If you’re a mom (also goes by the name “superwoman”), you may sometimes (OK, maybe a lot of times) struggle with putting yourself first - often prioritizing the needs of your family over your own. While a commitment to your family is important, it can also make achieving your own health and weight loss goals more challenging. The key to success is striking a healthy balance between being there for your kids and being there for yourself. The truth of the matter is when you make time to work towards the things that are important to you, it creates a positive ripple effect in your life - and your family will reap the benefits! Here are 10 tips that busy moms like you can implement in order to support successful weight loss and adopt new livable lifestyle habits: 

1. Consistency Over Perfection. The key to real success is creating healthy habits that stick. And this is done through consistency. When setting goals for yourself, think about what’s realistic for your current lifestyle. Is it realistic to eat 100% of meals from home? Is it fair to say you will be able to workout 6 days a week? When starting any new weight loss plan, it’s tempting to immediately go from 0 to 60 - and being ambitious is not a bad thing! But if you set goals for yourself that are almost impossible to maintain, it could end up backfiring and potentially lead to behaviors like binging and restricting foods. So, next time you set a nutrition or fitness goal, start with something small and attainable and then gradually build upon it. If you can realistically workout 3X per week for 30 minutes, start there. If you like to have a date night with your partner once a week and lunch with a friend, factor that into your home cooked meals and set the goal of 80% of meals from home vs. 100%. Creating a plan that allows you to adhere to and reasonably live within the guidelines you set is always going to yield better results than one that sets you up for failure from the start!

2. Create a Weekly Menu. Whether you’re following an MRC meal plan or your own, one of the simplest ways to plan ahead is by creating a weekly menu for yourself and your family. Write out the days of the week on a calendar (hang it on your fridge) and pre-plan the meals you want to have each day. Map out what sounds good for the week ahead, knowing there’s room to update the menu whenever you like. Include the meals you plan to eat at a restaurant as well. Then all that’s left to do is buy ingredients for the week ahead and make your meals in real time. Instead of spending four hours on a Sunday meal prepping, simply double or triple the things you make and repurpose them for meals throughout the week. For example, if you’re having stir fry for lunch on Tuesday, double your meat and veggie portions and use those for a lunch bowl the next day! Less time prepping on Sunday means more time spent being present with family. 

3. Track Your Meals. This can yield some of the best results! Using a planner, food log, or tracker of choice you can easily create a record of what is working and what is not. When you track your choices, it brings a much better awareness and accuracy to what you are eating and what foods serve you well and which ones need an adjustment. If you are simply guessing how much you’re consuming, it is very easy to undershoot by hundreds of calories (or in some cases overshoot and end up not eating enough to meet your goals). In order to lose weight, you must be eating in a caloric deficit but if you’re having bites of your kid’s foods as you make them lunch, nibbling on side dishes as you prepare dinner, or grazing on the sweets left out on the counter from Halloween, it becomes very easy and likely to go over your portions/calories/macros for the day and wind up frustrated and confused as to why the scale isn’t budging.
    

4. Weigh and Measure Your Food. This goes hand in hand with food tracking, but is often underperformed. It’s difficult to say “how much” of something you’ve had when you don’t know exactly how much. Eyeballing accurate portions comes after many months and sometimes years of experience. Certain foods are very calorically dense (peanut butter, cooking oils and fattier cuts of meat); so, understanding how much they weigh will allow you to accurately track their macro and calorie breakdown. When it comes to weighing and measuring, food scales are queen. Measuring cups and spoons can vary between brands, making them less reliable than a scale. The good news is electronic scales are very inexpensive and can be found online or even in your local grocery store. If you are cooking for your whole family, simply pre-cook your meats and veggies and then portion out the amount you want to enjoy, pop it on the scale, and plate it! You could use this time as an opportunity to input your meal into the food tracking app so you don’t have to come back to it later. It might take a couple weeks to get adjusted to weighing and tracking but once you have it down, it will become like second nature - and it’s going to make life much easier!

5. Eat Enough Protein! Protein contains essential amino acids that support healthy bodies, weight loss, and muscle growth. Protein keeps us fuller for much longer so we avoid cravings that can lead to overeating. If you are following a weight loss protocol and not eating enough protein, you will lose muscle and fat which can slow down your metabolic rate. Bottom line: you need protein to get results! A general rule of thumb is to aim for about .7 grams- 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. That means a 150 pound woman would aim for at least 105 grams per day (35 grams per meal); but keep in mind that exact needs may vary based on factors such as menstrual cycle, age, and activity level. Here are some common foods and their protein amounts: 1 egg is about 6 grams of protein, 4oz of tofu is 9 grams, and 4oz of cooked chicken is 35 grams. When grocery shopping for the family, think about easy ways to sneak in more protein i.e grass-fed jerky sticks, greek yogurt, protein powder, organic cheese sticks, turkey slices etc. Metabolic Research Center protein drinks and bars contain 15g or more of protein per serving, and many are less than 100 calories.

6. Avoid Naked Carbs. This is a simple hack that doesn’t require any extra time or planning. In order to lose weight, it’s imperative to balance blood sugar levels and one of the easiest ways to do this is by ditching the solo carbs (e.g., banana by itself or a bowl of cereal). Instead, try to pair your carbs with a protein and fat source to slow the absorption and avoid intense insulin spikes which can lead to lethargy, hunger, cravings and mood swings. A few examples: add turkey and avocado to your toast, throw half a banana into a protein shake, enjoy a small handful of nuts alongside your fruit. The key is to dress your carbs with another macro like a protein or a healthy fat.
   

7. Pre-Plan Daily Movement Bursts! Try to get in some form of movement every day. Rather than feeling like you have to set aside an hour for a workout on the days that are super busy, simply commit to 15 minutes. This could be a HIIT workout on YouTube, a fast-paced walk outside, a guided yoga flow or even a solo dance party in your bedroom before you take the kids to school! Remember, consistency is KEY; so, simply moving your body on a regular basis will make a difference - plus, it’s much easier to fit it into your schedule. Think about creative ways to get the family moving together too. Can you go for an evening walk before dinner? Play a game of twister before bed? Join a rock climbing gym? Plan out a weekly hike? Set up a game of backyard baseball? Getting your children involved in sports and an active lifestyle will make it much easier for you to get your workouts in too! Consider tracking your steps and set a goal for yourself that you can build upon over time (8-10K steps per day can be an absolute game changer). Pro Tip: park your car in the farthest spot from your destination and run as many errands as you can on foot! 

8. Go For a Walk After a Heavier Meal. After you have a carb/calorie heavy meal, go for a 15-20 minute walk (bike ride, hike, etc) as a way to help naturally lower blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity. Moving after eating allows us to utilize glucose in our blood for energy. Scientists have found that walking for 15 minutes after a meal can reduce blood sugar levels, and in a meta-analysis (published in the journal Sports Medicine), researchers looked at the results of seven studies that compared the effects of sitting versus standing or walking on measures of heart health, including insulin and blood sugar levels. The conclusion was that light walking after a meal (even just 2-5 minutes) had a significant impact in moderating blood sugar levels! See the full article here. Fun ways to get movement in: turn up the music and have a dance off with your kids after dinner, throw tennis shoes in your purse and walk home from a local restaurant, grab a stroller and go for a brisk walk around the block, etc! 

9. Stock your fridge with nutrient-dense frozen foods! When you’re short on time, it can be really helpful to keep things in the freezer you can just pull out and heat. Storing frozen veggies for stir-fry dinners and zip lock baggies of fruit for smoothies is a great way to minimize cooking and prep time and maximize nutrient density. You can also purchase pre-cooked frozen proteins like shrimp and chicken that simply need to be heated and prepared with sauce and/or seasonings. The more you can simplify your life, the better! 

10.  Set boundaries and make time for yourself! This might be the toughest one of them all, but it is the most important when it comes to reaping the rewards of your hard work. Take a look at your calendar every Sunday night and ask yourself “what can I reschedule or raincheck to make more time for myself and my goals?” There are usually at least 1-2 things every week that are not urgent and can be moved. Set your alarm to wake up 10-15 minutes earlier and rather than check your phone upon waking; using this time as a digital detox and get in a quick workout or make yourself breakfast before you start taking care of everyone else! 

Bottom line: if prioritizing your weight loss goals is important to you, then prioritizing you needs to be important to you, too! Take a few minutes to visualize what losing weight would help you gain. For some people it’s greater confidence, more energy and better sleep. Having a strong “why” is imperative when it comes to setting out to accomplish your goals, and it is made much easier with support. If you’re not sure how to start or need support, then click here to connect with an MRC Coach and get started on a personalized plan! We also offer saliva hormone testing which can help you get to the root of hidden hormonal imbalances that may be sabotaging your best efforts to lose weight. From there you’ll receive hands-on guidance and lifestyle support to move the needle (and the scale) in the direction you are hoping for!