I’m a busy mom — let’s face it, we are all busy moms. Every minute counts! That means some days we don’t have time to go to the gym. We need some solutions that will help a mother out, and take minimal time.
After months of research here are my 11 best weight loss hacks that will help any busy mom shed the pounds, keep them off and feel awesome.
I’ll be the first to admit it. I can get distracted with everything else in my life and forget to take care of numero uno! Take yesterday for instance. Rushing around, getting things done and I completely forgot to take my multivitamin.
I’m sure that every mom can relate, right? It is so easy to beat ourselves up when really, hey we are doing a great job!
Sometimes we just need to find shortcuts. That is what this article is all about — shortcuts for weight loss!
Before I get into it though I have to say, it’s okay if you don’t do all of these things 100%. Just do what you can.
You might be saying “um yah, but I have a lot of weight to lose and feel like it is never going to come off!”
First,… chill… take a deep breath. It will come off.
I promise you can put these simple hacks into action and the weight will come off.
BUT will you lose 50 pounds overnight? No. However, three months from now you can either look in the mirror and see you weigh the same (or have put on more weight) OR you can lose 20-30 pounds from just making these small adjustments to your life and implementing the secret weapon I am going to share at the end of this blog post.
1. Drink the right amount of water for you
One of the biggest mistakes I make is to not drink enough water! Honestly though, it’s not just me. This is the #1 mistake most people make when trying to lose weight – they simply don’t drink enough water!
Water is vital in helping our bodies to flush out the bad stuff.
It is one of the easiest ways to remove toxins from our body, which can result in a few less pounds on the scale.
How do you know how much to drink? Multiple your weight by 2/3 (or 67%) to determine how much water to drink daily. For example, if you weighed 175 pounds you would multiple that by 2/3 and learn you should be drinking about 117 ounces of water every day.
2. Use a water bottle tracker
And carry your water tracker with you everywhere! Yes, drinking water is hard to do at first. But guess what? Your body will start to crave it after about a week.
Water bottle trackers are great especially when you’re first starting out. You can use an app on your phone, or even just a simple post-it sticky.
3. Add some zing to your water
Adding a little bit of lemon to your water can help gently detox your body. You could also add other fruit such as limes, apples and oranges. Better yet, add some Apple Cider Vinegar. You may want to read the article How to Drink Apple Cider Vinegar & Actually Enjoy It
4. Don’t drink your calories
Once I discovered sugary drinks were not only adding to my waistline, but also contributing to the downslide of my overall health, I cut them out immediately.
I think of it like this — you can either drink water to detox and feel great and then reward yourself with a sugary drink on the weekend. Or, you can drink the garbage and feel like garbage.
Check out the post The Super Easy Soda Alternative to Satisfy Your Wallet & Your Tastebuds
5. Avoid packaged & fast food
Processed food is quick and easy. Whether it be the McDonald’s drive-thru, or the pre-packaged lunches at the store. But they are loaded with tons of bad stuff AND calories. Fast food is the biggest reason why obesity is an epidemic in America. I know it is not as convenient, but try packing your lunch instead. The pounds will melt away and you’ll save money too!
6. Use small bowls and plates
Portion control is important when you are wanting to lose weight! It’s so easy to over eat, especially if you are using a big plate. That’s because when you have a big plate you naturally want to fill it up!
Trick your mind into thinking your eating more, by using smaller plates.
Also, if you are a fast eater, try slowing down when you eat. It takes a while for your brain to realize it’s full.
7. Prep meals ahead
Plan your meals ahead of time. This saves your family time, and makes it easier to eat well. You can meal prep for any meal. I love to meal prep my lunches and my kids lunches for every weekday. I also food prep for a few dinners each week.
8. Grab and go snacks
In addition to meal prep – be sure to stock up on some easy grab and go snacks. Stock up on cheese sticks, veggies & fruits (raw or dried), beef jerky, and nuts. My favorite go-to snack are almonds. They satisfy my desire for salty crunchy plus they have so many benefits for my body.
Our boys love the pull apart cheese sticks. Keep these in your fridge, pantry and even in your purse so you have something in a pinch.
One thing we are just starting to venture into is dehydrating our own fruits. I’m sure there will be blog posts on this in the future! ?
9. Add in a Little Help
If you find it really challenging to eat smaller portions and cut out sugary drinks, you may want to consider adding in a little bit of help. One of my favorites is TRIM. You can get the product here and save $10 off your first purchase.
TRIM helps you to lose excess fat, while maintaining muscle tone and improving your skin strenth and tonality. Just one tablespoon daily of TRIM helped me go from a size 12 jeans down to a size 8. Get TRIM here and save $10 off your first purchase.
10. Consider Juicing
When you juice your fruits and veg two things happen. First you get a ton of vitamins and minerals that you couldn’t possibly consume otherwise in one day. One glass of juice can contain many fruits and veg.
Also by juicing you are giving your digestion a break. You are giving it the nutrients it needs, you are getting filled up, yet your digestion gets a break. This is important because our digestion is so key in our overall health.
My favorite juicer is the Hurom Juicer. It is a masticating juicer which means higher quality juice. It’s also pretty quiet which means I can juice while the kids sleep.
11. Short Workouts
Short workouts are perfect for when you’re new to working out or when you just can’t cram it into an already busy life.
It’s better to take baby steps than no steps at all. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park your car in the back of the lot instead of right by the door so you can burn extra calories. Jump rope, run your stairs, do sit-ups. The goal is to challenge your body and boost your heart rate if possible.
10. Limit your sitting time
We sit in the car, when we’re watching TV, playing on the computer, eating, the list goes on. Just being mindful about how often we’re sitting can help us to lose weight. Well, that and doing something about it. Taking breaks during commercials to do some squats or sit-ups will do wonders for helping you shed those unwanted pounds.
Food for Thought
Another quick note. Don’t eat or drink before bed! This topic is controversial, because some people think that eating before bed causes weight gain while others say it may cause weight loss. So we provided it here for you to research. We discovered there are several studies that show people who eat before bed are more likely to gain weight. Here are a few of the studies.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23814334
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23036285
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25439026
Don’t be too hard on yourself
I think this is where most of us fail. We have bad days and mess up, then we feel like failures and this causes us to actually fail. Remember, some progress is better than no progress at all. It’s about progress, not perfection. Just start small and work your way up. Don’t feel like you have to do everything on this list right now. Get some grab and go snacks this week and next week start prepping meals.
Whatever it takes. If you have the motivation to do everything, then by all means, go for it. But don’t get down on yourself if you skip your daily workout or drink a soda.
