One of my biggest fears as a mom has nothing to do with my kids. It has to do with me, and my fear of losing the ability to use my brain in other ways than just scheduling drop offs and pick-ups, folding laundry and getting groceries.
I graduated with a B.A. in Media Studies from Western University, went on to work in Corporate Marketing for BMO for 5 years and than went back to school to become a Registered Nutritionist. My fear is that if I don’t start using my brain, I’m going to lose it and when I do decide to go back to work in about a year I won’t be relevant anymore and my brain will be mush. Now that my youngest is 3 and a half months and sleeping 12 hours every night I can no longer use the excuse; “I’m too tired to think.” It’s time to start thinking again, which means I want to start writing again.
Even though I’m not as tired anymore, I still don’t have a lot of time, so my blog posts going forward are going to be more like quick thoughts or tips, sharing healthy recipes (even if they’re not mine), and venting about being a mom of two young boys. Very short, but hopefully still helpful and enjoyable to read. My youngest son Max just woke up from his nap as I’m writing proving my point of having very little time, but just like how fitting in exercise, meal planning and cooking is important to me; so is writing so I’m simply going to start making time for it again.
Here’s my first healthy thought to test out the new blog format, and it’s been on my mind lately as I’m now back in the category of being abled to drink wine again (and cosmos – my fave;). A quick tip on living a healthy lifestyle – don’t let it slide. It’s ok to enjoy a glass or two of wine, order pizza or have dessert, but just because you allow yourself those treats, don’t let your entire healthy eating strategy go out the window. It’s very easy to have the all or nothing mentality, but that’s not the right attitude to have! It’s all about the 80/20 rule – keep it healthy 80% of the time, and let yourself have treats 20% of the time. But during that 20%, you can still minimize the damage to your health by:
- Continuing to keep proper portions in mind. Have pizza, but keep it to 2 slices, and have a big salad or load on the arugula
- If you’re treating yourself to a nice, juicy steak than have cauliflower instead of creamy mashed potatoes as a side
- If you’re having a drink, don’t also treat yourself to a unhealthy dessert – choose one or the other
- Stay active! Fit in exercise whenever and wherever you can, even if that means leaving 10 minutes earlier to walk and pick up your kids versus driving some days, or doing a quick set of pushups before your shower
Keep these little tips in mind to avoid the 80/20 becoming 70/30 or 60/40. Oh, and if this post doesn’t motivate you, I just heard a stat on the news the other morning that exercising on a regular basis can shave 10 or even 20 years off your appearance. That’s motivation enough for me to run downstairs and do a quick 20 minute circuit a few days a week.
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