Finding Time for Fitness in the Chaos of Motherhood

Feeling like your fitness routine is a pipe dream with your jam-packed mom schedule? You're not alone!  I've been right where you are—struggling with yo-yo dieting and finding time for myself without the guilt. But here's the thing, I've found some life-changing ways to make movement a joyful and stress-free part of my day, and I'm thrilled to share them with you. From learning to love short bursts of activity to weaving workout moments into family time, I'll show you how to transform your health habits into something as routine as your morning coffee run. Get ready to banish those feelings of workout-related guilt and embrace a sustainable approach to fitness that brings both happiness and health.

In this heart-to-heart, we also dive into how to keep the whole family active, even when you're all cooped up inside. Discover the wonders of the nex Playground, where dancing, sports, and educational games come together for an entertaining blend of fitness and fun. Plus, I'll let you in on my secret weapon for staying motivated: keeping exercise gear right where you can see it, ready to inspire your next move. Join me as we redefine what it means to live a life filled with vigorous, shared activities that lead to a sense of achievement and radiate greatness. Let's create a rhythm of wellness that resonates through every aspect of our lives, together.

Transcript

Exercise for Busy Moms

Speaker 1 0:00

Do you have an ever-growing to-do list and adding exercise to that list is just overwhelming? Do you really want to find time for yourself but are having a hard time finding it and when you do, you just feel selfish. Do you struggle with finding workout activities you actually find enjoyable? I hear you. I've been there and I still work through some of this stuff on the daily, but today's episode is here to help. Thank you for tuning in to the Hot Mess Mom Podcast, where starting messy is always better than perfect. My name is Rebecca Santos and I'm a busy mom just like you, trying to level up my health and reduce stress in this crazy life Since becoming obsessed with all things health and wellness. My mission here is to share information so you can finally lose the weight you want and feel energized, because us moms all deserve to feel good. So grab that iced coffee and listen in to find ways to keep your body moving that don't feel overwhelming, achieve that exercise goal and, might I add, are actually fun. I'm serious. Hey there, welcome to the Hot Mess Mom Health Podcast.

Speaker 1 1:00

Do you wish you could find a sustainable way to get healthy and not feel overwhelmed in the process? Do you find yourself up late at sustainable way to get healthy and not feel overwhelmed in the process. Do you find yourself up late at night scouring Pinterest for meal prep ideas and quick workouts? Do you wake up with big, ambitious goals, only to feel stressed out and disappointed when you fall back in your old habits? Drive to the Chick-fil-A drive-thru for the second time this week, all while the fresh produce you just bought goes bad.

Speaker 1 1:25

Hey, I'm Rebecca. I too am a working mom of two littles and self-proclaimed hot mess mom. All my life I've struggled with trying to maintain a healthy weight and feel good in my skin. I could add yo-yo dieter to my resume. After I packed on 50 plus pounds with two pregnancies, I decided to change for good. I wanted to stop obsessing about food, stay consistent and set a good, healthy example for my kids, but I kept telling myself that I didn't have the time, the energy or accountability to stay on track until I changed my mindset and created one healthy habit at a time.

Speaker 1 1:55

In this podcast, you will find simple, actionable steps so you can create a healthy lifestyle and get relief from the overwhelm. Spray that dry shampoo, grab your iced coffee, turn up the volume and let's get healthy. Hey there, happy Monday, and welcome back to another episode of Hot Mess Mom Health. I'm so grateful that you are tuning in with me. Another week, here we are. It is basically May for anybody out there listening. Hopefully the weather is getting nicer where you are. It finally is here in New Jersey and I wanted to talk to you guys about exercise today.

Speaker 1 2:31

And you know, like the intro says, you know a lot of us have goals to exercise and you know it does seem like as a busy mom, we're just adding something else to our list where we already don't have time, we're being squeezed and we already feel stressed and we just have no idea where we're going to fit it in. But I want to change your perspective on that. I think a lot of us look at exercise as this maybe the sacred 30 minutes or an hour time of the day that we have for ourselves, and I do to like very much. So like I cherish that time that I have to myself, I do look forward to it, but the only time I can honestly do that typically is at 5 am. So you know, sometimes sleep is amazing and you want to sleep that extra hour, so I get it right. But I think the reason why I've kind of started looking at this differently is because I don't know or I don't believe that that one 30 minute or hour long session is really the only thing I should be focused on. So I've really taken the approach that I want to be moving my body as much as I can throughout the day. You know, a lot of us have desk jobs. I'm an outside sales rep, I'm sitting in my car a lot and and I like get annoyed sitting right now, like I don't like sitting down to do much of anything anymore, to the point where, like my kids don't even watch. They're just like you never sit and watch a movie with us because you have to be doing something. It's like I just don't. I don't know Like I do like the checkout, but then sitting just like bothers me. I feel like I'm like my body's not moving and not like in an obsessive, crazy way. I just feel better when I'm moving more, and I think you know that saying goes. You know, body in motion stays in motion.

Speaker 1 4:14

I believe that at my core that in order to stay as healthy as possible throughout the longest time I can on this earth, that I do need to be moving my body more and any time that I can squeeze in that without making it seem like a chore or another item or a box I have to check on my to-do list, is kind of a better approach than focusing so heavily on that 30 minutes to an hour. That can seem overwhelming to a lot of us because some of us don't have any chunks of time right so, and if we do, we feel selfish, taking that time away from our families or our jobs or our husbands or all the things that we just have to do. So I'm taking the approach that movement throughout the day and finding like 10 minute windows, five minute windows, fun things to do with our families and our kids, is a better approach. So, instead of looking at it like I don't have time to exercise, it's how can I find ways to move my body throughout the day that make me feel more awake, that are better for my digestive system, that keep me clear, more focused throughout the day, any little thing that I can do to take those moments and make them my own and make me feel good in those times, I'm finding that's a much better approach. I just, overall, feel better. I do feel like my digestion has been a little bit better that way, and I Do feel, though, my energy levels can stay more consistent. So, if that's something that you struggle with, you know the midday slump and you have like a desk job. I have some tips for you in this, too. I have some other tips that are for, like, outside the work hours, but I get it right.

Speaker 1 5:48

Like I'm a sales rep, I'm sitting in the car all day long and it drives me bonkers. I'm just like, oh, I feel like I should be doing something. I'm just like, oh, I feel like I should be doing something, like I want to stand, or I want to walk, or I want to just stretch. You know, you get so stuck in that position. So you know, when I do work at home, the first thing I have I moved my office last summer and I moved it to a stand up desk. I have not evolved to one of those walking platforms under my desk, but that is definitely something that I'm looking to invest in soon, because, let's say, I'm home for a whole day. Think about how many more steps I could have in. So if you're someone that works from home, you know definitely think about getting yourself one of those walking pads and a stand up desk. You know you could baby step it like. I just have the desk where I know I feel better because I'm standing a lot. Right now I don't sit when I'm at my desk. You know I'm not home every day, but when I am home that's time and energy that I used to be sitting, that I'm now standing at least. So again, it's all about baby stuff. Small changes over time are going to be so beneficial to our overall bodies and health. So maybe getting a standup desk is something to look forward to doing this year, so that way you're just standing more throughout the day and you just feel a little bit better, like I know that I do. I definitely can feel that change.

Speaker 1 6:59

Something else that you can do is if you are like me and your kids are in a ton of sports and activities. I spoke about this a couple of times on my podcast. But you know, if you're able to let's say you're at a park, like my son's in baseball and he's in soccer, you know do laps go find a girlfriend that you know their son's also on the same team and just walk, walk and talk. I do that a lot with my daughter at gymnastics and dance. You know you're dropping them off, especially at dance. We can't even see them practice anyway. So I just we go for walks and we get our girl talking.

Speaker 1 7:32

It's a good stress reliever, it's a good way to end the day because it's typically at that end of the day hour and it's just finding those bits of time. We end up walking for like 45 minutes to an hour and it doesn't feel like anything because otherwise I would either be sitting in my car catching up on work or sitting in the lobby area on my phone or talking that way, but again I would be sitting, so I'm able to get in like almost whole steps that most people are walking in a whole day in that hour. Because we're power walking and we're chit-chatting, we're able to catch up on our each other's lives and, you know, build connection with people as opposed to just sitting down. So little bits of time, like, if you want to do sprints while you're at the park or you want to, if you don't, you know you have a dog or an animal, walk with your dog and just get into nature. Like not be sitting in your car on your phone waiting for you know your son or daughter to be done their sports practice, like building, in times where you don't feel selfish, you don't feel guilty, because typically for sports practices it's not like you're, you know, missing a lot. They're typically doing drills and stuff. So just finding that time where you can squeeze it in.

Speaker 1 8:35

Another thing is after dinner initiating like family walks or family bike rides, again kind of incorporating the kids. I love trying to keep my kids motivated and moving as much as possible as well and doing stuff as a family. Again, it's a win-win because you don't feel guilty, you know you're moving your body and you're setting a great example for your kids and teaching them that movement is great for you as well. Some other things, you know I have a Peloton, I love my Peloton machines, I love my Tonal, but I have seen, you know, depending upon the age of your children, getting like a mini Peloton bike. They have like I think it's Little Tykes makes it, I think it's called like a Pelican or something. But just finding ways that, like you know, your child can also be included, so that way when you take that 20, 30 minutes to ride the bike again, not that it has to be such a regimented thing, but you and your kid can do something together so that it's not like a box you're checking, it's something you're doing with your child and it's a fun little thing. And that's if your kids, I think, are under like five you know, I think that bike fits like under five children.

Speaker 1 9:38

But if your child is at any age where they're active, and especially if they're in sports, even if they're not like getting them involved, do a family like jump rope contest, do a jumping jack contest, do push up contests, make it fun. Have dance parties in your house. We love doing that, especially me and my daughter. She loves dancing and we'll just blast some music and we'll just get up and we'll jump around. Just make it fun. But again, there are great ways to move our bodies, incorporate our children and make it feel less overwhelming because it's not a chore, it's not like, oh, I got to do my hour-long thing today. No, it's just like fitting in 10, 15 minutes here and there as a starting place to movement. Just continuously moving your body as much as you can throughout the day is amazing. For it, we Just recently I bought a pull-up bar for our spare bedroom doorway because my daughter's in gymnastics, so building strength is important.

Speaker 1 10:35

My son is 10, and he's so involved in sports. I personally have never been able to successfully complete one pull-up, and that is a goal of mine. I don't know if my husband can do it I'm sure he can. But again, it's just, all of us can use it. I even bought the little clips onto it and you can put your knees in it and your feet use it. And I even bought the little clips onto it and you can put your knees in it and your feet, and it helps like assist when you can't do it right away.

Promoting Family Fitness and Movement

Speaker 1 10:56

So again, it's about like incorporating all everyone in your family and it's just something fun that we can do. It doesn't have to be serious, it doesn't have to be a 15 minute thing, but it's like hey, let's all try to do this, let's all like who can be the first person to maybe do their pull by themselves? You know, just kind of making it fun, or like cheering each other on and making it a family thing so that we're all looking at building strength and fitness and moving our bodies in a positive way, a positive approach, where it doesn't feel like a chore, something else and I'm not sponsored by this whatsoever, but it's a cool little thing that I came across and we ended up getting our kids for Christmas. But it's the Next Playground, it's N-E-X Playground and, yes, it's a video game. Don't get me wrong, it is a video game. However, you cannot do it sitting down.

Speaker 1 11:44

It is all about connecting families and being more active and I love this for that. There's so many cool games, there's some dancing games and there's some sports games. There's so many cool games. There's some dancing games and there's some sports games. There's stuff for the little kids, like Peppa Pigs on there. I believe they have a relationship with Sesame Street coming soon. They're incorporating things like bowling. There's a lot of fun stuff out there and they're growing all the time.

Speaker 1 12:07

I will say, from a company standpoint, they have been blowing my mind with their customer service, just approach to everything and I think this company is really going to do well because it is answering that families. It's answering like anything you could want indoors on a day where you just want your kids to do something and be more active, where maybe it's raining or it's freezing outside or you guys just want to do like you want to have game night, but you don't necessarily want to sit down and play a board game. It's very fun, very active. It works really well. It's the next playground, nex Playground, so check it out, let me know what you think. I would love to hear it, but I don't know a lot of people that have it. But it is really really, really cool and I mean it's great for my six-year-old and it's great for my 10-year-old, and me and my husband have fun with it too. So it's really something to check out if you're looking for some indoor stuff to make it fun.

Speaker 1 12:59

But keep you know again, movement alive and not feel like a chore at all. Um, and the last thing that I'm going to touch on is, you know, make movement whatever that looks like for you, whether it is riding your peloton, whether it's wanting to do a pull-up, whether it's. I had this thing called a stealth fitness, like a core helper, like it helps your core, but it doesn't feel like you're doing crunches. Put things where they're convenient or where they're in your sight so you can't walk by them. You know, like, make fitness easy, make movement easy. Don't make it hard, don't hide it so that you don't ever see it where it's out of sight, out of mind. You know these are ways that we can. You know the pull-up bar being in the upstairs. So it's like when everybody goes upstairs at night, the first thing we're all going to do is fight over who's going to try their pull-up first.

Speaker 1 13:48

I put that self-fitness thing for my core in my bedroom because, being honest, core is probably my weakest part of my body after having two C-sections and it's something that I kind of avoid because it's hard right. So I put it in my bedroom because at night, pretty much you know when I'm coming up, either to get a shower before bed or just to, you know, wind down. It's something that I can do and I've just recently started using it every day and I'm only doing one or two minutes. And once I can build that habit of doing one or two minutes a day, I can increase from there. But it's not making it seem stressful because, like one or two minutes, I already can feel that I'm working little muscles in my stomach, that I haven't worked in a really long time. And it has an app where it's actually a game. You don't feel like it's a chore Again, you don't feel like you're working out. So it tricks my mind into thinking I'm just playing a game, like either hockey or I'm trying to get through a maze, but it actually works your core and it gives you a great workout and you don't even feel like you're doing a workout.

Speaker 1 14:47

And again, keeping it in my bedroom is the best thing for me, because it's in my sight every day when I wake up, when I go to bed. I'm seeing this thing. When it was in the gym, it was just easy to ignore. I would do my workout and I would go. So, finding ways, creative ways for you that work for you in your environment whether it's putting the walking pad in your office so that it's there every day and that's at least something that you're going to do as a starting point. Whether it's getting a next playground, whether it's just simply getting a standing desk. Whether it's finding something else that you can do with your kids, whether it's family bike rides making it convenient and fun is the biggest game changer, because we all don't need another chore, another task, another item to add to our list. But if we keep in our minds that we are just trying to move more and kind of like lose or let a little bit looser on this exercise, right, I think we will all be so much better off just reminding ourselves that movement is healthy, that movement is the thing that's going to move the needle, and not necessarily that 30 minutes or hour of exercise. I'm not saying that that is bad. I do exercise. I'm not saying that's bad. But depending upon where you are in your journey, where you are in your life, how crazy things are reminding yourself that just moving your body more throughout the day is okay and is great for you and you can build from there. Okay. So hopefully that episode helps you.

Speaker 1 16:12

I want to leave you guys with a quote, and it's from the Rock and it says success isn't always about greatness, it's about consistency. Consistent hard work gains success. Greatness will come and I believe that. Right Like, it's not about being the greatest or the best at something, but will you feel great when you put in the work every day to move your body more? You will, and then you'll be great. And it doesn't matter how long that takes you. You can feel great, little steps over time. It doesn't have to be immediately. You can build the consistency bones and you can continue to get the gains over time and you will feel amazing. You will feel great.

Speaker 1 16:52

And I believe that because I know, like not doing that the alternative to not moving our bodies. It's not great. So we want to be moving our bodies. We want to keep ourselves healthy so that we can be mobile into long years of life. So I hope this episode helps you. I hope it finds you well. Have an amazing week. Thank you so much for tuning in and listening to this episode of Hot Mess Mom Health. If you love this episode, please leave me an iTunes review. It would mean the world to me and it would help me get the word out about helping other moms reclaim their health. Thank you so much.