Hey mama, hey,
I see you. You’re tired. Overwhelmed. Feel like ass. But know you feel like ass because you aren’t doing anything to change it, such as working out or cooking nourishing meals. Sigh. And you’re not doing it, because you’re so damn tired! And the cycle continues. The frustration builds, we berate ourselves, we feel stuck, we wallow and then say F it and throw down all the shitty food, because, well, will eating a piece of broccoli even move the damn needle at this point? I might as well enjoy being a hot mess and eat a piece of cake? I feel you. I do. I’ve been there and any mama who hasn’t been there, well, I don’t wanna know them. LOL
But after years of being on that cycle, I’ve build so many practices and healthy thought patterns to support me, that my mind and body doesn’t go there any more. It now knows exactly what to do to take myself to the other side, in a way that feels good, instead of jarring. I’m all about everything being supportive, feel good and with ease. My approach with all things is for them to nicely ease into my lifestyle in a complimentary way that feels right and brings more joy, peace and alignment, versus feeling stressful, restrictive, exhausting and overwhelming. Hell no. All of that will make me run the other way.
Here is my approach to pulling yourself out of a funk so you can reach your goals
1.Honor where you are
Mama, remind yourself where you have come from. You are feeling the way you do today because you either recently had a baby, or have been tending to children, or to high demands in life, juggling a high stress job, moving mountains for your family, running a crazy hectic household, and doing all of the things.
You are drained and exhausted for a very valid and honorable reason. You have been doing it all because you’re a warrior mama. Sit quietly and think about the road you have travelled that has taken you to today. Remind yourself of all of the amazing things you have done in service of your family, for your business, for your loved ones and remind yourself that your hectic life is one of abundance. Feel the gratitude. Sit for a few minutes and soak that in.
2. Breathe
Yes. I want you to breathe. Just breathe and remember that every single thing starts with a breath. Put one hand on your heart and one on your belly. Connect to yourself and take 5 deep, cleansing breaths. Let out all of the stress, anxiety, swirling thoughts and heaviness. Come home to yourself.
3. Gratitude and Self Love
Next, I want you to look yourself dead in the mirror tell yourself 1 thing you love about yourself today and 1 thing you are thankful for today. Look at that beautiful woman and give her the love she deserves for all her service and hard work. Really feel it. Really honor it. Let the love wash over you. You are your best friend. Support yourself the way you would your best friend. Give yourself a warm hug, either in your mind, or literally.
*Don’t worry mama! I know how hard it can be to remember all the things, so I created a free mindful mama guide for you! This guide outlines your morning mindfulness practice, morning affirmations to recite, walks you through the 5 questions to ask yourself each morning to set your intentions and gives you the 5 questions to ask yourself at the end of the day to reflect and close out your day. This practice gives you the key fundamentals that I believe allow you to live a stress free, joyous and peaceful life. Click here for the free guide!
4. Hydration
Check in with yourself and take note of how much water you are drinking daily. Also, ask yourself how much caffeine you are consuming. No judgement, just be mindful.
Ample hydration flushes our system, accelerates our metabolism (aiding in fat loss and giving us energy), delivers minerals and nutrients to muscles, facilitates the removal of cellular waste and lubricates our joints and muscles.
Now that you know where you are, can you increase the water intake? I’ve gotten into a habit of drinking a tall glass of room temperature water first thing in the morning to get everything going. We are breathing all night long and we wake up dehydrated. The moment I finish drinking the glass of water, I can literally feel everything in my body starting to wake up and move, from my brain to my bowels.
Can you be a bit more mindful of adding in some more water into your day? How about drinking a glass before each meal and hot water with lemon after the meal for digestion? Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Just simply be mindful of seeing where you can swap for water and add water. Just that. You will feel a difference and make progress simply by having this on your mind.
5. Movement
No, not exercise necessarily, just movement.
Take stock of where you are with daily movement. No judgement allowed! Are you moving your body gently, moderately or vigorously, on a day to day basis? Are you getting in 5 minutes or 30 minutes? Is it daily, 5 times a week, 3 times a week or none at all?
Again, no judgement, just understand where you are and start by honoring that. I’m all about adding in teeny, weeny movements that feel good, in small increments as a start. This could be having a dance party with your kids for 15 minutes or taking your baby for a 10 minute walk while listening to a podcast, calling a friend or just zoning out.
It could mean choosing a calming, yet effective, workout video that has 5-15 minute work outs that you can do in the comfort of your living room with your baby sleeping.
A couple of workouts that I would recommend for this supportive, nourishing, but effective approach are:
The Balanced Life – These programs are designed specifically for the busy mama that has no time, needs to looking to minimize stress and needs a feel good, yet effective strengthening and toning exercise. She has a range of programs from $49 – $129 (not monthly, just one time fee!), free classes andalso a membership option full of goodies should you want a more robust offering.
Melissa Wood Health – MWH has a whole range of effective, short, mama friendly work outs combining her unique blend of yoga and pilates in her monthly membership program. Her method uses slow, controlled movements, through yoga and pilates techniques, to sculpt long, lean lines, using your own body weight. Also, super cost effective, her program is $99 annually, or $9.99 a month. Her work outs incorporate strength training, cardio.
I don’t want to overwhelm you with ideas and options, so I’m focusing on these two that I think may resonate with you, but the point is, to find something that feels good for you, and just start with adding in a teeny bit more than where you are today.
You can even purchase a DVD on amazon or grab something at the local library.
The important piece choosing something that you will look forward to that you enjoy, that feels supportive to you versus another stressor.
If that means meeting a friend for a walk with the baby, a work out class or calling a friend during the walk that you are looking forward to connecting with, do that. If that means taking a dance class with your partner, do that.
Just move a little more than before. Period. Do not increase your goal too much. If you’re at zero movement daily, just start by adding in a 10 minute walk or stretch session 3 times per week. That’s IT. You want to feel good about moving forward, step by step.
If you’re feeling good during the process and feeling a sense of accomplishment afterwards, you’re on the right track. You will find that day by day, week by week, as you make small, incremental increases in your movement, you will find that before you know it, you’re easily working out for longer periods of time with no stress.
6. Crowd out with vegetables
Take a look at what’s on your plate. Is at least 70% of your lunch and dinner plate vegetables? Again, no judgement. Just taking stock, that’s it.
Be mindful that eventually, that is the goal. I realize it sounds outlandish, but it’s completely doable and appropriate. I’ve been using this approach for years and this strategy has drastically improved my health and helped me easily make decisions on what to eat, just by having this as my general rule of thumb.
We all know that we don’t want to go from eating spaghetti and meatballs to a salad. I mean, we all know that’s just ridiculous.
However, since I’m all about making small, micro shifts in everything, so as not to feel overwhelmed, but feel like we’re making progress to our goals, I use the “crowding out” approach. Here’s an example of the way you could crowd out with your spaghetti and meatballs meal. You would put a bed of baby spinach as the base of your bowl (or start with a salad), then swap out half of your spaghetti for zoodles (zucchini noodles) and then put the spaghetti and meatballs on top. Next thing you know, you’ve literally cut down you’re calories dramatically, fueled your body with nutrient dense foods and aren’t feeling deprived.
The more you’re mindful about adding in more veggies little by little, you’re effectively making less room for the other stuff and making tremendous progress without any stress. Vegetables are so nutrient dense and often filled with fiber, that they are so filling and satiating that you truly aren’t able to eat more of anything else because you’re so full!
Next thing you know, your body starts to actually crave the healthier foods, your palate changes, and the process becomes easier and easier, as your body starts asking for the vegetables over the pasta.
The more you’re mindful about adding in veggies in more and more, the more you find you have less room for the other things.
Do you want a look at my daily meals to get an idea of what combos I love? If so, please comment below!
7. Compliment someone or tell someone you love them
You heard me right! I know, I know. You’re totally thinking, what the f*&k does this have to do with motivating and meeting my health goals?
I’ll tell you. The more you’re able to radiate love, the better you feel, the better you feel, the better you treat yourself. Yep. We all know why emotionally eating exists. We get sad and throw down a pint of ice cream!
Ever since I have been mindful about telling someone I’m proud of something they have done, telling someone that I’m thinking of them and wishing them well, tell someone I love them, or take the tiny effort to brighten someone’s day and make them feel good, it comes back to me ten fold. Swear.
And when I feel the love back, I’m happy and want to treat myself better. I want to nourish myself with good food, movement and self care. And best of all, it just keeps the positive energy cycle moving.
Most importantly, the more we are able to activate the serotonin in our bodies, the more we are able to lower our cortisol and alleviate the stress and toxicity that’s in our bodies. It’s the high cortisol and taxed adrenals that impact our metabolism, weight gain and cause that belly fat around our waist.
8. Journal out your wins
That’s right. I want you to note the following down at the end of the day:
- What’s 1 thing I accomplished today?
- What’s am I proud of myself for today?
- Whats 1 thing I did better today than yesterday?
- What can I do better tomorrow?
- What made me smile today?
I swear, by actually taking note of all of your wins from the day, you will feel an incredible sense of accomplishment. We also are often quite astounded by the amount of things we have done well!
We’re so wired to beat ourselves up by how much we didn’t do or get done, (because let’s be honest, a mamas job is never done!), that we forgot to praise ourselves for alllll the shit we DID do! It’s critical that we give ourselves perspective, love and support required to make the difference for ourselves and our families that we want to. The thing is, when we feel good about the fact that we’re making progress, we’re motivated to do better.
Also, as we start to write out all of the things we did well, other subconscious thoughts often flow on to the page that we weren’t even conscious of. This gives us access to an even deeper perspective into our triggers, feelings, patterns, and ideas that could be either inhibiting us or even new ideas that come to mind that could support us. I highly encourage this process.
I mean, so doable, right? I know you guys can do this. It’s literally a no brainer! I’m asking you to honor yourself, breathe, drink water and move just a lil more…Think about that, just taking care of basic vital functions.
I hope this is helpful to you guys. If you know a mama that you think could use this today, please share with her. If you found this helpful, please comment below.
Sending all your mama’s out there my love today and always.
Xo,
Misha
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