10 Habits of Fit And Healthy Mom

Being a fit mom has nothing to do with physical looks and body image.

Being a fit mom is much much more than chasing a pre-baby body.

Making your fitness and health important, is one of the best ways to take care of yourself as a mother.

Fit mom is healthy, she is strong and moves freely. She is emotionally fit as well. Characteristics of a fit mom are: happy, energetic, positive, and confident.

Unfortunately, not all mothers understand how important exercising is, and many do not even want to accept that protecting their health is not selfish, but contrary it is the only way to stay accountable for their family.

The best mom is a healthy mom – keep this in mind.

Now after I convinced you to start living a healthy lifestyle and taking care of your body (and mind), you probably wonder where to start, and what exactly will help you on that journey.

If you think that you have to arm yourself with extreme persistency and perseverance, to be obsessed, wake up at 5 am and cut everything you love doing, in order to be happy, I have to say that you are completely wrong!

A Healthy & Fit mom lifestyle is nothing but being gentle and showing yourself love before you share it with everyone else.

The answer to how you can achieve complete well—being as a mom is HABITS!

Habits are everything we do during the day. Every single step we make on our way to the job, the way we wake up, the time we start our day, our first coffee, people we meet, places we visit…

Habits are inertial, we are often not even aware that we are doing it, and if we do notice we often don’t understand why.

You do not even have to love all your habits.

To build a new habit you will need to stick to some behaviour for 2 months or to be exact 66 days.

That is the minimum time needed to form a habit and automate a new behaviour.

Now that you know how long it will take you to change your life, let’s talk about what exactly you should do.

So let’s dive into 10 habits that will help you become and stay fit and healthy mom.

Wake up early

This post is deeply diving into habits that will help you become and stay fit and healthy as a mom. Read how to build these amazing habits.

We as human beings are created to sleep during the night and be awake during the day.

This means that your body naturally tends to start the day as soon as the sun rises and the light surrounds us.

Getting into the habit of waking up earlier than usual will take you (as I already mentioned) 2 months.

But, even before you get into the habit to wake up early, you will see amazing benefits that will boost your motivation even after the first few days.

Therefore, I will mention only some of the benefits that I have found the most useful for myself.

EXERCISE REGULARLY

The first thing I do after waking up is exercise.

I have never before in my life been so persistent and able to never skip my workout, not a single day.

Not every day is the same in terms of intensity, but I would at least do a quick stretch.

My body got used to my morning movement and not I just can not start my day without it.

I believe the only reason for that is the fact that I wake up at least an hour before my family, and I chose to set priorities for what i will dedicate that time.

No one is there to change my plans and I just completely enjoy the freedom of my morning time.

WALK MORE

After I finish Pilates I go for a 15-20 min walk with my dog, which adds additional steps to my day.

This quiet walk, watching the first-morning sun, breathing the fresh morning air, is the most calming thing I have ever done in my life.

It really helps me set myself up for the day and starts the day with a clear mind and peaceful soul.

BETTER SLEEP QUALITY

Before I started waking up early I had a sleep disorder.

Especially after a stressful day, I used to lie down in bed for hours, and no matter how tired I was, I could not fall asleep.

Since I started my waking-up-early morning routine, I ruin movie night plans on a regular basis with my husband since I fall asleep same time as our toddler boy 🙂

So, if you have any sleeping issues, you will get rid of them by waking up at 5 am – a proven method.

BETTER ORGANISATION

My organisational skills got insanely better.

I need only 5 min to plan my whole day and that way keep on track with my priorities.

I still often over-schedule, but I anyway do see big progress in my working skills as well as in my private life when I write things down.

MEDITATION

I meditate after my workout or I take a guided walking meditation while I walk my dog.

Whether I chose one or the other I am able to do it only because I am doing it in the morning before anyone else in my house is awake.

So, my morning routine is really complete body-mind-soul work, and I can’t imagine doing for myself anything better.

RELATED: Best workout schedule for busy mom / How I've lost weight after pregnancy

Take probiotics

Probiotics are a good way to protect your body and make sure you are doing everything you can for your health as a woman.

Your health will benefit a lot from taking these live bacteria and yeasts that are already present in your body.

They are so essential for the human digestive system and support immune health.

If you are taking it daily you will notice your health and mood improve.

Move your body

Movement is so natural to our bodies.

We, as human beings, are created to walk, run and move.

Modern life has changed everything for human beings, so we are sitting and spending most of our time in completely unnatural positions.

In a long term, this causes many negative consequences.

To counteract the consequences of sitting too much we have to move our bodies and exercise daily.

To really feel better every day and move freely try adding a quick workout into your everyday routine.

Having a 20 – 30 minutes pilates class every day is much better for your body (and mind) than 1,5 h 3 times per week.

If you are sitting every day for 8 hours at your desk, then you need to move your body for at least 30 min in moderate physical activity.

Meditate

Meditation does not have to be connected to any religion.

But, in some ways, it is spiritual and helps you feed your soul.

If you have never tried meditation before, at the very beginning, you might feel weird

It takes time to get used to sitting in a calm position, being unaware of the place around you, and everything else that surrounds you, and being instead totally focused on your inner being.

There are numerous reasons why you should at least try it even if you are a little skeptical about it.

For your mental health benefits of meditation are: improved focus increased awareness, and decreased symptoms of depression, anxiety, and pain.

Physical benefits of meditation; when the body is calm and relaxed it stops producing stress hormones. Not only during the meditation, but people who meditate regularly are able to manage stress in everyday life situations.

Meditation will also help you learn better to deal with negative emotions. Alternatively, it can build a positive state of mind and help you feel more happy and more satisfied.

Walk

Walking is also an essential form of movement and should be practiced daily.

A 45 min of brisk walk is the minimum you need for your good health.

If you chose to walk to work and back, you probably already fulfilled your goal.

Even if your job is unreachable on foot, try driving or using public transport half of the way, and find a parking place far enough to sneak in a 20 min walk.

There is always possible to find a way if you set it on a list of your priorities. And health should always be your #1 priority!

RELATED: How to start exercising at Home

Play with your kids

Playing outside with kids is the most satisfying and the most feasible activity for every mom.

I know, sometimes (especially after long working hours) it is not your favourite thing to do, and you feel more like lying in a hot bath or watching a movie alone.

Mom’s life is not easy life, and the list of tasks that need to be done during the day is so long.

But, aren’t children the reason why we do everything we do? Then do what they really want. They don’t want a clean and perfectly organised house, they want your attention and presence.

Riding a bike, swimming, walking, chasing, and kicking the ball are just some of the numerous activities that your kids will enjoy doing with you.

Every single one of those activities will help you as well to be fit and healthy.

With that being said…what are you going to do today, with your kids? (leave me a comment, I would really love to know).

Go to bed early

If you follow tip number 1, this one will probably not be a problem for you.

Since I started waking up early, going to bed before 10 /11 pm is just not a matter of choice.

As much as waking up early is good for your health, going to sleep early is even more important.

Our body follows a circadian rhythm, which is our internal clock that regulates processes in our body.

During a 24-hour cycle, the circadian rhythm regulates the production of hormones.

So, the best time to wake up is as soon as possible after sunrise, but still have 7-8 hours of sleep.

Therefore, the best time to go to bed is between 10 and 11 pm.

Anyway, regardless of science and anyone else’s opinion or choice, you should find your own best time.

Just remember, you can always try something different to see whether it will work for you.

Make a lunch for work

Lunch preparation is the best habit in my life.

I literally made my own lunch and bring it with me since high school.

This is probably one of the reasons I have never eaten unhealthy and fast foods.

Not that you should never eat fast food (balance is always what I stand for) but it is much easier to maintain a healthy weight, and generally good health, if you know what you eat (which is never the case with the food you buy).

Eat more whole foods

Besides making your food at home, one more way to make sure you nourish your body is to eat whole or not processed food.

First, you can start with grains, and for instance replace fine grains (white rice, white pasta, and bread) with whole grains (whole wheat pasta, bread, and brown rice).

Whole grains are higher in vitamins, minerals, and fiber and will make you feel full for longer.

Eating more fresh foods will generally have a big impact on your fitness and health.

So, besides whole grains try adding into your meals as much as possible fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, beans, eggs, herbs, and if you eat meat – chicken or beef (avoid food like hot dogs).

Visit a Doctor regularly

Visiting your doctor and doing check-ups is something you should do regularly.

It should be something you do as preventive care, not to treat your illness.

As a woman, it is important to visit Gynecologist at least once a year.

A good rule of thumb is to visit your dentist twice a year.

And finally, your primary care physician is a doctor you should see once a year.

It is helpful to be concerned about your health, but do not be overwhelmed and obsessive.

10 Habits of A Fit And Healthy Mom