My Daily Grind : Step by Step

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #BalanceRewards #CollectiveBias

I’m going to be completely honest here. It’s hard for ME to fit exercise normally into my day. With a work from home job, three littles and a slew of other things to keep my very cluttered mind occupied, exercise is not really going to fit anywhere in there. Or so I thought. Last year, I downloaded a steps counter on my smart phone, and I’ve been kind of obsessed with attempting to get to 10,000 steps daily. THEN, I downloaded the Walgreens app, and found out that they gave Balance Rewards points for logging your steps, or miles run daily through their Balance Rewards healthy choices program. I just checked mine, and I started using that function a YEAR ago! What a difference a year makes, huh? It makes it super easy to keep track of any health goals that I have made for myself. 

You DO know about Walgreens and their Balance Rewards program, right? It’s a program where you get points – worth cash – when you purchase items that you normally would on a trip to your favorite store on the corner of Happy and Healthy.  In this app, you can earn Balance Rewards points for lots of things. How many steps you take, how long you sleep AND the quality of said sleep, pounds lost or gained, and a host of others. 

So, I guess that I’m supposed to share my great and fantastic secrets about how I stay healthy. Ready? 

They’re not really secrets though. Are you still ready? 

They also may make me look a bit, you know…simple. 

I use my kids. 

Seriously. My children are the way that I get 10,000 plus steps in. Whether it’s passive exercise or active exercise, I usually manage to hit or come pretty close to my desired steps each day. I also take steps in keeping the entire body healthy, and not just with exercise. Here are a couple of key things that I try to do WITH them. 

Eat breakfast

Believe it or not, my breakfast habit died hard during high school and college. I just didn’t have time to sit and eat, but with three children waking up and sort of demanding to be fed (I mean, who DOES that?!) on a daily basis, I sit and enjoy breakfast with them. They are not a fan of eggs, so I can get away with boiling two eggs, and having a slice of toast while they munch on cereal (hot or cold) and fuel up for the day’s antics. 

Nap

Yes. I still nap when my children nap. It is necessary for several reasons. I’m nicer when I get sleep. I get things done with I sleep, and did I mention I’m nicer when I sleep? Seriously though, with the busyness that so many of us moms like to get ourselves into – it’s just nice to sometimes sit back and let your eyes rest for 45 minutes or three hours. 

Snack Through the Day

When you see an active toddler, do you wonder what keeps them going? I do. I’ve noticed that because my children snack throughout the day, eating on average six small meals, they have energy to keep going, and going, and going. Because I’m the one making the meals and snacks, I usually eat with them. It’s taken a bit of getting used to on my part, but it works for ME. Of course, I’ve consulted a doctor about this practice, and you should to before taking it on. If we’re out and about, I always know that I can duck into a Walgreens and grab some fruit and water from their Fresh Market

Drink Water

I’m talking straight water. No flavored stuff (unless you’re using fresh fruit to do it) or water drops. Water does a body good and gives such great benefits in return. Clearer skin, less stinky and more efficient bathroom time (I mean come ON people, do you think that I could write a healthy blog post without mentioning the bathroom?!) more energy, and best of all, it’s just plain good for you. I haven’t gotten into the fruit infused water phase, so I just drink it ice-cold – which some people say is bad, but I’m a rebel. 

Have A Dance Party

Have you ever danced with a bunch of preschoolers or kindergartners? That’s my life everyday. There’s always a reason to dance in our house. If it’s because Lil Miss put her shoes on the correct feet the first time around without help from anyone, to the Ladybug writing all of her letters during homeschool perfectly – according to her standards – we’re up to shake our tailfeathers and celebrate.  Seriously though. when you dance with children, no one critiques your dance moves either. We’re ALL Elaine Benes when it comes to midday dance breaks in the Houseful. The last large dance party we had when we realized that our new home was almost complete! The kids haven’t even seen it yet, and they were all for dancing! As evidenced by Lil Miss’ smooth moves below. 

 

 

Let the kids help with food items

I started a small back porch garden in two plastic totes that I have the children water, and harvest from. I love that they enjoy eating what they’ve had a hand in growing. We’ve gotten tomatoes and okra and even sugar snap peas. While my children didn’t have an aversion to fruits and vegetables before growing this garden, they certainly love them more! 

What I started noticing from these small steps was that I was reaching my goal day in and day out and that clothing was fitting me better. Now I am by no means at my goal weight – and I may never be, but I’m getting healthier by making healthy choices and that’s just fine with me. 

#BalanceRewards
#CollectiveBias