Over the last few years we have grown resilient to “New Year New Me” resolution. Why?

Most of us tried to make new healthy habits many times but as soon as February came, we were done with the new and back with the old… Does it seem familiar?

Yet January is a great time to start taking care of your body and health. After overindulging for almost the whole of December we feel the need for a change (for me it was November and December last year, as we finally managed to visit our family and friends and introduce Freya, after almost 2 years of lockdowns). That is a powerful drive to start something new. I could not wait to stop eating all these biscuits, cookies and pies (I also loved having all that so it is a bit confusing). Can you feel it? Therefore, I would like to ask you to forget what happened all those previous years and try again! You will succeed this time.

Since I became a mum there is so much to do every day that it sometimes feels impossible to find time for myself. Juggling home and work takes a lot of time and energy. It feels good to think that I will exercise every day but it isn’t easy to fit a 45 min training session into already overloaded schedule, right? Yet I had no other option but find a way to exercise daily.

I crushed….

Right before Freya’s first birthday, after almost 2 years of lockdowns, when no one could come over to help us, I totally crashed. Even though postnatal depression is sneaky and can catch you even a year after having a baby, I don’t think I was depressed. I was extremely exhausted and stressed.

I didn’t know how to ask for help and how to receive it either…

Learning how to be a mum and adjusting to this new role was challenging. We don’t have any family around, Dave worked long hours and I was alone, responsible not only for keeping our baby alive, happy, safe, entertained, clean, fed, rested, etc, but also taking care of all the chores and home responsibilities. What may be surprising I didn’t even think about asking for help. It is not in my nature and it doesn’t come easy for me to receive help either. Feeling so exhausted I didn’t have the energy to exercise and what is the worst, I didn’t always like my life.

My mum saved me!

I needed to read a very smart book to admit that it was a time to ask for help. It is necessary, especially after having a baby. I finally asked my mum for help. Luckily, the lockdown was over and she was able to come over. I have no idea where she gets all that energy from. She was amazing, took care of me and Freya at the same time. Two weeks with her helped me recover enough to start making changes. Including exercising every day.

How is it possible now? Nothing has changed for us apart from one little, tiny thing… I needed to change my priorities and adjust my training to fit my current life.

If you are also juggling too many responsibilities but want to exercise to stay healthy and have the energy to keep up with everything, there is only that one option.

Something else have to give in!

No matter how hard I tried to save 10-30min a day for ME, I wasn’t able to fit everything in… Trying to do so, resulted in a total crash in the first place. If you don’t give up something, you won’t last long. It is too stressful and exhausting. Sadly, most women give up their exercise time or worse, compromise their sleep. Please don’t. These two are top priorities for any mum.

Sleep and exercise are a priority.

You must get enough rest so going to bed later is not an option. PLEASE hear that: “sacrificing sleep is not a healthy option or a long-term solution”. Don’t even think about it. Yes, you may need to get up before your little one is up to fit your exercises in (it doesn’t work for me but may work for you), but that simply means you have to go to bed earlier (I wonder how many mums looked puzzled while reading it). A few months ago I would just laugh hearing that but now, I choose my daily priorities and exercise is at the very top.

Here is what worked for me and I hope works for you as well.

Choose what you can do less of…

It isn’t easy but there is a simple way to decide what to do less of.

For the next few days pay attention to how much time you spent on your daily chores every day and think if you can batch things i.e cook every second evening, try online grocery shopping, clean less (yes I said that), stop ironing (I needed a lot of convincing to give this one up when Freya was 6 months old), ask your spouse for help with some chores.

2. Choose the most convenient time for you to exercise

Choose the time that will make it easy for you to exercise, i.e when your baby is asleep. For me the best, most reliable time is when we watch an evening telly with Dave. This is my cue to get on the floor and do my gentle evening exercises (it is not a good time to do high energy workout and for that I would recommend the morning or baby nap time). It’s the time when I get on the roller or massage ball, do a few gentle hip and back exercises and stretch. It is much better than sitting on the sofa which is the least body friendly (think back & neck pain) furniture I can think of…

3. Do little every day!

If you’re busy, tired and just starting out, I would highly recommend starting with very little but doing it every day. Start with one to three easy, feel-good exercises, i.e spine twist stretch on the floor. If you can, go to the gym (it can be additional motivation). If gym isn’t an option, as it takes too much time, (as Dave works a lot and I have no one to take care of Freya I can only exercise at home, unless I’m working) then start at home. There are so many options available now.

For me starting at home was a great option. It was many years ago, before I even thought about having kids. I felt uncomfortable in the gym and as I worked so much, I didn’t have much spare time. I started with workouts from magazines and DVDs but today there is so much more out there. Just check out You Tube.

Exercising at home gives me much more flexibility and allows me to keep my energy up during the whole day. Instead of trying to fit in one long workout I focus on finding a few minutes whenever I can, to do a few reps of any exercise that I feel my body needs at the time. If I’m feeling cold, I get up and start moving. If my energy is dropping, I do some energy boosting moves. I hardly ever do a big, long workout (except for my evening mobility exercises, they are pretty long as I’m watching telly as well 😊).

Since I became a mum I focus on spine mobility, chest stretches as well as back and neck strength.

Freya is now 16 months and if I don’t do my daily exercises I am in pain. The strain of carrying the baby on my hip, breastfeeding and nursing makes my body “talk”. With my daily exercises I manage to keep it to a “whisper” but it would be a “loud scream” if I didn’t do them. You can look online and find some good trainers who can really inspire you or watch this space as I will be sharing with you my favourite workouts in the coming weeks.

Start with 5-10 minutes a day, slowly building it up to 20 min.

You have to start with really short workouts to preserve (or increase) your energy rather than use it up, build strength and balance and foremost create a new habit. What normally happens is that after a few weeks to a couple of months of trying to find time to exercise you’ll start seeing more opportunities to free more time. You’ll feel more confident, your posture will improve, pains and aches will start disappearing and the body will feel happier. This will be time to do a bit more.

If you need help starting out join our “5 min just for ME” Facebook group.

Staring on the 1st February I will be sharing there 5 min workouts. The intensity of the workouts will correspond to Moon phases to match female hormones. On the 1st of February there is a New Moon that represents the first day of female cycle. It is just for new mums, who like me are eager to start exercising but find it too difficult to do traditional training, designed for me. If you’re interested in this topic I will explain it more next week.

4. What to start with?

Anything that doesn’t require high impact like jumping or running. Best options are Pilates, yoga, core exercises, posture alignment exercises, spine mobility, anything that will help you rebalance your body. Even if you run before having a baby, I don’t recommend starting with it now (I’ll explain in a separate article why). Walking, including brisk walking is the best alternative at this stage. And it can be done with the little one while enjoying the outdoors and connecting with nature. We walk every day and it is my favourite part of the day 😊

Always listen to your body!

Finally, I want to remind you that you have to listen to your body and not to overexert yourself. We live in a world where we see all these amazing women, losing weight and smashing their workouts just a few weeks after having a baby (or training hard even high in the pregnancy). It may work for them but it doesn’t have to work for you. It is not the only way and for most women it is not the healthy way.

I have noticed, that since we have Freya, I simply cannot find the energy to go hard. Normally, if I start training, even if I don’t feel like it at first, the energy comes, and I get in the zone. But not now. I feel tired the whole time and it is a challenge to finish the workout. As this lead me to overexertion I changed my approach and became more aware of what my body needs, depending on what phase of my menstrual cycle I am at (you can read more about it in the next article) and what is good for me each day. I don’t plan my exercises in advance as one sleepless night can change everything. And finally it feels good. There is no pressure, just a simple need to move.

What is the result. I’ll be honest, the weight loss is still slow (but it is happening), but I feel more relaxed and my body feels really good. I have more energy and everyone is happier around me.

Doing less was the best decision for me.

Try it and I am sure you will be still exercising when February is over.

With love!

#18: 4 tips for busy and tired mums to help you start exercising in 2022