This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Beaumont. All opinions are 100% mine.
As we transition into fall and schedules start to fill with school, sports, and activities, staying healthy and having a great year are more of a priority. But as a busy mom, it’s easy to let your own schedule, health, and sanity fall behind.
If you’re struggling to keep it together, both emotionally and physically, these simple tricks can help you stay healthy and have a great year.
Manage your time
Does your anxiety go into overdrive if you don’t have control over your schedule?
Especially as your schedule changes (the kids go back to school, sports practices start, or the kids stop taking naps), it’s important to create a routine and take charge over your schedule.
Do a brain dump
Start by writing down all your tasks. Get everything out of your head, whether it feels important or not.
Use my brain dump template to make sure you’re covering everything.
Time block your schedule
Then, add the most important things into your schedule and create a time blocked routine so you don’t schedule two sports practices at once or miss a doctor’s appointment.
Once you have everything written in your planner, start following your routine.
Use your planner
Every night, check the next day’s schedule.
Then, leave your planner open in a central location so you can refer to it, almost like a to-do list, throughout the day.
Create a healthier lifestyle
It’s so easy to neglect your own health when you’re a mom, and the “self-care” industry is filled with tips like “take a bubble bath” that sound nice but aren’t really that helpful.
So, how should you really practice self-care?!?
To be truly healthy, create a healthy lifestyle (and it is a lifestyle, not just a one-time crash diet or nap).
Make sure your baseline health is good, and then take care of yourself to maintain your health.
Check your heart health
Before you can really start making changes, you need to find your starting point. Have you scheduled your routine checkups? Are you doing self-exams?
Start by taking this free heart risk assessment from Beaumont Health.
My family has a history of heart disease. At the age of 35, my uncle passed away from a heart attack, another uncle has been hospitalized for blood clots, and I was only 22 when I had to drive my dad to the hospital as he was having a heart attack.
But although heart conditions seem to be more prevalent in men, heart conditions don’t discriminate! Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.
In fact, it isn’t only the men in my family who have heart conditions. My grandmother died from complications with her heart, and several of my aunts have been diagnosed with heart conditions.
Whether you have a family history of heart disease or not, take matters into your own hands!
I took Beaumont’s health assessment (it didn’t even take five minutes to finish it), and the results were so interesting.
In the assessment, you’ll answer simple demographic questions to help determine your heart risk and whether you should follow up with a doctor or talk to a cardiologist.
You’ll also answer some basic questions about your current health and lifestyle.
High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and smoking are key risk factors for heart disease, and about half of Americans have at least one of these surprising risk factors of heart disease, so the assessment will help you determine if these might be a risk for you.
If you know your blood pressure, you’ll enter that, but if not, just say whether it’s high, low, or indicate that you don’t know.
When you’re done taking the test, you’ll receive your “heart risk” score and your estimated heart age. 🎉 You can also get an email with your full results, information to , and additional tips to improve or maintain your heart’s health.
You can follow Beaumont on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter for more simple tips.
Eat healthier
In my heart health assessment, my family’s heart history and my weight were two areas where I had higher heart risk.
For the past year, I’ve been trying to eat healthier and lose weight, but I’ve realized that “dieting” isn’t the best solution.
Instead, focusing on making lifestyle changes is the best, longest lasting way to lose weight and be healthier overall.
However, one of the easiest ways to eat healthier is to replace some of your favorite (unhealthy) foods with healthier options. This works especially well if you, like me, love snacking. 😉
Finding lower sugar alternatives, like plain Greek yogurt, fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grains, like farro, are helpful to curb cravings and still feel like you’re eating well-rounded meals.
Once you’ve made some healthier swaps, incorporate your new healthy habits into your daily life on a regular basis.
Get more sleep
Finding time to get quality sleep (and then staying asleep or even falling back to sleep after the kids wake you) can be a challenge for moms.
But getting quality sleep is vital to your health, and it can also make a huge difference in how you react and treat your family (anyone else throw tantrums that can rival a toddler when they’re sleep deprived?!?).
The easiest way to get more sleep is to go to bed earlier.
As soon as the kids are in bed and the dishes are done, start your nightly routine and put yourself to bed.
If you struggle to fall (or stay) asleep, try some of these tips: 15 Tricks to Get More Sleep
Find time to exercise
Exercise has been proven to have so many health benefits, both as a stress relief and on your overall health.
But to see health benefits (both mental and physical) of exercise, you don’t need to be a gym rat. Even ten minutes a day can be helpful.
Try to play outside with the kids for a few minutes or even park farther from the grocery store to get more steps.
For more sneaky ways to get exercise, check out this post: How to Easily Add Exercise Into Your Day
Managing your time and making small changes to create a healthier lifestyle will help you have an amazing year (and years to come). Creating a healthy lifestyle, including monitoring your heart health (take Beaumont’s free heart risk assessment), doesn’t have to be complicated.
Try these tips to relieve stress and feel better overall, and read these 5 heart healthy habits you can start today.
