3 Fitness and Health Tips for Busy Parents
Spring is just around the corner! And some days it feels as though its already here. As life gets a little crazier, with all the kids activities multiplying overnight, staying on track with your fitness goals may seem unmanageable.
However, there are ways you can stay on track, even when it seems like life gets busier by the day.
Here are my top 3 tips-
Find the time to work out at least 3 days a week
You may be rolling your eyes at me, but hear me out. If your evening workouts get put on hold because your child has soccer practice, you need to be flexible and change gears.
This can mean waking up earlier to workout at a different time, or use your lunch break to get in a 30-minute workout. Whatever it may be, you need to be okay with being flexible.
The thing is, for your own health and sanity, you need to schedule time for physical activity. The best thing you can do for your family is to take care of yourself and well-being. “You can’t pour from an empty cup!”. You may not like shifting your schedule around, but it pays off in the end to find the time for physical activity.
Be VERY honest with yourself when it comes to time. Do you spend 2 hours a day watching TV? Are you constantly scrolling IG on your phone? If you answered yes to either one of these, I guarantee you can find the time somewhere to work out.
Plan and prep
When you’re armed with healthy snack and meal options, it makes it much easier to say no to McDonald’s drive-thru. Here are some ways you can make meal prepping and shopping a little bit easier:
-Have your groceries delivered.
-If you don’t have a lot of time to chop vegetables yourself, you can buy the pre-chopped vegetables in the produce section. Frozen, steam-able veggies are also a great option!
-Keeping a stash of healthy snack options with you will be a lifesaver during those “hangry” moments. Beef jerky, almonds, tuna snack packs, protein shakes and bars (low sugar, high protein varieties!). They’re easily portable, and they help us meet our daily protein goals.
-Speaking of protein, prioritize protein at every meal. One of the best things you can do is gain and maintain muscle, which requires adequate protein to promote muscle growth.
-Stay hydrated. We tend to see a reduction in cravings when we’re properly hydrated, it keeps us from feeling lethargic, and promotes an efficient digestive system.
Get in as much non-exercise activity as possible
To stay fit, we need to move! Fortunately, there are really simple strategies to keep moving throughout the day.
-Take the stairs
-Park your car far from the door
-Join your kids at the playground or at practice (it’s a win-win!)
-Take a 5-10 minute walk every hour or so while at work
-Use a standing desk
-Do squats or push-ups while you’re waiting for your coffee to brew
-If your kids participate in a sport, take a walk around the field during practice. You can even listen to your favorite podcast while you’re at it.
These are just some ideas, but basically, you just need to find moments here and there to take advantage of opportunities where you can move your body. It doesn’t take much additional effort.
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