Apply Four Blue Zone Secrets to Motherhood

For moms, living a long healthy life means seeing our kids grow up and witnessing who they become. In areas called Blue Zones, certain lifestyle habits help residents live to 90, 100, or beyond. Genetics plays a role, but researchers have found it’s our daily behaviors and environment that play a bigger role. So what can moms learn from the Blue Zones in order to live a long happy and healthy life with our children?

Plant-based Isn’t a Fad

In Blue Zones people are eating minimally processed, plant-based foods like fruits, beans, vegetables, and whole grains. Note, that these are not the processed plant-based foods you find in the freezer section. Although Most Blue Zone residents aren’t vegetarians; they just eat meat less often and in smaller portions so plant foods dominate their diet.

Tips to add more plant-based foods:

• Eat more plant proteins like chickpeas and lentils

• Try “meatless” Mondays

• Consider meat a side rather than the main portion of the dish

• Make it a challenge to introduce your child to a new plant food each week

Move More

Blue Zone residents are physically active throughout daily life. They avoid long sedentary periods and can be seen gardening, or doing tai chi. In one study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine they found that for each additional 30 minutes of sedentary time on a typical day, men were 17% more likely to die during the five-year study. However, each 30 minutes of light activity reduced the odds of death by 17%. So for moms that have a hard time fitting in workouts, your daily physical activity is just as important, if not more. You can still have an extremely positive impact on your well-being without hitting the gym.

Tips for moms:

• Working from home? Aim to get up between meetings to stretch or take one walking meeting each day

• Get the guidance you need to stay active during pregnancy and return to exercise after having a baby.

• Rather than sitting on the park bench, chase your child or push them on the swing

• Distribute chores throughout your day versus all at once  

• Make family time active with weekend activities like hikes or biking

Eat Mindfully

People living in the Blue Zones focus not just on what they eat, but how they eat. There isn’t mindless munching on an entire bag of chips while watching TV, instead, they’re putting their fork down between bites and are intentional about how they’re eating, usually stopping when they are 80% full. Residents experience more joy from their food and tend to practice better portion control through mindful eating. 

Tips for moms: 

• No screens during meals

• Make time for meals so that you’re not rushing

• Stop before you’re full

Substitute the Facebook Groups for Real groups

Close community ties help Blue Zone residents stay active and happy. Loneliness, stress, and depression can cause physical health problems. The saying, “It takes a village” isn’t just about the support we need to raise our kids. As a mom, you also need connection and support for yourself and can learn from the benefits of those living in the Blue Zones. 

Tips for moms:

• Arrange playdates for your kids with parents that you enjoy spending time with so that you can benefit too

• Join a prenatal or postpartum fitness, or wellness group

• Find a neighborhood mom to go on walks with

• Limit social media scrolling and call a friend for a quick chat instead

So although we can’t all live in the Blue Zones, we can take a different approach to what it means to lead a healthy lifestyle. As we’re modeling a healthy lifestyle for our family, we can’t forget about the daily habits that have a profound impact on our lifespan and quality of life. Let’s all try to sit a little less, slow down at mealtime, connect with our village, and consider what’s on our plates.

Don't Ask For This Gift For Mother's Day

TIME ALONE

Okay, so if you really need some time alone on Mother’s Day, I’m not saying you’re wrong for asking for it. However, my hope for you is that if time to yourself is important to you, that you don’t treat it as a special occasion. 

Moms tend to put things like “me time” “gym time” or “girls’ night out” into a specific category. Although this category doesn’t have a name, items in this category often make you feel guilty for requesting it, and anxious trying to find the time, and those items are characterized as a luxury rather than a necessity. So I guess the point I’m really trying to make is that whether it’s time alone, time for exercise, or time with your friends, don’t categorize it to your partner or family as a “gift”. All of those items in our unnamed category contribute to your well-being, which is something I’m sure you’d like to value for a lifetime and not just on holidays. Again, if time alone on Mother's Day is what you really want/need, I hope you get it. But, my wish for you is to meet your needs year-round and find a different, unique, and special way to celebrate our well-deserved holiday.

Looking for some active ways to spend the day?

• Walk to your favorite coffee shop sit and drink your favorite drink (alone), and then bring back some of your family’s favorite treats to share.

• Walk (or stroll peacefully) around a new neighborhood, park or public garden

• Go on a family bike ride and stop along the way for ice cream or a picnic

• Play a round of mini golf with the kids (or wearing your baby)

• Try a new fitness class (maybe with your own mom)

• Purchase a fitness-related gift for yourself (Private/small group training, new home gym equipment, sign up for a 5K run or walk)

• Indoor rock climbing

• Long walk on a paved hiking trail (ideally with someone else pushing the stroller)

Whether you spend time alone or active with your family, Happy Mother’s Day!

Ashley

Stages of Being an Active Mom

You care about being an active role model for your family. You see exercise as a tool for both physical and mental health. You recognize that a mom's body needs to be trained differently, and that strength and core training is important. You also understand the need to be flexible, stay committed, and get creative when it comes to finding time for fitness and family. Your goal to be an Active Mom might not waiver, but how you attain this vision looks different at various stages of motherhood.

Based on my personal experience, as well as many of yours, here's what I've come up with as a quick guide for all stages.

Pre-conception/Get Healthy Stage: You’re assessing whether your physical health will support fertility and pregnancy. You might be considering your weight and stress levels. You have a desire to “be in shape” for pregnancy.

What exercise could look like: Start by meeting the physical activity guidelines. Use exercise as a tool to decrease mental stress. Using resistance training and aerobic exercise to achieve a healthy weight. Make sure your calorie intake supports your activity so as to not impact your menstrual cycle.

Prenatal/Pregnant Stage: Your doctor is recommending exercise. Your energy levels fluctuate. You’re adjusting to the changes in your body. You may experience aches and pains.

What exercise could look like: Aim to meet the physical activity guidelines for pregnant people. Enlist the help of a prenatal exercise specialist. Prioritize muscle groups impacted by pregnancy such as the pelvic floor, core, glutes, and upper back. Consider whether a shift to low-impact aerobic activity is right for you. Include mobility work in your routine. Adjust exercise intensity according to your energy level. Ensure you eat a snack before activity to maintain energy and blood sugar levels.

Newborn/Fourth Trimester: Your newborn baby is your priority. Your schedule is completely unpredictable. You feel disconnected from your body (even if you were active during pregnancy). Your tissue is healing. You are sleep-deprived.

What exercise could look like: Recovery is your priority. If you’ve had a c-section or any vaginal delivery complications, healing before increasing activity is key. When you’re ready, begin with stretching and activation of your deeper core muscles through breath. Try to reconnect with pelvic floor muscles (see a pelvic floor PT). Take short walks with the baby in the stroller. Walking is a great form of exercise early on in addition to your short 5-10 minute bouts of core strengthening. Gradually increase the duration of your walks and add bodyweight strength exercises. Focus on posture and stretching.

Baby’s first year/Postpartum: You’re still tired, but you’re feeling motivated to start to feel like yourself again. You have very little time for yourself and your schedule is dictated by baby/work/family. You may be feeling the overuse aches in your feet, wrists, and back from taking care of the baby. Hormones may still be shifting. You may have weight loss goals. Your abs are different and the pelvic floor may be giving you trouble.

What exercise could look like: Enlist the help of a postnatal exercise specialist. Walking is still one of the best modes of exercise because it can be conveniently worked into your day, outdoors can boost your mood/energy, and your baby can join you. Gradually progress in your core exercises, but still prioritize deep abdominal muscles and pelvic floor through breathing. You can begin to incorporate more strength training, with a focus on movement patterns (squats, deadlifts, lunges), core, and muscles to help with aches like upper back and glutes. You’ll have the most success with short 10-15 minute bouts of exercise each day.

Toddler years/Pre-Conception: You still may be juggling an inconsistent schedule with naps and nighttime sleep habits, but you’re less sleep-deprived. Your energy is challenged by keeping up with a toddler. You’re starting to feel like yourself again, but may not be completely pleased with your inconsistent exercise routine. You might be motivated by the fact you’re going to try for another baby, or the idea that your body won’t endure another pregnancy…either way, you want to ramp up your fitness routine. You appreciate the role of physical activity in your mental health, but also the fact you now have to role model healthy behaviors for your family.

What exercise could look like: Assuming you’ve rebuilt your core strength and have a fitness foundation, you have many options for exercise. Strength training should still play a major role in helping you meet the demands of motherhood, and continue to build the body you aesthetically want (aim for a minimum of two times per week, more if you’re really aiming for muscle definition or weight loss). Aerobic activity can vary according to your likes. Consider home workouts not just for convenience, but to begin to model exercise to your children as a habit and priority. Your child will most likely try to interrupt. Try to remain patient, but also firm in letting them know it’s important to you. Ask them to join. Thirty-minute workouts are probably the most feasible, sneaking in longer ones when you can/if you want. Outside of structured workouts, walks, hiking, and playground activity are great ways to be active with the family, and encourage your child to love activity too.

School-age years/perimenopause: Just when you think you’ll get some time back, your child starts to have their own activity calendar. Your energy and time balancing fitness and family is manageable but has to be intentional. You’ve learned that mornings might be your most reliable time for exercise. You might be back to some of your old activities or taken up new ones. Your postpartum hormones are stable, but you might be experiencing minor symptoms of menopause, finding that your body fat distribution is changing/feeling like your metabolism isn’t functioning like it used to. You might be experiencing more anxiety or depression.

What exercise could look like: Exercise is a great tool during this stage to manage stress, promote mental well-being, spend time with your older child, prepare your body for the changes associated with age/menopause, and as a social activity with your friends. Strength training should still be a major component. This will be the key to protecting your bones as you get older and maintaining the physique you’ve grown to love. This stage is an opportunity to start exploring new activities with your child like hiking, ice skating, tennis, or biking. Aiming to exercise at least 30 minutes most days of the week is your goal. Strength training at least 2-3 times per week is ideal and will help maintain lean body mass. It’s basically the stage you’ve been working so hard for….you get to be a healthy and active mom, enjoying physical activity by yourself and with your family!