I’m participating in the Evolution Fresh blogger campaign and received compensation as part of the program.
Being a mom is a lot of work, y’all. I have always led a pretty active lifestyle, and I thought that after kids that I could just continue pushing myself in addition to the daily mom thing and it wouldn’t be an issue. After the first kid it was relatively easy and I still kept up my active regimen for the most part and then after Kaia came along I started having trouble keeping up with life. I know some of it is due to not being in my 20’s anymore, but the rest is because the kids and life in general run me ragged. I feel more drained after a day with these two than I ever did being a hiking buff. Oh, and I still have to run a business from home and somehow manage to find time to keep myself showered and nourished so that I can do it all. If you’re a mom too, then you know that personal care is low on the totem pole when you have a family to run. You know that I try to eat well, but that alone doesn’t keep me at my best so I’ve come up with a few extra things that will help me tackle each day the best way I can. You know I love sharing my (somewhat sound) wisdom with you, so here are my favorite easy tips to sneak in smart choices for a healthy lifestyle!
Move when you can.
I’ve written before about how I sneak in exercise during chores and other such topics, but what about when you really don’t have the time or energy to do anything extra? Well, that’s a challenge. Sometimes you just don’t have time to get in a 15 minute workout, and that’s okay. Maybe when I’m watching tv with the kids we can have a dance party whenever music comes on, or I can jog or skip around the house while I do chores or even go outside with the kids instead of watching them from the kitchen window while I’m doing dishes. It isn’t hard to find extra opportunities throughout the day to get in more movement, and as long as you are doing something, it’s better than sitting around. I know how tempting it is to just not move, but that’s something that I personally need to fight because I feel so much better after a day of moving rather than a day of sitting on my butt.
Monitor yourself.
I know this sounds a little weird, but if I am wearing a pedometer or have a movement tracking app on my phone then I know I’m going to move more that day. I don’t know why, but I love trying to top my step counts and calories burned so on the days I wear my iBitz I know that I’ll take extra steps throughout the day just to reach my goal. When I don’t wear it I find that I don’t put in the extra effort to pack in all the steps I can. Crazy, right? But it’s true – if you monitor yourself or hold yourself accountable to a certain amount of movement or steps each day then there is a much better chance that you will try to reach that goal. Nobody loves coming up short, and this is a perfect example of that. Even if I don’t make time to get a workout in I will take extra steps in the parking lot, or walk around the inside of my house a few extra times while I watch my step count go up. It’s fun seeing how many I can take and I love topping myself each day!
Sneak in fruits and veggies with green juices.
Time is precious when you’re a busy mom. I know that I would rather crack open a granola bar and go than take extra time to prepare a bowl of fresh cut and peeled fruit or veggies. When I’m in the midst of a busy day I really just want to be able to pack in as much nutrients as I can without having to do any extra work, so nutrient rich single serving drinks like Evolution Fresh are exactly what I need. Not only do they pack over 1 pound of green vegetables in some of their juices, but they leave out preservatives, sweeteners and added flavors too! Oh, and they all have just 10 grams of sugar or less. Awesome!
I know you’re probably thinking “health food juices? Gross!” but honestly they’re not that bad. My absolute favorite is the Ginger Limeade. It tastes like regular limeade with a hint of ginger, and it’s not too sweet either. I can’t stand overly sugary juices – all that sugar drowns out the flavor and adds to an epic crash a few hours later, which is the last thing I need when I still have a million things to do. I’ve been a fan of Evolution Fresh for a while now, but I’ve just now gotten into their 3 Days to Green Movement which encourages people to take control of their lifestyle with simple choices like drinking one green juice a day for three days. That seems simple, right? Of course it does!
Green juice takes a little getting used to if you’ve never tried it before, but the health benefits alone make it worth swapping out one drink a day for this nutritional powerhouse and there are tons of great flavors that make it easy to find the right one for you. The 3 Days To Green movement is a great way to introduce green juice into your diet, and if you head over to Evolution Fresh you can even register to win all kinds of prizes by adding green juice to your day!
So that’s what I have committed myself to doing now that the new year is in full swing. There are tons of other ways that I can make my health a priority this year, but I’m starting small so that I can stay on top of succeeding at it. I feel like each day I’m able to do more and more, and one day soon I can add on an actual workout to my daily routine, but for now, these are helping me stay on track.
