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How To Lose Weight: Parent Edition
Not going to lie, losing weight as I get older is becoming harder and harder.
Also, my love for food deepens each year.
After having kids, exercising is the last thing on my mind, and eating healthy often takes a back seat. Then there’s the fact that parenting is stressful so we tend to stress eat, or stress drink.
So here’s a “real life” guide as to losing weight as a parent … only six easy steps!
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STEP ONE:
Stop eating your kid’s leftovers. Seriously – that shit adds up in our system and before you know it the kid’s leftovers become you adding extra just so you can eat it at the end. Start a compost bin and throw the leftovers in there, or keep them in the fridge for later and make your kids finish them off.
I always make my kids eat it before having anything else. If they come home from school with lunch left, then it becomes their afternoon tea.
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STEP TWO:
Just go for a walk. Seriously, f*ck running; just go for a walk. You could walk 20 paces down the road from your letterbox and it’ll be better than what you’re doing. Park far away from the supermarket so you can walk a little extra bit. “Going for a walk” doesn’t mean you have to kit up in your active wear and walk for an hour – it simply means do a little bit extra.
If I’m feeling extra cooped up with the kids, sometimes we just walk to the end of the road together. Exercise for everyone. You don’t have to get your heart racing for it to count.
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STEP THREE:
Don’t eat shit food. Really simple guys, just make better choices when it comes to food. You don’t have to be a salad-eating-sugar-free Mum (not that there’s anything wrong with that) but just make better choices.
I still have sugar in my coffee each morning – I’m not a monster. I try and cut down on takeaways, and eat smaller portions. Don’t make your life a misery because we all know food is life. Just make better choices. Eat fruit instead of biscuits (Bleugh I know but just do it haha).
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STEP FOUR:
Save the wine for a Friday. Give yourself something to look forward to during the week and save that wine for Friday evening. I know it’s hard because kids / parenting drives us to drink most days, but believe me when I say having something to look forward to (like wine on a Friday) helps me get through the week.
AND if you do have a shitty day: drink that f’ing wine. Some days just call for it.
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STEP FIVE:
Just f’ing eat less. Oh and drink more water. Have one helping instead of two. Choose a small Big Mac combo instead of a large. Keep it real, just eat less shit.
Choose water instead of a coke. Or limit your coke to once a day. Baby steps.
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STEP SIX:
Have a treat day. Make it Saturday and f’k the rest of the week. Not only will you eat less during the week but it’ll also give you something to look forward to. I find as a parent, getting through the week by having something to look forward to is a great way to get along.
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Let’s be realistic here: you don’t have to make big changes to lose weight. You’re still a parent, and as I said above, parenting is hard. Take SMALL steps. Make small changes.
Don’t criticise yourself if you have a bad day and end up eating more than you should. Start fresh tomorrow; each day is a new day.
ALSO: I do realise that losing weight shouldn’t be the end goal. Being healthy should be. Which is why if you try hard and take baby steps, you will be healthy because of the choices you make.
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