5 Fitness Tips for Busy Moms

We all know how important exercise and a healthy diet are but what do you do when you have to take the kids to school, after school activities, sports, church, PTA, Date Night and a million other things? You typically put yourself on the back burner, skip the workouts and hit the drive thru. And now that school is back in session it just seems like everything just got crazier! I know first hand how eating healthy and getting daily exercise makes your life just seem to run smoother, why? Because I've been there as a full time working mom and I'm still that busy mom now, I just work from home, but I make it a priority. So today I want to share with you a few ways I make time for my healthy lifestyle in this chaotic life we live!

1. Schedule a Meeting with Yourself. Just as if you had scheduled a meeting with your boss and DON'T cancel. You would never imagine canceling on your boss right?!?! But really take a look at your day. Don't schedule this meeting at 2:30 in the afternoon when you have to get your kids at 3pm. You deserve this time for you. So maybe it means getting up a half hour before everyone else or skipping the 10 o'clock news and doing it after everyone has gone to bed. Do what works for you and don't be afraid to ask for some help from a spouse. Maybe they can get the kids up and ready for school or they can do bath and story time.

2. Get an Accountability Partner. I know first hand if no one is watching it is very easy to skip the gym or not push play on your DVD and sleep in instead. But dreaming about results wont DELIVER results! So get a friend who will text you till you're up or come over and do the DVD with you. Its more fun with a buddy and you'll both be happier with the results!

Join an accountability group! I run these online each and every month. We are a great community of women all across the country coming together in an online group to keep each other accountable, motivated and reaching results!! If you'd like more info on these please shoot me a message.

3. Plan and Prep. This may even be my number one tip but we'll just roll with it. I can't express HOW IMPORTANT these two things are. In order to get anywhere in life we need a plan. You cant get in the car to go somewhere if you dont have directions right? So why would your health and fitness be any different? Sure you can wing it...throw together some egg whites for breakfast, grab a salad at the deli for lunch and hope to find some healthy left overs in the fridge for dinner but why would you leave all that to chance?

Taking some time out of your day on Sunday (or whatever day works for you) to sit down with a cup of tea and plan your meals and workouts for the week is absolutely setting yourself up for success! This gives you a no excuse action plan to tackle the week head on and set yourself up for success! Hit the grocery store with a well thought out shopping list, come right home, wash and chop your food. Cook and prepare as much of the weeks meals as you can and you'll not only save yourself a ton of time through the week but think of how you wont have to be washing dishes all week too!!

I literally take out a sheet of paper and start plugging in meals. I know I have my shakeology everyday for breakfast or lunch so that always goes first. Then I move to snacks and dinners. I keep things simple and always family friendly as I am not a restaurant (as my mom used to say). I cook one meal and we all eat together :)

4. Play with your kids! As moms we often find ourselves sending kids off to play so we can tackle the laundry or maybe catch 5 minutes of quiet time but why not get out there and have fun too? Take the kids for a nature hike and collect leaves and cool looking rocks. Play a game of hopscotch or leap frog. Heading to the park? Try some of these playground workouts and make it a friendly competition with the kids to see who can do more!! Everyone will have a blast and you'll be getting in a nice little workout too!

5. Exercise while getting ready. We spend a lot of time standing around waiting. Waiting for our breakfast to heat up, waiting for the shower to get warm, waiting for our kids to get dressed. So why not make the most of that time. Sneak in some counter pushups while your oatmeal heats. Plank until the shower starts steaming and lunge till the kids tie their shoes. It might now seem like much but I promise consistency will pay off and you'll start to notice some nice tone and definition in no time!

For more great tips like these on how to stay healthy and fit for the busy woman shoot me a friend request on Facebook or fill out the application below if you're interested in joining our next accountability group!