The day you become a parent, your whole world will change. To accommodate the needs of a baby, parents often abandon their usual routines of eating, sleeping, exercising, and self-care. This may go on for long, perhaps months, even years, while the infant and parent settle into a new routine together.
This, however, is not an excuse to abandon all attempts at maintaining a healthy lifestyle. As a parent, you need to care for yourself and ensure you have a robust immune system more than ever. So keep reading for some helpful pointers on maintaining your own health as a parent while caring for your little one.
Schedule Regular Exercises
The constant demands on your time may make exercise seem like the farthest thing from your mind on certain days, but even if you can't find 30 minutes to spare at the moment, even a few minutes a day can help.
Put the infant in the stroller and take a morning stroll. Get in shape with some at-home workouts. Find a babysitter or ask a friend to watch the kid for an hour so you can get in a workout at the gym.
Keeping active throughout the day can also help you remain healthy. Plan time to lift weights, attend a class, or use the treadmill.
Dedicate Some Time to Yourself
It's difficult for any mother to strike a balance between caring for her family, earning an income, and maintaining her own health and well-being. It may seem indulgent to take time for yourself now and again, but your physical and emotional well-being depends on it. That entails tuning into your wants and needs and resolving to make time for self-care each day.
Taking care of oneself might include doing anything from engaging in a favorite pastime or hobby to solving puzzles, sudoku, reading a good book, or getting together with a friend. Right now is when you deserve a reward. Take time to appreciate the little things in life, like a hot bath or a nap. By prioritizing self-care during times of high stress, you can better face the challenges ahead.
Maintain Your Energy With Healthy Food
New parenthood might be demanding, but there are methods to keep healthy. The greatest way to eat healthily is to plan ahead. Preparing fruit, nuts, or yogurt for a fast snack is preferable to grabbing whatever is around.
Make some meals ahead of time to either freeze or eat during the week when the baby is napping or playing nearby. Eating healthy doesn't have to take a lot of time, and there are plenty of fast and easy alternatives to choose from, such as salads, sandwiches, and a quick mix of rice and vegetables. Keeping up these good routines will make it less of a challenge to teach them to your child.
Taking Some Time To Relax And Unwind
It's common to fall into a state of "autopilot" the moment you open your eyes in the morning, allowing your mind and body to go from one activity to the next without any conscious thought. In the long run, maintaining such a frenetic pace might be stressful.
Take a few minutes each day to meditate, read, or watch an absolute favorite tv show to de-stress. Plan "me" time to get a massage, disengage from devices, and rest and rejuvenate. Everyone knows that being a parent is no joke, and when the kids are giving you a challenging time, there’s a couple of psychological tricks to improve your bond with them. You'll be in a better mood to be a better parent. It's clear that parents need a lot of sleep, if you’re new at it, there are many parenting tips that might help.
Get Some Good Sleep
While the exact number of hours of sleep needed by an individual may vary, most adults benefit from getting between seven and nine hours of shut-eye each night. Getting a full night's sleep of 7-9 hours may be unrealistic if you have young children, but there are still things you can do to establish a regular sleep routine.
The best way to ensure that you don't forget to go to sleep is to set an alarm on your phone. As soon as the alarm goes off, you should begin winding down for the day. This tells your body it's time to relax and sleep. The light from phones and TVs may disturb our circadian rhythm, so turn them off at least an hour before bed. You'll wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day!
Final Words
At first, caring for a baby may feel like a full-time job. It's a bit of a gamble to go into an unfamiliar area, but the payoff is substantial. If you want to be the sort of parent you want to be, you need to make sure you have the physical and mental stamina to do so. Maintaining healthy lifestyle benefits not just you but your loved ones as well.
Andrew Gutman
Andrew Gutman is a former associate editor at Muscle & Fitness and has contributed to Men’s Journal, Men’s Health, Gear Patrol, and Spartan Race.
Outside of work, he offsets beer curls with dumbbell curls and likes to train BJJ and go on the occasional run. He’s also accepted the fact that he’ll never fit into skinny jeans.
