It can be tempting to focus on your children and spend all of your energy making sure they are okay. Divorce is often difficult for children, but you won’t be of any use if you aren’t feeling good, and physical fitness is a big advocate of good mental health.
By sticking to your fitness goals, you create a healthy habit, and after a while that habit becomes part of your everyday life. Not only does this lead to better physical health, but it can also help maintain that feeling of stability and routine that can often go away during a major life change.
Fitness Tips for Divorced Mothers
# 1 Start slowly
If you haven’t exercised lately, or if you tend to be all or nothing, try to start slowly. It can be tempting to dive in and suddenly start intense, hour-long sessions, but doing short 15-minute workouts every day is perfectly fine. There are tons of great short workouts on YouTube to watch in your living room in the amount of time you have to work and care for your kids.
# 2 Make it easy for yourself to eat right
Eating right is easy provided you have the right things to eat. This goes beyond just making sure you have healthy foods instead of sugary and processed foods – it’s not uncommon for you to feel un motivated to eat right (or even just one proper meal) when you feel bad and yours Children have something different. Consider buying healthy prepackaged meals or preparing meals to make your decision to eat right the easiest. All you have to do is take your meal out of the fridge and heat it up.
# 3 Exercise while you are motivated
If you tend to fall exhausted on the sofa after the kids go to bed, take time to exercise before the day starts. We know that with kids in the mix, this is often easier said than done, but gaining time to exercise and eat healthy can make a huge difference in how you feel, both physically and mentally.
Also, a good exercise program makes a good impression on your children as they will see that you are in control and are proactive. The way you interact with food and exercise can affect how your children see them. So, show a healthy schedule and balanced diet for both her and you!
# 4 Practice kindness and gratitude
Be realistic and kind to yourself. The worst that can happen when you set yourself a simple goal is that you have to smash it and set a new one! Easy wins are essential to progress. So don’t be tough on yourself and set lots of simple milestones. Give yourself the same motivation you would give a friend and take the time to be grateful for what you did for yourself at the end of each workout.
# 5 Don’t forget to stretch!
Walking to the gym for half an hour on the treadmill is all well and good, but you are at greater risk of injury if you don’t warm up or cool down. Flexibility is just as important as muscle strength and can help reduce the risk of arthritis and joint pain later in life. While a brisk walk or a couple of jumping jacks for 3-5 minutes is enough to get the blood flowing, you should do some proper stretching after your workout to avoid tight muscles and possible future injuries.
# 6 stay flexible (not just physically!)
Stretching will keep you physically flexible, but you also need to remain mentally flexible. As a mom, you know you need to adjust your daily schedule at all times, but all too often we just do so for the needs of others. Make sure the flexibility of the schedule extends to your self-sufficiency. If you have a tendency to overwhelm or overwhelm yourself with others, try saying no to anything that is taking up your time, be it your exercise time, your bath time, or just a good book.
# 7 Get the kids involved
Exercising and eating properly is difficult when you go against the rest of your household or when they prefer you to do something else. So instead of getting frustrated, get your kids involved. Get them to “exercise” with you to a dance video, go for a swim, or get them on their bikes and run. Even going to the yard to throw a ball around is better than nothing!
# 8 Wear workout clothes that make you feel good about yourself
Going to Sweaty Betty may not be the best idea if you are not into working out, but you should have workout clothes that make you feel great with yourself. Invest in a few items that you can’t expect (they don’t have to be expensive) and consider adding something to your collection about once a month so that you can look forward to putting on your workout clothes for a further sweat . You may even need to make sure that your clothes fit your new and improved body!
# 9 Mix it up
Don’t be afraid to mix up your exercise and move away from rigid programs. If you love running now but know you don’t want it when winter comes, run while you love it and switch to weights, interval training, or yoga when you no longer enjoy it. The best way to get healthy forever (and have a lot of fun doing it) is to try new things when you are no longer enjoying or feeling motivated about your routine. Some days a run will just seem too hard, and it’s perfectly okay to grab your yoga mat and most comfortable clothes and relax while you stretch for a while. Your body will still thank you!
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