I want to be that mom chasing her child through the yard, the mom hiking through a local state park with a baby on her back, or even just the mom that makes it home at the end of the day to enjoy some quality playtime with her kids before bedtime. In real life, after a day at work even cooking supper can become too much of a chore because I am spent. Though I have recognized this for some time, it wasn’t until recent months that I decided to do something about it. If you are in my shoes, let me be an encouragement to make the change to restore the energy in your life because as we all know moming can wear one down.
- Get some sleep. The most obvious way to regain energy is by resting more. I totally get that as a mom rest is a four-letter word, however, studies show that adults function better if in bed by 10 PM. We have our kids stick to a routine bedtime to avoid crankiness, so why should it be much different as adults? Another benefit of going to bed earlier is being able to get up earlier. You may find that if you can wake up earlier it is easier to squeeze in a few more things in your morning routine sans children. That is unless you have a child like my two-year-old that often plays in the yard at 5 AM as I’m doing my morning jog. Speaking of…
- Get some exercise. As counterproductive as it sounds, this really does (in the long term) give you more energy. I started going for a morning jog- several laps around my yard to get my heart pumping in the morning and it has made a difference in my entire day. Not only does it help with energy, but it is nice to have that quiet time to reflect and start my day. If jogging isn’t an option try an exercise video (YouTube is full of them) to start your day, but try to keep rigorous exercises for morning time as they can interfere with sleep time if too late in the day. If you do need to squeeze in exercise in the evening, opt for a more calming practice such as yoga or Pilates.
- Choose energizing eating practices. There is so much to be said about diet practices.
- 1) Eat often, but only eat until satisfied. Those big lunches that stuff you, are only going to bring you down as your body uses energy to digest instead of doing other things. Save the steak and bread for your evening meal, if even at all and stick to lean proteins and vegetables throughout the day.
- 2) Limit your sugar intake. I recently did 30 days of no added sugar in my diet and what a difference it made in how I felt. I have now just limited it drastically, but that can be difficult as it is in so many of our normal go-tos.
- 3) Along the same lines is cutting back on caffeine. Your morning cup of joe isn’t so bad, but try to avoid it in the evening when you might not even realize how it can affect your sleep later on. It also causes a temporary high, only to crash later. You might even begin to notice how much more refreshing that cool glass of water is after limiting caffeine and sugar- which fueling your body with water is another energizing tip.
- 4) Don’t forget breakfast. After your night of rest, your body will need some fuel, even if its a handheld meal on your way in the morning. For both snacks and breakfast, LaraBars, smoothies, peanut butter, yogurt, and fruit such as apples, avocados, and bananas can add energy to your body without weighing you down. Sweet potatoes, leafy greens, salmon, and dark chocolate are great additions later on in the day. If you are like me, you can do good for most of the day, but when dinner time rolls around whatever is quickest that my children will eat is what I want to prepare. I have met this dilemma head-on in two ways: a) freezer meals- I will pick one day a month and devote that day to preparing several meals that can be easily reheated in the oven or in the Crock Pot. b) meal prepping- once a week I will spend time chopping, measuring, and preparing meals for the week up until the point of cooking.
- 5) Even sometimes with the most structured meal planning, we may miss some essential vitamins needed to keep our body functioning correctly which can cut down on energy. Don’t hesitate to add vitamin supplements to your regime to offset this, though you should always try to get as many vitamins as you can from food.
- Take a break. Along the same lines as sleeping, sometimes you just need a break. Even if just for 10 minutes, try to have some me-time each day, or as often as possible. Read a book, sit outside taking in the view and fresh air, unwind with some music, paint your nails, or whatever it is that you like to do utterly for yourself. When taking care of children, self-care is very important. As a family, you might find benefit on a weekly day of rest- a day off of school and work when the only priority is spending time with family.
- Examine what drains you. Take a look at what you do throughout your days and get specific on what drains you. Are these tasks that could be done in less draining ways if the right plan was taken? What are some things that give you energy? Is there an adequate amount of energizing things in your day to keep you going? Do you have something you can look forward to in your day- a goal if you will? At the end of the day I hope you can focus on a few positive aspects and use them to inspire you. We try to talk about the good points of our day at suppertime or just before bed to end the day on a good note and promote positive thinking.
As I have started implementing these things into practice, there are fewer times when I can’t function enough to cook a balanced supper. I’m not quite to the doing cartwheels in the yard stage, but with a tad more effort and time I can see myself achieving even that. I know I am not the only one in this struggle, but know that being a more energized mom is a reachable goal. Now go girl go!
