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.

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.

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.