PUT YOURSELF FIRST!

Every mom should put her health first.

As a Health Coach and a Fitness Professional, I’ve seen so many moms struggling with their health, not being able to do daily living activities or even enjoy a play with their kids… Moms who work long hours and then come home stressed, do little good (or even none) for their kids. Kids want to have a happy play and lots of interactions; however, more and more kids lacking this attention due to moms being anxious, overly tired all the time, depressed, stressed and simply overwhelmed.

For many moms, each day begins with promise “I will change tonight and upon arrival from work I will read a book...” but fewer and fewer kids receive a simple hug and kiss before bed… Thus, YES, as a mom, put our health first! First goes mom! Put your health above all: your kids, your husband and especially your job. The longer you wait to “fix” you and your situation the more severe it becomes, and it becomes much harder to fix.

It is indeed imperative to start as early as possible to take care of you in order not to fall into anxiety or depression; mom needs to remain kind, nice and sane at all times. If you feel you’ve been exhausted and wake up exhausted, feel like you need a break as soon as you wake up means you should have given yourself breaks more often and IT IS TIME to take care of yourself, IT IS TIME to start loving yourself, IT IS TIME to get your life back!

Kids need you healthy! When mom is happy, everyone is happy! When mom is healthy, everyone is healthy, at least on psychological side of it!!! Your stress affects your family, people around you, your work, your friends, and your relationships not only with partner but with yourself…

Just think:

What good are you to a family screaming, being irritated and annoyed at all times? What good are you if you are in pain, bad mood and feeling down?

What good you are buying those expensive travel trips for a week or two (if only to come back to the same “stress” after and even more as work builds up…)?

What good you are buying those expensive fancy toys, tech games if a child still feels lonely and lacking attention?

Kids do not need fancy hotel trips and those hundreds of dollars tech toys; they need you, healthy you, your attention, your love, your hugs, your kisses, and your time. Whatever your favorite way of spending time together with kids, do it more and do it often! But for now, here are some of my awesome tips for moms to take care of their health.

Below are just few ways you can put yourself first. It worked very well for me and I hope it will benefit you and people around you.

1. EAT WELL. Meals make us who we are and how we feel. Good nutritious meals provide us with important vitamins and minerals, support our immune system, affect our hormone levels, feed our blood cells and navigate our mood. Food means a lot! Make sure you eat healthy and never deprive yourself. Eat well; your kids will follow your example. There are many tools online to jumpstart your new days of healthier meals. To learn more about nutrition and how to plan your days with food that take little time to cook, check one of my coaching sessions.

2. DRINK PLENTY OF WATER! Most Americans are so busy they forget to drink water. Sugary drinks are not water (this is another topic for another day…). The moment you feel thirsty means your body is already dehydrated! Drink water before your body asks for it! Most headaches are due to dehydration, so as bad mood... Water is life, so as movement. Hence, my next point is exercise.

3. EXERCISE. It is always said "kids will follow your example not your advice". Stay active! Be that example for kids and remember to exercise through fatigue, no matter how tired you are; believe it or not, it will give you energy! Every time I come home thinking I’m so tired, I take my mat and do some stretches, add some low to moderate workouts, I feel great and can manage much more at nights. Your low energy becomes power energy! Try it once and let me know how you feel! You will be surprised.

4. CLAIM YOUR “ME TIME” DAILY! Set some time aside from work, family and household chores on a daily basis, it will give you tons of positive vibes and upbeat mood. 15-30 minute hot bath with salts, a nearby massage place for reflexology (feet massage works great, as an example!), anything that makes you feel good. I also love my tea time. I make my green tea each time I feel I need a break, get my favorite reads and simply tell my family that I need a break and I would love to have 7-12 minutes alone. My husband and kids understand (blessed to have them!). I also made a lock on my door, this way nobody can intrude my tea time, smart, ha? But I should admit, those 7 minutes work wonders, I reappear in living room full of energy and cheerful, it is better than a nap, seriously!

5. MEDITATE. Those days we feel anxious, tired and seek for a change but can’t, meditation comes handy! You do not need to go into trance, you do not need to learn how to do it on a deep level, if you do not want. Do it simple way, “a-la” meditation as I call. I just seat in a quiet space (it is very often my bathroom ha-ha, hiding from four kids not that easy around the house…), I close my eyes, and start thinking how grateful I am to everything I have today: kids, husband, work, friends, hot water, warm blankets, organic food, etc. I just sent myself positive vibes by remembering all the best I have. Another way I meditate is simply by breathing deep and slow and counting, focusing on the count (find your own patterns of count that will work for you!). Those deep breaths send enough oxygen to the cells and brain and absolutely rejuvenate body and mind.

6. CALL YOUR FRIEND. Regardless how busy you are, socializing keep us healthy and help us fight stress. Once women lack social life, they close out and become aggressive, angry, and sad… Go out, have it on a weekly basis, do some fun with your friend, old friend or best one, or the one that could join you for a trip to museum, bowling, billiards, massage or an hour of tea drinking, cinema, anything that works for you. Get out of the house (if you can!).

7. READ/FIND A HOBBY. As much it is important to keep our body active, it is as much important to keep our brain working. Doing your day job is one thing, reading legal documents, agreements, or whatever your paper reads at work is one thing, but reading for pleasure is another health contributor to your wellbeing. And yes, dishes can wait! I learn to postpone the cleaning, and it works just well for me (as long as it does not bother you much). I clean after the fact: once I take my bath, read or work on my hobby a bit…

And remember,

“There is no healthy body without healthy mind.” – Tanya Huglife