nicole – yes I know what you mean about sitting at the computer! Thanks to my kids though I can only work in the morning for a few hours and then I am mostly moving about for the rest of the day but I do get some time to sit and work on and off.

  4. I find it hard to stay motivated. Or sometimes my slump beats me. However, I will go through it again

    • I hear you Kamo! I was going to get back into my fitness routine this week but I came down with a stomach bug on Saturday and it is brutal. Here’s hoping to get back on track once I am fully recovered.

  5. it is so hard to find time to exercise but we all need to start somewhere to stay healthy and for self care

  6. Im not going to lie… Being a working mom with a 6 month old baby is hard! I have no time at all so much so even making lunch in the morning seems to be a option. Also having baby weight on top of it is just alot.

  7. Very helpful. When I was working and baby came along I found it very hard to find the time to get a little back into shape I felt as if the days were way too short to get everything done little alone doing exercises. But I eventually found a way to get a bit of exercise done including my baby in the exercise

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