Women are notorious for putting everyone else’s health and happiness ahead of their own, and a recent CafeMom survey on women’s health habits found that, no surprise, mothers are especially self-sacrificing. I get the desire to take care of your loved ones—I’m a mom, too—but it’s important to remember that taking care of you is not selfish. Hey, you can’t look after those around you if you’re run down or under the weather, right? (As the airlines say, put on your own oxygen mask before you assist others with theirs!) Here are three top ways women admitted to neglecting their well-being in the survey, and 13 super simple ways for putting the focus back on you. You deserve it!
Forty-four percent of women admitted they rarely or never exercise.
One of the best ways to make exercise a regular habit is to choose activities you truly enjoy: The more fun you have while doing, well, anything, the more likely you are to keep doing it! Only you can decide which types of workouts or fitness classes belong on your “do” and “never again!” lists, but here are five totally gym-free ways to get your heart pumping, burn 200 calories and have a blast, all at the same time:
• Meet in a dark alley. Round up your pals and head to the bowl-o-rama. Even if you have a light beer, you’ll still strike 200 calories in 90 minutes. (Skip the beer, and you can do it in about an hour.)
• Leave town. Book a spontaneous getaway. You’ll burn 200 calories before you even arrive by taking 4 minutes total to carry your suitcases to the car, then to baggage drop (hauling a 25-pound load burns 4.8 calories a minute), then reading your issue of SELF on the plane for three hours—sitting simmers a little more than 1 calorie a minute. Bon voyage!
• Master the “Single Ladies” dance (finally!). No doubt, this song will be played at every bar, club, wedding and bar mitzvah you attend for the rest of your life. Learn the moves! Warm up like Beyoncé with pliés: Stand with heels together, toes out. Keeping your back straight, lower into a squat for eight counts. View the video on YouTube and practice for 29 minutes, or about nine times through the 3:13 song—you’ll know the steps, the lyrics and how it feels to be Sasha Fierce!
Forty-seven percent of moms said they don’t make eating right a top priority.
Here’s the great news: You don’t have to totally overhaul your diet to improve your health, boost energy or lose unwanted pounds. In fact, experts say that just a few little changes here and there can make a significant difference. Try adopting one of these eat-smart habits each week:
• Table your meals. As much sitting as we do, we rarely stay put during dinner. Fifty-nine percent of young women eat on the run, a study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association finds, and on-the-go eaters consume more total fat, as well as more soda and fast food. The less distracted and stressed you are when you dine, the more efficiently your body absorbs nutrients. Turn off the tube, step away from your desk and park the car before you dig in.
• Fuel up in the morning, not at night. A car needs gas when it’s hitting the road, not when it’s sitting in the garage—so why do we have our biggest meal when the only energy burner on the agenda is working the remote? Instead, aim for a 550-calorie breakfast, a 500-calorie lunch, a 450-calorie dinner and a 100-calorie snack. “If you overeat at night, you’re less likely to burn off the calories,” says Susan Mitchell, Ph.D., coauthor of Fat Is Not Your Fate.
• Don’t buy food where you buy tires. In our time-crunched life, it’s tempting to grab groceries at the pump or in a store where you can get a giant box of cereal along with an ottoman. But for the healthiest food at the fairest price, visit your neighborhood grocery store. A study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that convenience stores charge more for nutritious fare than supermarkets do.
• Drop out of the clean plate club. Once you slice and sauté your way to a fabulous feast, you don’t have to finish every bite. “We’re conditioned to think that if we don’t devour everything on our plate, we are misbehaving,” says Paul McKenna, Ph.D., author of I Can Make You Thin. But if you keep munching even after you’re full, you are using your body as a storage unit. If there’s enough left over for lunch tomorrow, pack it up and put it in the fridge. Otherwise, toss scraps in the trash. We promise we won’t tell your mom.
Seventy-one percent of moms surveyed said they were not satisfied with their amount of me-time.
This CafeMom stat says one thing to me: We need more hours in the day! Feels impossible some days, but here are six ways to find some minutes here and there in your busy life that can really add up. Use them to spend more time with the people you love the most—yourself included!
• Audit yourself. Spend a day tracking how you spend every half hour, says Laura Vanderkam, author of 168 Hours. You’ll be amazed how much time you waste: three Facebook status updates in an hour?!
• Get chatterboxes to hang up. Have to start a phone call with someone who never ends one? “Call at 5 P.M., when people are trying to get home,” suggests Laura Stack, author of SuperCompetent. “She’ll be less likely to talk incessantly.”
• Cut down on housework. So you can’t summon Mary Poppins to snap her fingers and get the mess to disappear. Make your own magic: Change the air filters in your heating/cooling system. You’ll do less dusting, Stack says, and save up to a half hour each month.
• Make paying your bills a breeze. How? Pay them online. Digitize one account today, another tomorrow. People who pay bills online do so in 15 minutes a month, whereas those who write out checks take two hours, a Harris poll finds. Try it; you’ll like it (maybe not the bill paying, but the hour and 45 minutes for that novel you’ve been meaning to finish).
• Commute with a pal. Even if a carpool means going a little out of your way, you’re finding extra friend time. Trip it real good!
• Schedule sleepovers. Kids love the slumber parties, says Stack, so arrange to send your little ones to a friend’s house for a night. While they’re away, you can savor some alone time or snuggle up with your honey. Then return the favor to ensure those solo evenings become a regular occurrence you can look forward to. When the kids come to your house, you can fully enjoy it knowing you had your free time, and now it’s mom time. You’ll feel more engaged for all the time to yourself. Repeat after me: It’s not selfish, it’s self-preservation!
Forty-four percent of women admitted they rarely or never exercise.
One of the best ways to make exercise a regular habit is to choose activities you truly enjoy: The more fun you have while doing, well, anything, the more likely you are to keep doing it! Only you can decide which types of workouts or fitness classes belong on your “do” and “never again!” lists, but here are five totally gym-free ways to get your heart pumping, burn 200 calories and have a blast, all at the same time:
• Meet in a dark alley. Round up your pals and head to the bowl-o-rama. Even if you have a light beer, you’ll still strike 200 calories in 90 minutes. (Skip the beer, and you can do it in about an hour.)
• Leave town. Book a spontaneous getaway. You’ll burn 200 calories before you even arrive by taking 4 minutes total to carry your suitcases to the car, then to baggage drop (hauling a 25-pound load burns 4.8 calories a minute), then reading your issue of SELF on the plane for three hours—sitting simmers a little more than 1 calorie a minute. Bon voyage!
• Master the “Single Ladies” dance (finally!). No doubt, this song will be played at every bar, club, wedding and bar mitzvah you attend for the rest of your life. Learn the moves! Warm up like Beyoncé with pliés: Stand with heels together, toes out. Keeping your back straight, lower into a squat for eight counts. View the video on YouTube and practice for 29 minutes, or about nine times through the 3:13 song—you’ll know the steps, the lyrics and how it feels to be Sasha Fierce!
Forty-seven percent of moms said they don’t make eating right a top priority.
Here’s the great news: You don’t have to totally overhaul your diet to improve your health, boost energy or lose unwanted pounds. In fact, experts say that just a few little changes here and there can make a significant difference. Try adopting one of these eat-smart habits each week:
• Table your meals. As much sitting as we do, we rarely stay put during dinner. Fifty-nine percent of young women eat on the run, a study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association finds, and on-the-go eaters consume more total fat, as well as more soda and fast food. The less distracted and stressed you are when you dine, the more efficiently your body absorbs nutrients. Turn off the tube, step away from your desk and park the car before you dig in.
• Fuel up in the morning, not at night. A car needs gas when it’s hitting the road, not when it’s sitting in the garage—so why do we have our biggest meal when the only energy burner on the agenda is working the remote? Instead, aim for a 550-calorie breakfast, a 500-calorie lunch, a 450-calorie dinner and a 100-calorie snack. “If you overeat at night, you’re less likely to burn off the calories,” says Susan Mitchell, Ph.D., coauthor of Fat Is Not Your Fate.
• Don’t buy food where you buy tires. In our time-crunched life, it’s tempting to grab groceries at the pump or in a store where you can get a giant box of cereal along with an ottoman. But for the healthiest food at the fairest price, visit your neighborhood grocery store. A study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that convenience stores charge more for nutritious fare than supermarkets do.
• Drop out of the clean plate club. Once you slice and sauté your way to a fabulous feast, you don’t have to finish every bite. “We’re conditioned to think that if we don’t devour everything on our plate, we are misbehaving,” says Paul McKenna, Ph.D., author of I Can Make You Thin. But if you keep munching even after you’re full, you are using your body as a storage unit. If there’s enough left over for lunch tomorrow, pack it up and put it in the fridge. Otherwise, toss scraps in the trash. We promise we won’t tell your mom.
Seventy-one percent of moms surveyed said they were not satisfied with their amount of me-time.
This CafeMom stat says one thing to me: We need more hours in the day! Feels impossible some days, but here are six ways to find some minutes here and there in your busy life that can really add up. Use them to spend more time with the people you love the most—yourself included!
• Audit yourself. Spend a day tracking how you spend every half hour, says Laura Vanderkam, author of 168 Hours. You’ll be amazed how much time you waste: three Facebook status updates in an hour?!
• Get chatterboxes to hang up. Have to start a phone call with someone who never ends one? “Call at 5 P.M., when people are trying to get home,” suggests Laura Stack, author of SuperCompetent. “She’ll be less likely to talk incessantly.”
• Cut down on housework. So you can’t summon Mary Poppins to snap her fingers and get the mess to disappear. Make your own magic: Change the air filters in your heating/cooling system. You’ll do less dusting, Stack says, and save up to a half hour each month.
• Make paying your bills a breeze. How? Pay them online. Digitize one account today, another tomorrow. People who pay bills online do so in 15 minutes a month, whereas those who write out checks take two hours, a Harris poll finds. Try it; you’ll like it (maybe not the bill paying, but the hour and 45 minutes for that novel you’ve been meaning to finish).
• Commute with a pal. Even if a carpool means going a little out of your way, you’re finding extra friend time. Trip it real good!
• Schedule sleepovers. Kids love the slumber parties, says Stack, so arrange to send your little ones to a friend’s house for a night. While they’re away, you can savor some alone time or snuggle up with your honey. Then return the favor to ensure those solo evenings become a regular occurrence you can look forward to. When the kids come to your house, you can fully enjoy it knowing you had your free time, and now it’s mom time. You’ll feel more engaged for all the time to yourself. Repeat after me: It’s not selfish, it’s self-preservation!
The new Self Challenge Drop 10 program just launched! Join us in dropping the winter weight and you'll feel great for summer. Plus, this year we will email you the menu and workout plan free, every day.
Warm Regard, Sara Pandian
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