Are You a Busy Mom Struggling to Stay Fit? Try This By Stacy Reuille-Dupont

Finding time to schedule fitness can be overwhelming. I get the complications of being a busy mom. I have three kids and hold a full time job. The reality is days are a lot harder if I do not fit fitness in. Being a busy mom makes it even more important to fit fitness in. The better health you have the easier it is to care of those around you joyfully. 

I know figuring out where to start shifting schedules is tough. I have been there. Here is an exercise to honestly look at where you spend your time and fit fitness in your schedule.

First, take a hard look at what you are doing, when, and why. Write out commitments you have. Include things like laundry, meals, and community projects. Then highlight items that excite you or feel good to do. Use a number scale to rate what you highlighted. This will help you see where your priorities are and evaluate if you are doing daily action toward your values. If you are spending your time on things that do not align with what you care about or who you want to be, you are not living your values. 

When you are living your values, you are living congruently.

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony". ~ Mahatma Gandhi 

Congruence creates a sense of alignment. Alignment is necessary for us to feel well. Whether posture or mind states, alignment leads to feeling fit.  Fitness has many layers. Ultimately our goal is to find purposeful activities in everyday life and get rid of what is not serving us. This helps us feel alignment in action and belief. This leads to a life of joyful and inspired wellness. 

Fitness is a feeling, not just a physiological state.

Once you have your priorities figured out, look at what you did not highlight. Some tasks we want to do and some not so much. I do not always want to go to work, but I do want my paycheck. Honor these commitments and the end results by changing how you think about them. This will allow you to commit to what makes sense for you, while also honoring yourself, eliminating what is not working for you anymore. Examine if these things need to be done by you. 

For example, I am still washing, drying, folding, and putting away Johnny’s underwear - and Johnny is 16 years old. Johnny could be doing his own laundry, not to mention the favor you would be doing Johnny’s future partner by teaching him to care for his clothing.

Look at items you cannot eliminate but you could share. Like cooking dinner, changing sheets, work tasks, kid needs, parent/pet care, or community group projects. There are many things we might be doing yet we could ask for help sharing the load. 

Lastly, find items you can add activity to. Catch up with friends or hold a meeting while walking or during a workout. You can dance while cooking dinner, get a standing or bicycle desk, or plan a family outing as activity. These are fun ways to increase your fitness and still meet your daily obligations.

For some the ideas above will seem an impossible task. Others tie identity to being a caregiver. Many of us have trouble asking for help. And some of us believe the busier and more stressed we are, the more important we are. 

We have created a belief that being focused on other people’s needs in front of our own and being busy equals our worth in the world.

Is that really true? NOPE – we are just busier and stressed. It does not mean we are getting more done or have more worth in the world. I challenge you to live your life vibrantly for you first, then turn to care for those you love. 

Start placing the word want with your commitments. If it does not fit and causes possible vomit – it is time to revamp your tasks. After all, if you do not make time fitness – nothing else will fit!

Stacy Reuille-Dupont, PhD, LAC, CPFT, CNC, licensed psychologist, addiction counselor, personal trainer and nutrition coach. She’s passionate about helping people create a vibrant life using psychology and physiology. With over 25 years coaching people to be their best, she understands how to find adventure and bliss with balance. Book a FREE 15 minute consultation at www.studiob.life or join her monthly Q&A group at www.stacyreuille.com