How to Create Healthy Habits with Little Ones in the House

I haven’t mentioned this much on the blog but I am a health and fitness coach through Beachbody along with being a mom blogger, a Homeschooling parent, a wedding coordinator, etc. It’s a busy life and because I spin a lot of plates at once, I have a lot of friends and people ask me how I fit it all in. How do I exercise everyday with 2 very young kids at home? How do I eat clean with toddlers in the house? How do I fit in a healthy lifestyle when chaos breaks out?

While these are all good questions, they all fall into one category. I have created a healthy “lifestyle” for my family and me. My week consists of a lot of planning, implementing and executing strategies to keep our lives “healthy.” It has become a habit for us and can for you too…with just a little work on your part.

Because the need seems so great (at least in Facebook world) to know the answers to these questions, I thought I would give you some tips to help you and your family get on track to a healthier lifestyle.

My weekly routine (and yes, routine is IMPERATIVE to success with this) consists of waking up no later than 5:00 AM. In the beginning it was hard but now I truly don’t even need to set my alarm. I head downstairs, do my daily Bible reading, start a new blog or finish one that has been started :), check in with all of my clients in my health and fitness groups, read some personal development, and work on my Beachbody business until about 6:30 AM. I then head down to our basement to “get my sweat on!” I workout for an hour. This takes me to 7:30ish. (I know my husband needs to leave the house around 8:45 AM for work so I plan my morning around him helping the kids once they wake up…which is usually 7:00 AM). I shower and am downstairs to be “mommy” by 8:45 AM.

**I know this schedule doesn’t work for everyone…I get it. The point isn’t about the schedule not working for you, the point is that YOU need to design a schedule that DOES WORK for you and allow yourself NO EXCUSES (and no I am not yelling…I am just EXTREMELY passionate about what I do and I know that ANYONE can do it if they put their mind to it).

As far as eating healthy in our household, I have just a few tips.

1. The kids eat what we eat…I do not make 2 separate meals. I have found that if they are hungry, they will eat it whether they love it or not. If they know I will make a separate meal just for them, they would manipulate the situation to get what they are wanting.
2. I preplan all of our dinners. I sit down in the week (usually Thursday or Friday) and plan out the next week’s meals. Then I make a grocery list that reflects those meals. I try to grocery shop on Sunday or Monday for the week and prep some of the meals (crock pot meals, grilled chicken, etc.) so that when we are in a rush or I know I won’t have time to make a grand and healthy meal, I don’t have to. We can just reheat it and stay the course (beats fast food any day).
3. I shop the outside perimeter of the grocery store. I have found that when I shop through the aisles of the store, I tend to buy more snacky foods and sway off of my list. So, I make sure I stick to the list and stay away from inner aisles.                                                                                      
4. I bake all of our sweets in the house. I don’t buy cookies from the store. I make them fresh and with healthy ingredients…Check out this website for some ideas on healthy baking recipes).      https://www.beachbody.com/beachbodyblog/                                                                                                                                                       
5. I give myself NO EXCUSES to stay fit and healthy for my family along with being a good example for my kids.                                                                                                                                      

The last piece to my puzzle is one that I feel is almost the most important…the piece I could NOT live without…I have accountability partners…LOTS to be exact! As a health and fitness coach through Beachbody, I run private online accountability groups each month. These groups have given me the support to stay the healthy lifestyle course, dig deep to work hard and the motivation to not give up. We have a blast and I walk away each month with a new group of friends and accountability partners that I didn’t have the previous month. This has allowed my repertoire of friends to be all like-minded individuals and that makes it SOOOO MUCH EASIER when making healthy lifestyle changes that will last.

If this resonated with you and you are stuck and need the motivation to stay the course, need someone to guide you to a healthier lifestyle, need some new healthy recipes or even a meal plan to follow to get you started, need to get healthier, I would love to help you on your journey. Feel free to shoot me a message and I will make sure to get in touch with you.