Skip to main content

THE HEALTH LOOP YOU DIDN’T EVEN KNOW YOU WERE IN….

Well, that’s not entirely correct. You probably KNOW you’re in it, you’re just not sure what to do about it or how to get OUT of it.

Let me explain.

In this article I talked about five top health issues we face as busy moms: weight loss, stress management, sleep deprivation, dealing with mom guilt, and struggling with life balance. And the truth is, all of these health issues can be interconnected in ways we aren’t even aware of.

You’re a busy mom. You’re going to have a hectic schedule. That can lead to sleep deprivation, which can lead to stress or weight gain (or both), which can lead to more sleep deprivation, which circles back to mom guilt for being tired and cranky and stressed out, and you’re trying to find a way to balance it all….

Sound familiar?

In the article, I mentioned that an easy first step is to just Start Small. Have one glass of water. Take a 5-minute walk. Do 5 squats while you’re waiting for the microwave. Eat one piece of fruit. Just one little thing that is good for you to get your momentum going.

This is where another aspect of the “Loop” comes in. When you Start Small, the intention is to ease you into the process of creating a new healthy habit. Instead of going all in, adding MORE stress/overwhelm/exhaustion to your busy life, this allows you to take the small wins, build the little victories, and begin to shift into a more health-conscious frame of mind.

“See, I was able to get those squats in while breakfast was warming up, and I had a banana with my morning coffee, and it never put a ripple into the rest of my day.”

So, now it’s time to take a look at the “Loop” and see where other small shifts can start slowing the spin down and help you get off this ride, or at least make it less frantic. Kind of like switching to the kiddie train after being stuck on the screaming rollercoaster for hours on end.

Is sleep deprivation causing stress? Is stress causing mom guilt? Is life balance affecting sleep and prohibiting weight loss?

Eating a banana while sipping your morning coffee might not fix your sleep deprivation, but is it giving you that moment of calm in the morning to gather your thoughts, nourish your body, and relieve a little stress that will carry you further into your day?

It’s the point of taking a look and evaluating where you’re at and what changes may need to happen, that is your next step in the process. This is still not an all or nothing situation. Again, your life is hectic. Trying to completely rearrange everything will cause more chaos if you haven’t found ways to incorporate these changes gradually and naturally.

So, once you’ve identified the next area changes need to take place, again – start small. What is the smallest thing you can come up with in that area to change? Can you brainstorm ideas? Can you talk with anyone about possibilities to help you out? Have you bounced ideas through ChatGPT?

Once you’ve found that next small thing in your trouble area, the dominoes will start to fall and disrupt the “Loop”.

There will always be barriers and obstacles because you’re a busy mom with a life. Things are going to happen beyond your control.

But the last thing I will say in this post is that this is an important time to celebrate the wins. The LITTLE THINGS!

Not, “I lost 20 pounds in 2 weeks.”

More like, “I ate the banana, had a whole cup of coffee before it got cold, and managed to get everyone out the door with no catastrophes or disasters. WIN!”

Or, “We got the kids in bed with no meltdowns, the dishwasher is running, I did 5 pushups against the counter top, and now I’m going to shower AND shave my legs in peace! WIN!”

These wins are going to accumulate, build your confidence, and give you the boost to keep going, especially when the changes yield a tangible result: getting a solid night of sleep; feeling like you have more energy during your day; less stress when the schedule shifts unexpectedly; or those jeans start to feel a little loose at the waist.

You’re going to enjoy being on the kiddie train, and not stuck on that rollercoaster all the time as you’re making changes. And eventually they will become habits that you don’t even notice anymore because they are simply part of what you DO during your day.

 

www.thehiddenpoweroffood.com

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EVEN AS A HEALTH COACH, ONE OF THE HARDEST LESSONS I’M STILL LEARNING

MY FOOD IS FOR NOURISHING MY BODY , and even though I’m ALLOWED to eat whatever I want, if I want my body to be well and function for me, I’ve got to give it what it needs. I’ve seen way too many posts about how “toxic” it is to chase being skinny, and trying to lose weight means you don’t love yourself enough as you are, or accept yourself for who you are. Fair enough. If that’s how you feel, I understand. I’m not suggesting anyone turn themselves inside out or upside down to chase a number on the scale or a certain size jeans. But I AM suggesting that if you want your body to function optimally, you have to nourish it with the foods it needs. Your body needs protein, it needs fats, it needs carbs (yes, really), it needs vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, and water. The ratios in which your body needs these nutrients will vary, but you still need them. And I’ve been gaining a lot of clarity in the last few years as I’ve gotten older, learned more about health, nutrition, and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

THE BREAKDOWN DAY - (warning, kinda personal)

We all have them. We’re busy moms, holding life together by a thread. You’ve had a series of THINGS happen. And by the way, it’s a BIG misconception, that it just came out of nowhere. No, it didn’t. This meltdown has been building up over time, like lava beneath the earth’s surface. The “things” can be big or small, it really doesn’t matter. It’s just a bunch of issues over time that build and build. You may have had moments where you thought you had dealt with them. But in reality, you were probably just dealing with PIECES of the issue, and the rest was getting shoved aside to be handled another time. Only, you’re a BUSY MOM! “Another Time” rarely comes. You’re pushing ahead through the next thing and the next. I’m just going to use my example really quickly because I know EVERYONE’S situation is different. Perimenopause is causing a plethora of physical issues including night sweats, fatigue, sleep disruption, mood swings, weight gain, and others. Big Issue . Crazy sc...
Post a Comment
Read more