MOM GUILT & GYM TIME

January 26, 2020

Something that all of the parenting books, unsolicited advice from friends and family, and hours of “how to be the best mom” YouTube videos doesn’t prepare you for is the overwhelming amount of guilt that consumes you when you become a mother.

If you go to work you feel guilty that you have to spend so much time away and listen to how much you “miss”. You feel guilty over the fact that maybe you enjoy your career over staying home as much as you love your child.

If you stay home you feel guilty about not financially contributing in the eyes of society or if you take time to clean instead of staring at your precious babe all day. Or you feel guilty that you did stare at the precious babe all day and didn’t do what feels like your job, clean.

But one of the most crushing guilts that can catch any mother no matter how many children you have, if you work, if you stay home, if you work from home, etc…

Is the guilt of taking time out of the day purely for yourself to exercise.

This doesn’t always feel directly like guilt. Sometimes it quite simply feels like you do not have a single second to make it happen. That it’s at the complete dead last bottom of your list of priorities. That there are a million other things more important for you to do than something as silly as going to the gym.

Not to mention, spending your family’s money on a gym membership purely for you? How selfish, right?

Let’s talk about why you are completely worth every second you need at the gym, every penny you need to spend on that membership, and how the people you care about most are going to benefit just as much as you.

YOUR MENTAL HEALTH GETS A BOOST

I don’t need to tell you that being a mom can be stressful, exhausting, and overwhelming as much as it is the best thing that ever happened to you. Being able to set aside time for physical activity allows you to accomplish more than one amazing benefit. One of the best benefits being the reduction of stress and the influx of endorphins also known as happy hormones. Not only does sweating it out help you overcome those stressful feelings, it even increases norepinephrine which is a chemical that acts as a moderator for the brain’s response to stress. You can relieve the tension at the moment and build your mind stronger for the inevitable stressful moments to come.

YOUR PERSONAL BESTS IN THE GYM INCREASE YOUR CONFIDENCE TO BE YOUR BEST IN LIFE

Everyone starts somewhere on their fitness journey and is striving for their own specific goals. When you see yourself getting stronger, able to do things you could not previously, and crushing your personal challenges, you take that confidence from the gym and place it into your relationships and your parenting. Motherhood can sometimes rob us of our individual identity and lay us into the land of only feeling like “Mom”. The rise of your self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-belief will allow you to show up for your littles as a completely different person from one who may lack those thoughts.

YOU HAVE MORE ENERGY TO SHOW UP FULLY

It seems pretty ironic that more physical activity will increase your energy. Especially when you may already feel like you are run into the ground for taking care of everyone. The kind of burnout that can come from motherhood and all the things you care for is something that decreases when you are physically and therefore mentally fit. Your stamina will increase, your sleep will be more deep and rich, and your body will be supporting the prevention of cognitive decline (anyone else claiming pregnancy brain when your youngest is 5?). This doesn’t just make you a more present mother, it can directly affect your intimate relationship as well. At the end of the day, everyone wins from you taking care of you.

Use the childcare at the gym.

Set a training schedule that is non-negotiable.

Get another mom gym buddy that will help support you on your journey.

Share your goals with those closest to you.

Make yourself a priority.

Invest in your health and your happiness.

Let go of the guilt of taking care of yourself and embrace the beautiful changes it will bring to your life and your children’s lives.