Exercise | The Stressed Mom

Just start: 6 tips to achieve a new habit

Many of us started this new year off wanting to change something, wanting to do something different. Chances are though, most of us have not been as successful as we would have liked. The biggest reason people fail at creating and sticking to new habits is that they don’t keep doing it.

That seems obvious: if you don’t keep doing a habit, it won’t really become a habit. So what’s the solution to this obvious problem? Find a way to keep doing it.

When you look at it this way, the key to forming a habit is not how [...]

Top 10 reasons why moms should exercise

There are LOTS of reasons for exercising, but for busy, stressed moms, here are 10 top reasons why you need make it a priority and fit it into your schedule.

1. Exercise helps you de-stress

2. Exercise will make you feel stronger and more confident

3. Exercise will give you the energy boosts you need to make it through your busy day

4. Exercise will lift your mood and help you combat depression and anxiety. My walking partner and I tease that our walking and talking together is our therapy and much cheaper!

5. Exercise will reshape your [...]

For when you can’t exercise

I was doing so well last week, and was determined to keep it up, but my body did not agree. Evidently it thought that exercise was bad for you. I finally dragged myself to the chiropractor/sports medicine doctor on Tuesday.

Turns out my walking/slow running exacerbated an issue with my hip and lower back. My doc proceeded to do some physical therapy, which I think is just a modern day, civilized form of torture.

He told me to take it very easy this week. No treadmill. NO running. For now.

Great. I finally got myself in the [...]

Making exercise a habit

One of my goals for fitness is to make exercise a habit. Like brushing my teeth or taking a shower. Or even like things I DON’T like to do, like dishes and laundry.

The thing is, with dishes and laundry, the effects are seen very quickly. Try going two days without doing dishes or a week without doing laundry, you and the whole household is affected.

Therein lies one of the major problems with exercise. Its benefits aren’t immediate. And neither are the affects of NOT exercising.

* If you don’t exercise today, you won’t necessarily feel any worse [...]

The mom’s battle for fitness

We see lots of skinny women in the media, and we see celebrity moms who look great within weeks after giving birth (Beyonce!)

And then we look at ourselves, and wonder how can we ever get anywhere CLOSE to that? (remember though, celebrities have nannies, chefs and personal trainers at their disposal!)

We are already busy, every minute of our waking (and not-so-awake) hours filled with taking care of everything and everyone around us.

And therein lies a part of the problem. See you are busy taking care of everyone else, but you forgot to put yourself on your [...]

Make an appointment with yourself

As busy moms, we struggle with wanting to make improvements and changes, but we also struggle with finding the time to DO the things we are wanting to do.

First, decide WHAT it is you want to do.

There are hundreds, thousands of things that people want to change at the beginning of this new year. Maybe yours is on this list below:

Some of these are changes you need to make in every day life. You can use other activities as triggers, or reminder if you will, to do the thing you are [...]

Healthy eating for the long haul

Two weeks ago I posted about an eating regimen that my husband and I were embarking on. I would love to tell you that we have lost 20+ pounds each, but that is not the case.

We are now 3 weeks into this regimen. We are not a TV show or documentary. We have definitely had our ups and downs.

During our 5 days of just juice, we found it fairly easy. We ran into a bit of a snag when we had an event to go to. It was a blogger’s event sponsored by, of all things, 3 [...]