Fit Moms!!! Methods To Stay Fit for the Long Run!

Every mother dreams to be a ‘supermom’ and wants to be ‘fit’ so that they can run around to look after their children, home, office, family and everything. Moreover, fancy to be active and presentable.

Staying fit doesn’t mean to be a size zero, or starving to death. Mothers including me obviously try many different diet plans and exercise plans. Most of such random diet and exercise plans would be unhealthy. Many times we will get ready buying all the stuff needed to get started, such as shoes and tracksuit, but the mind will still hold us back. And that’s the first place we all have to ignite. Determination and of course for a long run strong intention is a must. But shouldn’t be done as a sudden action and never expect an immediate result. Give yourself good time to adjust to your new routine and nutrition.

Talking about the Nutrition, there is a belief that nutritious food is tasteless, but that’s not true. They could be delicious too or you can mix your food 80% with healthy ingredients and 20% with your cravings. That’s how we should make things happen, cheat a little in the start. Then, once you got adjusted then slowly you can avoid junks you crave.

A women’s age is determined by her life happenings. If a young girl got married at an early age she might feel aged as early along with her marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, and so on. It is all because of the changes in the body and attitude.

Every person is unique so is her likes and dislikes. When it comes to fitness exercises also, everyone has their own unique choices. For instance, I don’t like to go to the gym, instead I prefer open-air exercises. I prefer to walk along a green breezy peaceful road. Sometimes I would like to swim, sometimes cycling, just like that. It is important to do workout for at least 30 minutes five days a week. Do keep in mind your daily intake calorie minus the calorie you burn shouldn’t exceed your daily requirement and vice versa.

After your initial days, you may require to workout more and eat comparatively less if your BMI is above the advised level. At the time, it would take few days to adjust and you might feel as if you are eating nothing at all. But the stomach has the ability to adapt to changes. So, once your are used to eating less, you won’t be needing more amount later.

“Fitness is defined as the condition of being physically fit and healthy”

Fitness is a concerning issue for mothers as they are more prone to gaining weight unlike other groups of women. Most women put on weight post pregnancy. But the problem is that the methods which used to work before don’t appear to act anymore, no matter how hard is the try. Each person has her own body types, food requirements, and suitable workout.

Workouts vary from walking, running, jogging, gym, yoga, swimming, outdoor plays, cycling, climbing stairs, etc., or it can be playing with your kids, or cleaning home also. Fitness should be a balanced phenomenon. Balanced with regular workout, nutrition, and happiness. Each mom’s lifestyle needs will be different so they need a different approach towards fitness.

There are some essential nutrients every woman need from extra to trace amounts. Mothers should concentrate on nutrients because as we get aged, our body absorbs fewer nutrients and we won’t get enough time to choose good food. Mothers lose lots of nutrients in pregnancy and childbirth. Other than that the iron is lost as well every single month through menstruation. Many women complain about joint pain, back pain, etc. which is usually because of the low level of vitamin D in the body. One must consult a dietitian if she isn’t familiar with what kind of food she ought to have.

Moms get so entangled in making sure their kids are well nourished that they sometimes ignore their own eating habits. Women aren’t the only ones who get anaemia, but they’re at the highest risk. Iron, Calcium, Vitamin D, Folate, magnesium, vitamin B, protein, fibre, etc. are the major nutrients women should never avoid. It is favourable to cut down unwanted calorie intake and include these important nutrients in the meal.

Reasons for Unfitness

There are many reasons for weight gain and unhealthiness in mothers like complications in delivery, hormonal disorders, busy lifestyle, postpartum depression, sleeping disorders, etc. Some of the major ones are written below:

1. Hypothyroid condition

2. Postpartum depression and stress

3. Hormonal imbalance

4. Lifestyle disorders

5. Lack of energy resulting in carb intake

6. Lack of time and energy

7. Lack of a good timely sleep

8. Junk food habits

Physical exercise has proved productiveness as a stress-reliever in individuals with depression, but too much workout can be damaging. Without a proper break, the chance of high circulation problems increases. There are a number of fitness methods which can gift mothers fitness for a long term. Exercises are classified mainly into three depending on the way it is done and function. Aerobic, Anaerobic, and Stretch exercises. Let’s see in a little more detail.

Aerobic exercises

Aerobic exercise is a moderate activity you can maintain over long periods of time, such as jogging. Aerobic exercises are often referred to as cardio exercises. This particular exercise method increases the cardiovascular strength. Body uses more oxygen, which in turn increases blood circulation, and that raises heart rate. Movement makes us stronger and stronger muscles make for a more efficient and healthy body. Few examples of cardio exercises include:

1. Walking

2. Running

3. Cycling

4. Swimming

5. Dancing

6. Stair climbing

7. Treadmill

8. Skipping rope

You may choose any one or combination of two (or more) based on the stamina you have currently. All these are done in a light or moderate way and provide you with enough of oxygen, that is why known as Aerobic exercises.

Anaerobic exercises

Aerobic exercises done at a high intensity becomes anaerobic exercise. We commonly say that we lost breath doing something like weight training, speed running, speed swimming, push-ups, pull-ups, etc. These all come in this particular category. Anaerobic exercise are done in short breath and can firm, strengthen, and tone muscles. A few examples are stated below in order to make this concept even more clear.

1. Sprinting

2. Jumping

3. Push-ups and Pull-ups

4. Rowing

Stretch exercises

This exercise is favourite for middle-aged women. Stretch and strengthen muscles, improve joint flexibility and keep muscles limber. Yoga is a popular kind of stretch exercise. Stretching is part of some warm-up routines. Commonly we stretch just after we wake up along with a yawn, even that’s a kind of stretching. Our body avails a doubled movement efficiency, reduced chance of injury, improved blood supply and nutrients to joint structures, progressed neuromuscular coordination, lowered risk of lower back pain, decreased muscular tension, and enhanced balance and postural awareness from stretching exercise.

Selection of exercises is important. One should choose it wisely considering the body type, health, space available, location and most importantly likeliness. Exercises can build stamina. When we study about fitnesses for mothers it is important to do the grouping into different categories. This helps classifying and concentrating on their fitness requirements which are different in different persons. I would like to classify moms into three categories – New moms, Working moms, and Stay-at-home moms.

1. New moms: New moms need more nutrients as the baby’s nutrients are also taken from the mother. At the same time, vigorous exercises are not required as breastfeeding sheds a lot of calories. The thing these group should keep in mind is to maintain their body in tone and strong rather than losing pounds. For new moms, it is preferable to do stretch exercises with the baby. New moms should make sure to take enough nutrients and extra supplements of calcium, Iron and folate.

2. Working mom: Working mothers hardly get time for exercises. They are the ones who scrunch in between home and work. There are works which demand to sit for over eight hours a day. Studies say that it is desirable to do exercises for an hour or at least for half an hour for them. It is better to split the time. An hour of exercise can be divided into six ten-minute workouts. Say for example, first start walking from your vehicle to office by stepping out a little far from the place. Second, it can be climbing the staircase instead of using the elevator. Then you may walk ten minutes in the lunch break. In the evening, take the kids to park and have a brisk walk there.

3. Stay-at-home-mom: For a stay at home mom keeping home beautiful every time itself is a workout. Many of stay-at-home moms still complain that they are not losing weight or getting sick frequently. House chores should be done steadily every day. If you do chores at the time you feel comfortable, you won’t be able to see the result. Cleaning the floor, bathroom, etc. take a lot of calories. Along with these home chores, housewives should find time to do some exercises outside the home also because that would be refreshing and would keep the stress at bay.

Mothers’ first preference is always their children, then comes the family, home, last comes themselves. That’s how we get to compromise on our good routine and cancel time to take care of ourselves. Rather than draining your energy and happiness, fitness should be your love and passion.

Along with the exercises and nutrition, it is critical to maintain a good sleep. The recent studies suggest that sleeping approximately for eight hours a day for women is crucial. Our body consists of more fluids, so it is necessary to take enough water, around 1-2 litres on daily basis. Have more homely food and avoid junk food. Be active and try not to sit more, and most importantly relieve your stress levels. Lastly, stay inspired and inspire others as well. Be happy and healthy forever!