Keeping fit whilst having a busy young family

Today we have a great guest post from Amber from Chaising The Fitness life. I’ve followed her for a while on instagram and found her healthy lifestyle with 3 young children inspirational and now she has her own blog! She has some great tips and is great at meal planning. I’ve asked her to share her story with us to give you a little inspiration 🙂

Being a stay at home mom to three children and a military wife, life gets pretty busy to-day the least.  Trying to stay fit on top of everything else I do on a daily basis is a challenge as well.

I often get asked how I have time to even think about working out.

The answer is I MAKE time.

My goal is to at least go to the gym for one hour a day but let’s be honest as a family of five with only one vehicle, things are bound to pop up now and then that prevent me to go, but I always  try to anyways.  On the days I know I wont be making it to the gym I find ways to still get in a workout.  Depending on what I am supposed to workout that day I will improvise.

Honestly working out my legs and glutes are my favorite.  Working out legs is great because not only are you toning but since they are the largest group of muscles you are burning fat as well.  I didn’t start using the gym until a few months ago.  I always tell everyone you can use what you have, all you need is determination.

For example, squats! Squats do not require any equipment but are very effective.  Lunges are another favorite of mine you can do them with or without weights.  If you don’t have weights just hold one of your little cuties, they think it is pretty fun as well.  Stairs! Fast or slow no matter what speed you go its a great workout.

Another great workout is when I have our seven and six-year-old boys grab their bikes and we put our baby girl in the stroller and the boys know its time for mom to run!

No matter what workout you choose try to at least workout for 30 minutes a day (yes washing and drying the car counts 😊).  Working out has a numerous amount of health benefits and it makes you feel great as well.  Just get out and move!

Some days may seem impossible to fit in a good workout and that’s okay I’ve learned to not beat myself up about those days and just start from where I left off the day before.  Just remember you’re doing great and everyone has to start somewhere!

My husband and I have similar goals and mind sets when it comes to our fitness goals I am truly blessed for that but since we first became parents we have always made it a point to have vegetables for the kids as snacks and in return we are pretty blessed that are kids at least like a handful of vegetables.  We also make sure to include our kids in some fun physical activities to keep them moving and to stay healthy as well.

There are so many ways to add vegetables to your child’s meals!  My personal favorite is to blend our homemade spaghetti sauce (this would work with a jar of sauce from the store as well) one or two handfuls of spinach.  My kids love spinach we don’t even buy lettuce for the most part we just use spinach for our salads but they don’t even know I add it to the spaghetti or our smoothies! SHHHHHH………

If you want to take it a step further I sautee an onion and green pepper as well and add to the spaghetti sauce to blend together it adds great flavor and VEGGIES !

When it comes to fruit our kiddos love when we make smoothies and put them in popsicle molds to put in the freezer.  The kids think these are a big treat but as a mommy I am glad they don’t have any added sugar.

The best advice I could give is one that I live by everyday and it is try your best to do a little better than the day before and don’t try to change everything at once.  When we went from processed foods to whole foods we swapped a few items at a time this way it was not so overwhelming or expensive as well.   I wish you the best on your fitness journey to a healthier you!