How To Get Healthier In Ten Easy Steps

As moms, it seems like we always have a lot on our plates, and it’s easy to let our health take a back seat, but there are ways we can support our health that don’t take a lot of time, and are easy to do!

For me personally, our move from Tennessee to Texas over a year ago is what threw me out of sorts. So many things happened at once. I had a one-year-old, and a three-year-old, a house to get unpacked, and on top of that, my online business exploded and became our family’s primary source of income, which unintentionally led me into a much more sedentary lifestyle.

It’s easy to sit and work for hours on end when you’re working at a computer, and even easier to snack while you’re doing it.

Even though I continued to try to be health conscious during that time, and stay in shape, it just wasn’t as easy anymore. I feel like I’ve spent the last year trying to get my life back together.

Getting a JawboneUP (it’s like FitBit – but prettier) late last year really opened my eyes to just how sedentary I’ve become, and this year, I’ve been focusing on being healthier.

These are some super easy things I’ve been doing to accomplish that goal:

How To Get Healthier In Ten Easy Steps

Drink more water

Your body can’t function efficiently without enough water, but it’s incredibly easy to get slack on your water intake. One way I’ve found to combat this is by filling a half gallon jug with water in the morning, and committing to drinking the whole thing during the day.

Green Tea

I use part of the aforementioned water to make tea, which also helps a lot with getting my water quota. The thing with green tea is that it helps your body eliminate toxins, as well as helping speed up the metabolism. If you’re not a fan of the taste, try adding some peppermint to it!

Intentionally eating more cruciferous vegetables

Cruciferous veggies are low calorie, and low on the glycemic index, but FULL of micronutrients! They’re also a great way to fill up so you can feel satisfied without consuming more calories than you need. For some reason, even though our whole family LOVES broccoli, I still forget to serve it as often as not, but now I’ve made a goal to serve it at at least one meal every day.

Green Smoothies

I’ve always enjoyed salads… but mostly I enjoy the chicken, boiled eggs, tomatoes, and ranch dressing, so in order to get a decent amount of greens in every day, the kids and I have started drinking daily green smoothies. This has been especially helpful for Garrett, because he’s never enjoyed salads the way Hadassah and I have. (Check out SimpleGreenSmoothies.com for some awesome green smoothie goodness!)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDgSE5ArOw5/?taken-by=elise_new

Holistic de-Worming protocol

I know that we don’t like to talk about icky things like worms, but we can get them and not even know it. I have known people who’ve had unexplained weight gain, and been unable to lose the weight until they went through a worming protocol (you can buy a natural worming supplement here). Yuck! But definitely good to know. AND something to know for your kids who tend to be less vigilant about vigilant about washing their hands before putting them in their mouths.

Coconut oil

I use to think I liked the flavor of coconut, but I guess it’s coconut flavored desserts that I like, because adding oil to my tea, or coffee, or cooking things like eggs in it makes me gag. In any case, I’ve been trying to eat more coconut oil, both for its numerous health benefits, and of it’s metabolic benefits. The best way I’ve found for myself is to make “skinny chocolate” (you can find that recipe here).

Cutting back on grains and starches

This may come as a surprise, but I strictly limit my white carbs. I have to, otherwise I would eat them all. So while I do still bake, I try to only do it on Saturday, so I can take my dessert to church the next day rather than eating it myself. During the week, I still make yummy food – I just try to keep it healthy by baking with ingredients like coconut flour, maple syrup, and stevia, and using grain replacements like cauliflower “rice” instead of eating brown rice with the kids.

Unplugging

As I mentioned above, after moving here to Texas, I started spending a lot of time plugged in, and I didn’t realize how negatively that affected my mood until recently, when Gabe was out of town and I was forced to get off the computer and spend a whole uninterrupted weekend with my kids. We did a lot of cleaning, took some walks, went to the farm to feed animals and help grandma rake some leaves, and ate some junk food. It wasn’t like we were on vacation for sure, and I did spend some time online when the kids were in bed, but at the end of it, I felt more energized, and happier than I had in a while.

Getting More Exercise

As I mentioned above, getting a JawboneUp really opened my eyes to just how sedentary I was. Now, I track my movement pretty aggressively, and try to get my 10,000 steps (or the equivalent) in before supper every night. It’s getting a lot easier as the weather warms up, because it’s so much easier to get the kids out of the house and on their bicycles. 🙂

Building More Muscle

Life is SO much easier when you’re strong. That’s a fact I’ve learned from personal experience. Going through a pregnancy where I was completely out of shape, then comparing it to my second pregnancy where I lifted weights, and stayed fit the entire nine+ months, there’s just no comparison! You don’t have to go crazy with training – just pick up some weights and challenge yourself on a consistent basis. (Full disclosure: I’m actually on a training break right now thanks to a pulled shoulder muscle – not fun!)

Bonus tip: Give yourself permission to cheat.

So many times, we’re either all in, or all out. We’re either on a “whole 30”, or we’re stuffing Kit Kats in as fast as we can. Fasting or bingeing.

We need to make more sustainable choices in our health journey. Make a commitment to eating healthy, but also give yourself permission to eat your favorite candy bar, or have you favorite dessert sometimes. you’ll be SO much healthier for it in the long run if it allows you you to eat healthy 90% of the time, and eat reasonable amounts of junk food when you do cheat, rather than bingeing.

We moms are busy – heck, we’re all busy – but that shouldn’t mean our health takes a back seat.