It might not be surprising that new parents have a tough time staying on a healthy diet or have any time at all to get regular sleep and exercise. Your life has completely changed and you have a new priority to take care of. That doesn’t mean you should completely forget about your own self-care though. By adopting some healthy habits early on in your parenthood journey, you can make your life a lot easier. Here are five healthy habits to adopt to get right back to your pre-baby body and health.
Get Up Before the Sun
While you may be naturally doing this with a new infant, make it your choice to get up early. Rising early can help you find calm and quiet so you can gather your thoughts and plan your day. This can also give you the chance to do some chores or complete some of our other healthy habits you may not have time to do once the kids are up.
Exercise
A good 30 minutes to an hour of exercise will help to reduce tension and stress while boosting your heart health. Get a jogging stroller and take your kids on your jog with you. Alternatively, find some exercises you can do at home while the children are napping. No matter what, just get your heart rate up and your body moving.
Eat a Whole Food Diet
Even though it might be tempting, skip the fast-processed foods and choose real, whole foods instead. Carry almonds or an apple in your purse to have on the go, and have ready-to-make salads at home. Take a chunk of time on Sundays to prep your meals for the whole week so you won't have to spend any time stressing over what you will have, just to end up grabbing some fast food. Blueberries, sweet potatoes, carrot sticks, and walnuts are all healthy treats to have on hand. Eating, whole-natural foods can also help with your milk production if you are nursing.
Stay Hydrated
While you may want to turn to wine with the frustrations of parenthood, choose to drink water instead. Your body needs water to do virtually every function it carries out and if you become dehydrated, you will be weak, tired, and certainly not able to care for the kids. Bring a bottle with you and if you get bored of your ice water, have some flavoring handy. Staying hydrated is again necessary if you nurse the baby, but can also help prevent post-pregnancy diseases like varicose veins.
Don't Skip Breakfast
Morning is one of the busiest times of day, but you still need to carve out some time for breakfast to get your body some fuel. Start with a healthy, rounded breakfast to set yourself up for metabolism success for the rest of the day.
You may not be your priority on your list if you have small children or a new baby, but it is important to take care of yourself when others are counting on you to take care of them.
Eileen O'Shanassy is a freelance writer and blogger based out of Flagstaff, AZ. She writes on a variety of topics and loves to research and write. She enjoys baking, biking, and kayaking. Check out her Twitter @eileenoshanassy.
