When you become a mom it can be easy to think that there isn’t a lot of time for anything else. Your life revolves around your children, and their cares and needs. Your days can be filled up with stuff, yet you can feel so unproductive at times. Life is a perpetual state of caring for children, house things, cooking, cleaning, and endless piles of laundry. So you might wonder how you can fit anything in that you want to do, or that helps you to feel more like you again, rather than always being mom.

When you do make time for yourself, you do help yourself both physically and mentally, because you can’t pour from an empty cup, as the saying goes. I often preach about putting yourself at the top of your to do list. There is a lot of potential that can come from investing in your health as a mom. So here are some ideas to help to inspire you to get started in making yourself a priority.

Make a plan

Healthy eating, self-care, and an exercise routine are something that can easily not happen unless you make a plan and carve out the time. It isn’t something that just happens accidentally. So if you want to make a change, then you need to look at what you can do to plan it out and make the time for yourself. You can plan out your meals, schedule in when you will exercise, and look into the kind of workout that you will do. You will find it so much easier to be committed to your health goals when they are planned out and written down on paper.

Consider all elements of health

Health can be such a general term, but what does it really mean? Health can be connected to your weight, for example, but also connected to your mind and how you feel. There are other aspects to think about too, such as hormones, contraception, and the kinds of food that you eat. So when you are making your healthy mom plan, make sure that you take into consideration a variety of aspects. Even sleep can be an indicator of good health, so don’t forget to factor that in, as much as possible.

Move more

It can be hard as a mom to fit in too much time to exercise. There are errands to run, children to look after, lunches to be made, and diapers to change. But if you look for little slots of time throughout the day to find time to move more, then it can make a difference and become part of your normal routine. For example, when you go to run errands, are there any that you can do that are walking distance? How about parking far away so that you add in some extra walking steps. You could also think about using the time when you’re cooking dinner to walk on the spot in the kitchen, or do some squats as you wait for the oven to heat up. Little things can make a difference and lead to some positive and healthy lifestyle changes.