Life as a mother is never easy, I mean, you are a full time carer to a little human! After changing nappies, chasing them around and dealing with the aftermath of the dreaded ‘Dinner-Time’, we are TIRED!
For me, I have definitely struggled with entertaining a young child and working part time; all whilst trying to keep fit, healthy and sane!- Where’s the time to do it all?
Before I was pregnant I was at the gym practically every day. Buuuut the moment I became pregnant, oh ho ho ho- no doubt did that go out of the window. I was no longer the active pup that I used to be. It is sure that the nightmare of a first trimester completely knocked the life out of me and I just wanted to get to the end of my pregnancy in one piece!
Gaining a large amount of weight was tough. There are even people who see me today and they aren’t able to recognise me after losing all my baby weight and more! I mean, anyone with 4 less chins would look different right? lol
Now, all 4 chins aside, I am told that I am even smaller than I was before my pregnancy. Hearing those things has me chilling on cloud 9 and as someone who has such little time to themselves, I am proud of what I have achieved!
But how do you find time as a working mother you wonder? Wanting to know how to snap back after pregnancy? I definitely wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today without these 8 tips below!
8 Tips to Keep Fit as a Regular Working Mum:
#1 Bye Bye Bottles, Hello Boobs
I am going to stick this one in here first because this was my absolute life saver when I was too exhausted to do any physical exercise! Honestly, I don’t think this can sound any more lazy but trust me, this was the BEST ‘cheat’ (and I use the term cheat lightly) way of shedding some serious pounds!
Did you know that breastfeeding can burn up to between 200 and 500 calories in ONE day!? The moment I read this I was sold. You can burn that many calories in one intense workout… so it’s a workout, without working out…Brilliant!!!
You might as well chuck all those bottles away now and say bye bye to the baby weight while you’re at it! (But, if you can’t breastfeed for any reason please don’t feel disheartened… we have 7 more tips to turn you into one fit mumma!)
#2 No Gym? No Problem
“I don’t have time to go to the gym” is what I would say.. pssht.. seriously Shayla!? Who needs the gym when the internet exits?
In the year 2019 we don’t even have to leave our rooms, everything is online! And let me tell you, youtube is great for workouts you can do at home. All you have to do is type in the kind of workout you wanna do and there are countless pages of videos you can follow- No equipment needed!
Heck, I even found workouts you can do IN your bed.. yes in BED- So there are no excuses missy! Yeaaa, I’m looking at you!
There are also soo many programs out there that will help you transform your body! If you want a proven way to actually get Flat Abs After Baby Without Dieting and Hours in the Gym, you NEED to try this program– it’s amazing!
Related post: 5 Best YouTube Channels for Home Workouts
#3 Prioritise
Remember when I said I would say “I don’t have time for the gym”? yup, that was a complete excuse- and it’s easy to come up with plenty of those. I must admit, being a mother has proven challenging and most days I just wanna stay curled up in bed and sleep until next year- but NO Shayla! get tf UP
Make working out a priority, once I started to do this I found myself saying thank you to ME.
It is so easy to say you’ll do it later or the next day… or the next day, or the next day… you get the point. Do it now! Do it today!
I found that the earlier I schedule to exercise, the more likely I’m gonna do it. So try and fit in a small 10 minute workout before the kids wakeup, you’ll thank yourself later 😉
#4 Meal Prepping & Eating the Right Foods
Too tired to cook? No, JustEat is NOT the answer!
I know, whilst being a working mum there are just not enough hours in the day to make something healthy for breakfast lunch and dinner every single day; however, this can be resolved with one simple lifestyle change.
Meal Prepping!
This is one of my absolute favourite tips to keep fit as a regular working mum. Cooking my meals in advance and storing them in neatly sectioned containers is almost as satisfying as it is convenient. And don’t just restrict it to full meals either, prepare your snacks too! The fact I have my food ready and prepared means I am less likely to snack on sugary things, which is perfect for someone like me who has a GIANT sweet-tooth and finds themselves eating out of boredom!
And just because you’re trying to stay healthy does not mean you gotta be eating salad all day every day. Switch it up! Find recipes that you know you’ll enjoy eating, just be mindful of how much fruit and veg you’re eating. Remember, 5 a day!
#5 Ditch the Wheels and Walk!
This is pretty self explanatory actually. Although it is easy to just get in the car or the bus and arrive at your destination faster, think of how fit you can get from a nice stroll instead!
Take in the scenery, begin to actually enjoy walking- eventually, you’ll notice the difference.
Walking used to leave me out of breath until I decided to do it more often and now, I just can’t get enough! Walking is great for baby/kids too!
#6 Be Late
Be late!? I bet that sounds like the worst advice you’ve ever heard, but trust me- there’s a reason!
Once I returned to work, every morning I seemed to always leave my house late. One day, I chose to run in order to make up the time and, although I was panting like an excited dog, I felt good in myself- that’s what’s important no? (So if you have ever seen a crazy lady, frantically running with her pushchair… that was me!) XD
If you find you don’t have time to take leisurely strolls, get those running shoes on girl!
#7 Get to Bed Earlier
No explanation needed, get to bed on time!!!!
I am the biggest procrastinator you will ever meet! Before I came to my senses I would waste time like it wasn’t precious enough! For instance, once Maya was asleep I used to find myself sitting for hours, anticipating actually getting ready for bed because I was apparently too tired and deserved a break.
Well, the moment I started to actually get ready for bed and stop scrolling through social media… the more time I had to… scroll through social media in bed! Haha
But seriously, make sure you get to bed on time as those extra hours of beauty sleep will definitely make a difference to your health and wellbeing… maybe your sanity too. Read more about it here
#8 Don’t Give UP!
It is normal to feel demotivated, we all go through it!
I have days where I just want to eat everything I see and never workout again but… I just have remind myself, to not give up!
Write it on your wall, set a reminder on your phone, get it tattooed on your forehead… do WHATEVER it takes to remind yourself that you got this mumma!
I believe in you, lets keep fit as working mum’s together <3
-Shayla x
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