PHOTO CREDIT: Joelle Gould

Two years ago, my life revolved around taking care of my babies. I read books. I joined playgroups, story times, and baby group activities. I made their baby food. My diet? Well, I ignored proper portions and foods, and steadily gained weight. My workout? When would I have time to run or lift weights? I was always tired. I felt terrible, and I needed direction to define myself outside of being a mother.

What brought me back to reality? I got tired of accepting excuses. With a few simple steps, I reorganized my perception of me and my time to work out. When we nurture our health and well-being, we are making our family a priority. You can begin the journey to consistent workouts by developing a strong, positive mindset. With small, manageable steps, home, work, child care, friend, and family commitments will mesh with your healthy goals for life.

Step 1: Don’t make time an excuse.

For a week, try writing down everything you do in 15 to 30 minute increments. I guarantee that you’ll find slots in your day to squeeze in some exercise. As you begin to reap the benefits from working out, you’ll find ways to prioritize your schedule.

Step 2: Just say “No.”

Don’t be afraid to say no, when priorities to care for yourself and your family don’t fit. I’m a multi-tasker. I feel like I always have my hands in several projects at once. I was involved in mystery shopping, tutoring, volunteer activities, story times, and MOMS Club activities. Eventually, I had to pare down my commitments. In order to prioritize my exercising habits and still be committed to my family, I slowed down on the extracurriculars and focused on the activities that benefited all of us.

Step 3: Start out slow.

My initial workouts were two or three days of strength and body weight exercises during my favorite evening shows. For example, start out with a full bodyweight circuit: jog in place for one minute followed by 20 squats, 10 pushups, 20 lunges, 10 tricep dips, 20 crunches, 20 side crunches, and repeat. Once you’re feeling comfortable supporting your weight, start incorporating hand weights and adding exercises that stress multiple muscle groups. Investing in a stability ball will allow you to progress to core stability routines that work the full body. For example, you can complete a wall squat with bicep curls and shoulder raises, crunch rollouts, and many more exercises. As you benefit from exercising, momentum will build. Before you know it, you’ll be craving more and finding ways to carve out additional time in your week to work out.

Once your mind is set, a healthier, happier you will emerge. When mamma’s happy, the whole family is happy!

Cindy Posey, CI-CPT, is a mom, a personal trainer, and author of GoWorkoutMom.com, a blog designed to motivate moms to prioritize physical fitness. She lives in Nashville, TN, with her wonderful husband and two toddlers serving as her inspiration.