Healthy Moms Know to Put On Their Oxygen Masks First
Moms must help themselves before they lend a hand to others. Credit: D Sharon Pruitt
Today’s guest post is brought to you by Shawna Lacharite. She’s from a small town in Nova Scotia but over the past five years has been planting her roots in Calgary, Alberta. She has a wacky 6-year-old daughter and adores her job as a weight-loss coach. She’s also currently getting her master’s in psychology. Phew!
One of the first lessons we are taught as children is selflessness. Anything we have, we’re supposed to give unto others. As we grow older and become parents, that altruistic behavior continues. We go without so our children will have plenty. We work overtime to buy a fancy gift. We make play-dates on the weekends so our kids won’t be ostracized. We do whatever it takes to make sure our kids have a brilliant childhood—because apparently ours wasn’t good enough.
There could be many reasons we feel guilty for wanting to take care of ourselves. We may think that the time we spend on ourselves is time directly taken away from our kids. Or perhaps the money that potentially would be spent on healthier food, a gym membership, etc., could be better spent investing in retirement for you and your spouse. We also may feel guilty that getting in shape will illuminate our overweight friends’ or relatives’ lack of success and make us look like a show-off. These “reasons” for not getting off your butt and doing something about your health are known as faulty thinking patterns. If we just adjusted our perspective on losing weight and getting healthy to focus more on the positive outcomes rather than the negative outcomes, we’d be painting quite a different picture. Consider the following: How would your family benefit from a healthier you?
3 Ways Your Family Benefits from a Healthy Mom
1. Food affects your mood. Eating a well balanced diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates, protein, dairy and healthy fats can ensure your body is getting the proper nutrients it needs for adequate survival. Deficiencies in vitamin D, B and even magnesium have been linked to depression and other mood disorders. Would you rather your family see you as a happy energetic person or a depressed homebody?
2. They would see more of you. Studies show that people who eat right, get plenty of exercise and live a life with very little added stress tend to live longer than their unhealthy, stress-filled cohorts. Just sayin.’
3. The bigger you are, the smaller you feel. Self-esteem has been linked to obesity longer than pig intestines have been linked to hot dogs. The mirror not only reflects your image but also the image you reflect out into the world. Would you ask someone with low self-esteem to talk to your daughter about good body image? Be the role model your kids deserve.
Remember, put on your oxygen mask.
How do you take time in your day for you, even if it’s just a few minutes each day? —Erin