Plan, Plan, Plan - A Busy Mom's Rule to Staying FIT!

The number one question I get is “How do you find the time to exercise and eat healthy when you have four kids?” The answer is “I just make time”, I have simply just made it part of my routine as best as I can. Our oldest son, Luke, turns nine this May (I am in complete denial about his because I remember him being born like it was yesterday. Sniff. Ok moving on). Which means it has almost been nine years since I have been able to use the restroom at my house in peace and quiet.  My kids always become super loud and start fighting when I am using the restroom or when I am on the phone. It never fails. I try to do motherhood as gracefully as I can, but there are moments when I have called it a day, ordered pizza and declared it movie night.

This is why I do 6FIT, and why I still need it in my life.  6FIT as I said before is about eating more fruits and vegetables, more real foods. You are placed on a team of six individuals all around the country, and you work together for six weeks. Points are received for workout classes, extra cardio, amount of sleep, water intake and the number of fruits/vegetables eaten each day. Being on a team really helps me out because it provides me outside encouragement. The voice in your head telling you just can’t possibly workout today because the day was too stressful? Just type that voice on your teams facebook page, and suddenly you have 5 other teammates telling you how tired they are, but since they are signed up for the same class at 730 we can push each other through it. Then we can sit on our respective couches and drink a glass of well earned wine.

These are some of things I have been doing during this 6FIT that have really helped me to get my workouts in, plan my meals, eat more fruits and vegetables and drink more water. This is all a work in process, but I thought I would share some of the things that work for me, in hopes to get you to brainstorm about what you can do to make healthy lifestyle become more obtainable for you.

1.  I plan my workouts. I treat my workouts like any appointment in my planner. I write down my workouts for the week. I plan my workouts to be done before the kids wake up or after they go to bed. I also try to schedule it earlier in the evening so my husband and I still have some time together after the kids go to bed.

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What is even better? I ALWAYS feel more energized no matter how tired I was before I took the class!

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2. As my kids have gotten older, I have found meal planning to be really helpful. With them having to be at practice or Cub Scouts by six o’clock, I can no longer stand in front of the fridge and ask myself what I can cook for dinner. I put our meals for dinner in our planner, and I also try to make a egg dish for breakfast and a soup or chili filled with veggies for lunch. This helps me to not skip out on the these meals.My favorite website to use is Pinterest, not only do I find healthy recipes, but on that page I can imagine I have the time and money to make my home look like it belongs on the cover of a magazine. ;)

This smoothie is toddler approved!

3. Eat more fruits and veggies. This has been a hard one for me especially during the day. One thing that has worked for me is to make a smoothie. It is an easy way to get fruits and vegetables in without thinking about it. One of my favorite smoothie recipes is to add 2 cups of kale, 1/2c frozen pineapple, 1/2c blueberries, 1 cup of coconut water and add in 1 tablespoon of chia seeds or flax seed. Mix it up- and viola! I have 4 servings of fruits and vegetables to take with me as I go about my day.

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 4. Drink more water. I mentioned in my last post that I am a Starbucks addict, and my drink of choice is an iced caramel macchiatio. We are a military family, and every 12-18months my husband tells me where our new home will be. I get on the computer, and I look at where to rent a home based on three things. First, is of course schools, and the second and third thing is distance from Target and Starucks (bonus points if the Starbucks has a drive-thru). The last time we were stationed in DC three years ago, I received a Christmas card from the barista at our local Starbucks. They also knew my husband had returned from deployment when one Saturday morning after spin class, I ordered two drinks instead of one. This 6FIT I have made it a goal to only go to Starbucks twice a week, and to use my Keurig on the other days. I have also been adding fruit to my water to liven it up a little, and I noticed I am having no problem getting to my 64 ounces each day.  Cheers!

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I hope this helps you brainstorm and think about what your health/fitness goals are this year and how you can achieve them. I also want to add I am not perfect. One of my favorite rules I have learned from 6FIT, and one that I follow is the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of the time I follow these rules perfectly, and 20 percent of the week you will find me in the evenings with a bowl of ice cream and a glass of wine. Tomorrow is always a new day. :)