Weight management and training cheat sheet for a busy mama

Regardless of who you are or what you do, you still need to find motivation and make a plan to stay fit and healthy. Especially if your motivation has dropped down to zero due to being sleep deprived and due to not having any time for yourself. At the same time, you need it as much as ever – to energise yourself, strengthen and lengthen your body (after picking up and carrying your little one whole day along) as well as to give your confidence a little boost, so you feel lovely and attractive again: because you deserve it!

People tend to assume that just because I am a personal trainer, I naturally have plenty of time and motivation to exercise. People also tend to assume THIS if you are a stay at home mum – apparently, mums have a lot of spare time since their title is a stay-at-home-mum.

Sticking to a healthy diet and active lifestyle is challenging for every Mama. I have decided to create this quick and super simple weight management cheat sheet for busy Mamas during busy times and holidays. These strategies are my go-to strategies anytime I am busy or unmotivated.

Get some hot ass workout gear

Why is this effective? Firstly, you invest in something you want to do (feeling better and looking better is what we all dream about), and that helps you to be committed to doing it. Secondly, most of us exercise because we don’t like the way we look (and feel). You need to find workout gear that not only feels and looks good on you but also make you feel confident and sexy. And here it is again – gives you that that right mindset that comes with an extra push to get off your butt. The only difference between you and that OTHER Mama who looks great and acts as if she had all the energy and confidence of the world is her mindset. Lastly, regardless of your body composition, if you feel great wearing what you are wearing, you look sexy. If you think and know that you look sexy, others notice, and that includes YOU! Notice when you feel great and enjoy it!

Have a glass of water as the first thing in the morning

I have a glass of water as soon as I brush my teeth. Not only it energises me, but it also prepares me for my workout or my walk with my 1 human and 2 fur children, but it also fills up my belly. More importantly, do you want your organs to feel and function well, have glowing skin, improve your breathing, have clear thinking and much more?

So many of us know to drink more water and want to do it. Why aren’t we? Again, it all goes back to our mindset. Help your mindset and put that glass of water next to your toothbrush to make sure you knock it back in the morning.

Exercise in the morning

Fewer distractions, more energy, fewer excuses, improved digestion and metabolic rate, are just a few benefits from exercising in the morning as oppose to later on in the day. Finding a motivation to exercise in the morning is a challenge – especially if you are sleep deprived and overloaded with house chores and work. Regardless, it is such a bliss for your body and mind. It contributes towards creating a healthy mindset, that has got a flow-on effect on you for the rest of the day. It helps you to make healthier choices such as you may choose to walk instead of drive, think of what you eat rather than eating whatever is the easiest option, focus on own needs before pleasing others and so on.

Focus on intensity, not duration

Exercise, so you feel it! The short duration of more intense exercise provides much more profound benefits than doing a very light exercise for more extended periods. Don’t beat yourself up for an hour each day, unless you have all that time to kill. 15-20 minutes of exercise that you feel in your lungs and muscles is all you need.

Eat prebiotic foods with every meal

Do you want your gut to look good and feel good inside out? Feed it the right foods: prebiotic foods. I personally love asparagus or kiwi fruits. Regardless of where you live or what the season is, there are always some prebiotic foods around that will feed your gut bacteria and make it happy again. Eating a prebiotic food as the first meal for the day helps your gut to function better (which is so important especially during the festive season when we tend to eat the ‘wrong’ foods and drinks more frequently) contributing towards improved digestion and overall wellbeing. 

Have two meals before 12pm

Not everyone is a morning person and likes to have a substantial breakfast meal. However, certain routines got you to where you are now. Eating more in the first half of the day is one of them. All you need to do is to replace this routine with a new one. Mums tend to say that they are too busy to eat in the morning. Well, if you are too busy in the morning, it has to catch up with you in the afternoon. Supplying not enough energy as the first thing in the day, racing through the day, always leads to an excessive need to eat more later on in the day.

Hence, many of us make dinner our most significant meal. But here is the thing, our eating habits are mirrored in the way we look, in the form of a pyramid. The bigger the breakfast, the smaller the dinner = the smaller our waistline. On the other hand, the smaller the breakfast, the bigger the dinner = the bigger our waistline. Make a decision about what mindset you want to have when it comes to your diet. Provide that energy in the morning so you can function well for the rest of the day, while you are burning that energy rather than storing it.

Put the most effort into making breakfast not the other meals

How so? Firstly, see the point above (provide a variety and sufficient quantity of nutritious foods in the first half of the day). Secondly, having a good breakfast with lots of variety provides you with great nutrition for your gut health, overall health as well as energy for the day.

However, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make healthy food choices for the rest of the day. Remember – variety is the key, you will sleep better with less food, and listen to your body’s hormonal changes that need you to modify your diet.

There is no such thing as a perfect diet. What there is though, is a diet suitable for you and your needs (which changes all the time so listen out for those changes).