For the stay at home mum, there is the seemingly never ending cycle of work, changing nappies, preparing meals, entertaining our children, doing the dishes, washing clothes, chores, chores and more chores. Who has time for exercising, and weight loss, right?
A half-hour work out is only 2% of your day, and where there is a will, there is a way!
PLAN AHEAD FOR WEIGHT LOSS
It may be a pain in the butt, to begin with, but it only takes a few weeks for your body to get into a habit. Sit down and plan your exercises around your chores and feeds. Go for a walk around the block to send your bub to sleep in the pram for one of their daily naps, do some yoga while they’re playing or drawing, and lift some weights when they’re in bed. You know your routine better than anyone – schedule in some exercise for weight loss, sure, but also do it for your overall health and to expose your child to healthy habits from early on!
LET THEM JOIN IN THE FUN!
Kids love to interact with their parents and exercise is just play to them – they don’t see it as a chore. Do some bodyweight exercises to increase strength and help with weight loss – the best part is these exercises look fun to kids; you can even turn it into a game…
“Who can sit on the wall the longest?” – Wall sits
“Who can jump the highest?” – Tuck jumps
“Who can crawl like a bear?” – Bear crawls
“Who can take the biggest step?” – Lunges
Place your baby or toddler on your pelvis while doing glute bridges – beats paying money for weights!
Not only are you bonding and spending quality time with your kids – you’re also getting in a great work out.
ABS ARE MADE IN THE KITCHEN
Even if having a set of ‘killer abs’ aren’t your thing – weight loss is predominantly diet-related. I don’t mean diet as in going on a diet but diet as in your everyday diet. I’m a firm believer in indulging every so often – we’re only human, but ensuring you are eating enough nutritious foods to enable your body to run efficiently is crucial to weight loss.
The main things to focus on are:
- NEVER skip breakfast!
- Protein with every meal and snack (no, I don’t just mean protein powders)
- Eat 5 serves of vegetables every day, especially green.
- Limit fruit to about 2 serves a day.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Limit coffee to 1 or 2 cups a day.
- Lower alcohol intake/refined sugar intake.
- Don’t overdo it with grains and choose wholemeal versions where possible.
HEALTHY FAMILY MEALS
I don’t believe in cooking separate meals for different family members unless they have dietary requirements of course (gluten-free, vegetarian, etc.) If you’re the family cook and you’re trying to be healthy it’s always easier with peer support and what better way for your family to support you than to eat healthy with you? Eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring; in fact, I think healthy eating is delicious. When you cut out sugar and stimulants like coffee, it’s almost like your taste buds grow stronger and you appreciate flavours more than ever.
Creating a healthy family prevents weight issues in your children later in life, not to mention other health issues. Now, if hubby complains – show him around the kitchen… he’s more than capable of cooking his own meals!
There are plenty of informative videos and sources for at-home workouts and inspiration, my favourites are:
http://www.noexcusemom.com/ – this woman is such an inspiration. Many people are offended by her but I think that when we allow our fear of change or fear of admitting things to ourselves to drive us we become offended by many things which could actually help motivate us. This woman also runs a page on Facebook where you can interact with other “no excuse mums”. (I’ll put the link on the next line)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/noexcusemoms/ – This Facebook group for no excuse mums. I sometimes shudder at some of the meals that are posted on this group which are considered “clean” but they do have some motivational posts of women who have lost tremendous amounts of weight.
https://instagram.com/fit.co/ – This is one of my favourite Instagram pages. The little mini workouts they post up are fantastic to do at home. Many of the workouts posted are actually performed by a fit mum with her little baby crawling around watching her and joining in!
YouTube! No link for this one but YouTube is a great source of exercise videos. If you just search for “yoga tutorials” or “at home workouts” or even “30 minute workouts” you’ll find some great ideas. I’ve slowly built up a little home gym that I find works perfectly for what I’m after and I always feel fantastic after a workout. I also get a kick out of seeing my 5 year old pick up the little 1kg weights and do chest presses like mummy. So unbelievably cute!
Hotwire Your Health!
If you want to enhance your overall health and well-being, consider exploring the world of Martial Arts. At Wu Xing Dao Kung Fu, we believe in a comprehensive approach to Martial Arts that encompasses not only self-defence and physical techniques but also self-discipline, health, and nutrition.
Upon joining our martial arts classes, we provide guidance on the different martial arts styles available and the associated life skills. This enables you to make an informed decision about which style to pursue. Our program ensures that all students are proficient in self-defence while also reaping the numerous health benefits of practising martial arts
Please call us today on 0410 249 217 or leave a message and we’ll get back to you ASAP.