10 Healthy Habits Every Mom Should Adopt for the New Year

This isn’t your average New Year’s Resolution list because it has nothing to do with losing weight, but everything to do with shedding all the unnecessary self-doubt, shame, and comparisons. Make this year less about shrinking your waist line and more about getting back to the core of what really helps you feel your best. So before you go all balls-to-the-wall setting your New Year’s intentions, take a few minutes to let these 10 Healthy Habits sink in, read these 10 Healthy Habits every mom needs.

Why you need to adopt these 10 habits

Nothing prepares you for the all consuming-ness of being a mom. Not your best friend telling you how hard it is. Not your mom saying, “just you wait.” 

As a mom you get so wrapped up and inter-woven into every detail of your kids lives. To spend every waking moment making sure their every need is met all while your needs, your mental, physical, emotional, and social health are set to the side. Well momma, it doesn’t have to be that way in every season of motherhood.

Continuing to kick all the things that make you happy, that make you YOU off your To Do list, is not sustainable. I’m here to remind you that self-care and doing more that you love is a necessity, not an indulgence

This year, this list, will help do just that!  Let’s get started with these 10 Healthy Habits!!

How to Get Started

The idea of changing 10 major things in your life is enough to make any one pull the covers over your eyes and binge watch another season of Grey’s Anatomy. It seems like too much to do on top of keeping the little’s alive and thriving. So start small and choose one habit that seems the easiest to take on right now. Then, work on the same habit until it becomes a part of your normal.

Most experts agree it takes anywhere from weeks to months for a habit to truly be changed. And as a busy mom with about a bazillion other things you’re balancing, give yourself a little extra time to truly start feeling like these new habits are here to stay. 

Now, let’s finally dive in and check out the 10 Healthy Habits every mom needs below.

1. More Water

Face it, drinking water isn’t your forte… unless you count the 2-3 cups of water used to make the delicious coffee drank each day. Everyone, and I mean everyone, could drink more water.

The goal: Where ever you are with water intake now, set a goal to drink one more 8 ounce glass a day. Once you can do that without much more mental effort, add another 8 ounces.

The why: Your body and mind work so much better when they are well hydrated. 

2. More Food That I Love

The New Year doesn’t have to symbolize a time of giving up all the food you love for the sake of yet another diet. Diets do more harm to your body than good in the long run.

The goal: Eat foods regularly that satisfy my taste buds, appetite, hunger, and cravings.

The why: Depriving your body of foods you want just makes you want them more. It can also leave you with a feeling of losing control when you finally get your hands on those foods. Learn more about Intuitive Eating from the creators Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch.

3. More Joyful Movement

If the thought of exercise brings on a feeling of gloom and doom, you’re not doing it right! Being active should excite you, bring you joy, and leave you feeling accomplished.

The goal: I will move my body (exercise) in a way that brings me joy.

The why:  We all know being active offers numerous health benefits, but just knowing that doesn’t mean it motivates you to be more active than you already are. Finding an activity that invigorates you, on the other hand, is much more likely to get you moving your body more regularly.

Stuck on ideas?

  • Think about activities you loved to do when you were young. Or ones you always wanted to try but your parents wouldn’t let you.

4. More Time Outdoors

Whether it’s to sit on a patio with a friend, decide it’s time to plant a garden, pick weeds, or walk a new trails there’s something so wonderful about being outdoors.

The goal: I will seek to rekindle my childlike awe and wonder for the beauty and adventure that await me in the great outdoors.

The why: Feel better, sleep better, and melt away your stress. What other reasons do you need to get outside?

5. More Me Time

Whether it’s a nice bath, gardening, picking weeds, grabbing a glass of wine, strapping on some runners and doing 5K, you time is essential to being the best you! 

The goal: I will carve out time each day to do the things that re-ignite my passions, recharge my soul, and help me feel like me. Read more about “me time” and self care here.

The why: You will function so much better as a mother, as a human being, when you give yourself 30 min to 1 hour of uninterrupted time to manage your own needs. Obviously the time you can commit depends on the season of motherhood you are in right now.

6. More Positive Relationships

Being a mom can feel so isolating at times. The importance of finding and staying in touch with “your people” cannot be understated. 

The goal: I will focus on relationships in my life that bring me joy, and challenge me to be the best version of myself.

The why: Every mom needs at least one other mom to speak candidly with, without fear of judgment. For your sanity, a feeling of being fully understood, mom friends are essential.

7. More Self Love

Nothing has made me question myself as a person more than being a mom. My patience level, sometimes my compassion for the random meltdowns, and even some days why on earth God chose me to raise twin boys. I make mistakes all the time, and it’s easy to get stuck in a downward spiral of self loathing.

The goal: I will let go of all the “shoulds” a mother is supposed to be and do, and embrace the woman and mother that I am.

The why: Accepting yourself as you are, faults and all, is all part of the many challenges of being a mom. Check out what Her Pretty Mindset has to say about Self-Love.

8. More Positive Self Talk

It’s easy to take another mother’s glance as a judgement on you. Or take a suggestion as a slight that you don’t know what you’re doing. Being a mom can easily bring out all your insecurities.

The goal: I will spend less time worrying about what other people think of me and more time changing the way I think about myself.

The why: You, my dear, were never created to be perfect. You are perfectly, imperfect and EXACTLY what your kids need. Know it. Own it.

9. More Purposeful Action

Raising kids is one small challenge after another. Moving from phase to phase, milestone to milestone. 

The goal: I will live with purpose. With goals, intentions, and actions to be better than I was yesterday.

The why:  Some stages of the raising kids require you to dig deep to just make it through, where others allow you to stretch and grow. Finding small ways to do better and be better, regardless of what you’re facing, is the challenge. 

If you feel like you’re constantly busy but not productive, check out this post here to find out why, and what you can do about it.

10. More "No" When I Mean "No"

It’s easy to say “yes” and immediately regret it. As a mother it’s very important to know and respect your own bandwidth.

The goal: I will create healthy boundaries for myself that help me say “no” when I mean “no.”

The why: Setting boundaries helps you get more of what you want and less of what you don’t want; and who doesn’t want that. 

Get your free PDF version for the 10 Healthy Habits here
Don't forget to grab your free copy of the 10 Healthy Habits by clicking here!

As you can see, these 10 Healthy Habits are all about more; adding more goodness to your life. Finding the things in your life you love and leaving the rest.

So now that we’ve equipped you with 10 Healthy Habits to kick off the new year, which one will you start with?

For me, #10, #5 and #6 will be my priorities this year. Wish me luck I mean, wish me purposeful action and intent to make positive changes to myself this year 😉

~ L

4 thoughts on “10 Healthy Habits Every Mom Should Adopt for the New Year”

  1. 4 through 9! When I lived alone with just my 2 cats it was so easy to focus, centre and relax. Now, with a partner, a stepdaughter, 2 dogs and a cat… I find myself lost in my days and not carving out the time to do the things I need to fill my soul. Often times I find I only need 15 minutes, but for whatever reason I have conjured that day, I struggle to prioritize myself and put the happiness and wellbeing of others above my own.

    Reply
    • It’s so easy to get lost in the business of the day. Being intentional and making that time, not finding it, is the first step to carve that time out for yourself. It may take some time to figure out what part of the day is easiest for you to create “me time” but once you figure it out the next step is consistency. Thanks for your honesty, Riley and well wishes on your journey to work on healthy habits 4-9!

      Reply
  2. THIS! Thank you for helping to change the message women, and specifically new moms, hear! It is so very difficult to stay body positive and to learn to love yourself when there is a multi billion dollar industry trying to tell you you’re not enough! I love that I’ve found another positive. Once to listen to. ❤❤❤

    Reply
    • Aww thanks for the sweet comments Nicole! You’re so right about how hard it is to stay body positive after having kids! I remember seeing pictures of celebrities minutes after giving birth looking slim, trim and fabulous. While I was still wearing granny panties, hobbling around like the “amazing sawed in half woman” from the circus weeks after having a c-section with my boys. Just know that you are enough and your body, in this exact moment as you’re reading this message, is enough!

      Reply

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