Mind and Soul

Exercise and Workout, Lifestyle, Mind and Soul, Self-Care
How I got into Consistent Workout Routine as a Mom of Three
- 2:09 pm
- 0 comments
- by Adanna Dill
How I got back into a Consistent workout Routine. A few things I did to jumpstart a daily exercising habit.

After having my first two children I got into a consistent workout routine quickly. I picked up Zumba which was new at the time when I had my oldest and even did Shaun T’s Beachbody workouts. It also helped that breastfeeding seemed to burn off all the extra pounds. With my son, I did lots of YouTube video exercises from the time my doctor cleared me and ran as often as I could. I was serious about working out and on the bandwagon.

After the third baby though, I’ve been on the struggle bus. I think I’ve been really transparent here with all of my efforts to get serious about working out and my overall wellness. I’m happy to share that I’m finally getting serious and back on the bandwagon. Honestly, it feels really good and while I’m a bit scared about how I will maintain this routine with the kids going back to school in a few weeks and our schedules changing up completely again, I wanted to share a few of the things that’s helped me to get into a consistent exercise routine again.

Dressing for it.

After my morning shower instead of slipping into a cute summer outfit for the day, I wear my workout clothes. This is a reminder to myself of my plan to work out and I usually feel really silly if I wear it all day without working out at all.

Dropping everything to workout.

It’s all about priorities! Yes, I have deadlines, need to fold laundry and cook dinner but if I keep focusing on all of the things that I need to do I would never workout. Plus, I feel so much better and energized to knock everything off my list when I’m done.

Do it daily while establishing a routine.

So this might be an unpopular opinion but it’s something that works better for me at this age and stage of my life. I need to work out on a daily basis, some days my workouts are shorter than others but just getting it done daily whether it’s strength training at home or running helps me to stay in the groove. Maybe once I feel more confident in this routine, I can start taking days off.

Join a challenge.

A challenge is a great way to get into a serious workout routine because doing it with others keeps us all motivated. After having my son, I did a plank challenge on Instagram and it really kept me motivated. My friend Nellie at Brooklyn Active Mama frequently hosts fitness challenges.

Follow other moms who get it done.

I follow so many amazing moms on Instagram and I love seeing how they fit exercise into their days. Three moms who really inspired me to get back to working out are lifeasajewel and ahesawreck (they host a running group in Prospect Park if you’re in NYC) and my girl Fallon of casadefallon.

Exercise with your kids.

I prefer to work out by myself, it’s a good time to clear my head but sometimes I have no option but to exercise with my children. They all love mimicking anything that I do so it works for us. They have fun and I get my workout in.

How did you get into a consistent workout routine?

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https://adannadill.com/13-ways-to-improve-your-wellness-routine-as-a-working-mom/
Exercise and Workout, Mind and Soul, Motherhood, Positive Thinking, Self-Care
13 Ways to Improve Your Wellness Routine as a Working Mom
- 4:48 pm
- 0 comments
- by Adanna Dill
13 ways to improve your wellness routine as a working Mom.

Why is taking care of others so much easier than taking care of ourselves? I try to remind myself that I need to care for myself the way that I care for my three children. I cater to their every need and sometimes that leaves me with no energy for myself. That’s why I’ve focused over the last few years on I focus on a realistic wellness routine for moms like myself. I shared some of my self-care rituals earlier this year and now I want to share a realistic wellness routine for busy working moms. Here are a few things we can implement into our lifestyle to improve the quality of our bodies, mind and overall wellbeing.

Movement aka Exercise

Last night, I attended an event here in New York City where Tonya Lewis Lee, the executive producer of She’s Gotta Have It spoke on wellness, motherhood, and entrepreneurship. She shared with us that she has focused on making her body “army fit” by exercising four days a week (don’t worry even she falls off the bandwagon at times when life gets busy) but one thing that struck out to me was her explaining that even when her children were little and needed more of her she prioritized taking care of herself so she could take care of them and be physically strong enough to pursue her goals full force once they were older. She suggested that we make small lifestyle changes like going for a walk instead of going out to eat or drink.

I stretch daily and exercise around twice a week these days, I would like to get up to three or four days a week because I feel so much more confident, happier and strongest when I’m exercising regularly.

Meditation

I love meditating! You might have remembered me taking my first meditation class back in September and since then I’ve done a few more and meditate on my own almost daily. It really centers me and I can literally feel the stress leaving my body when I do it. My favorite meditation that I’ve tried so far is sound meditation and I even did a sound bath that at an event my friend curated late last year.

Establish Boundaries.

The first time I heard of boundaries as a wellness tool was listening to the Hey Girl podcast. I can’t recall the exact episode but it made so much sense to me immediately. Everyone doesn’t deserve to be given access to our entire life. Creating boundaries helps us to feel safer and to protect our energy which is really important. When I was younger, I would cut people out of my life but as I’ve matured I realized that is toxic and doesn’t end problems or the stress. I can just create boundaries in our relationship. Once you establish boundaries your days will be less stressful.

Create a preventative plan.

Taking time to learn our family’s health history and then creating a preventative plan to protect our bodies is important. For instance, both of my maternal grandparents had diabetes and I had gestational diabetes while pregnant with my oldest child. I learned that chia seeds can control blood sugar so I started adding it to my water an smoothies. I also using moringa regularly which protects our bodies from a long list of diseases.

Journal or video journal.

Whether you write or video journal (I do both), getting your thoughts out of your head is really important and should be part of your daily wellness routine. When you start feeling yucky feelings like envy and anger get it out of your body immediately. Try to determine why you’re feeling that way and how you could change your life so you don’t experience that feeling again. A few years ago, if I ever felt gross after gossiping I would close my eyes and visualize myself asking the person to forgive me. Doing this always helps me to immediately clear my energy whenever I’m in that situation.

Drink Water and mind your business.

Minding your business will cut down on jealousy feelings and gossiping and will help you to achieve your goals fast plus you will have more time to drink more water and be healthier.

Therapy.

We all have crap that we need to work through whether it’s from our childhood, relationships, career etc. the best way to not have it affect our health in the long term is to address it all through therapy. As many of you know I’ve been to therapy before and I am a big advocate for mental health care since it’s just as important and our physical health.

Use your time wisely.

Social media could suck us in for hours but using our time to bond with our loved ones is much better for our wellness. I know this is weird coming from a blogger since social media is how I connect and share my journey with my community but it’s important to connect intentionally and then log off. Instagram now gives you the option to get an alert when you’re on the app for over a certain period of time that you can select and some smartphones track your social media usage which is helpful.

Have a spiritual practice.

Whether you participate in religion or not, you need to have a daily spiritual practice that you can use to center yourself. Personally, I pray every morning which makes me feel good.

Join a likeminded tribe.

Hanging out with people with similar interests and goals would make you feel energized on a daily basis. Having friends who you can try new yoga classes with or who can share healthy recipes will make your wellness journey a little easier.

Listen to your body.

The fascinating thing about our bodies is that they let us know exactly what they need when we’re listening. If your body is tired then sleep if your body craving greens eat them if your body needs to move then dance or exercise. Also, when you body is ill, get the best care you can for it.

Keep track of triggers.

We all would prefer not to remember any of our past traumas, but we usually get triggered when we least expect it with many times not realizing what the trigger is. Determining what our triggers are can be helpful for us to avoid them. Write down a list of possible triggers and then avoid them as much as you can. Maybe even tell your close friends and family so they can help.

Be honest with yourself about your energy.

The fact that many people seem to not realize they have negative energy (or they are the negative energy) shows how unaware many of us are of negativity in our lives. Be honest with yourself so you can make your energy brighter, clearer and improve yourself in the process.

How have you done to improve your wellness routine?
Lifestyle, Mind and Soul, Motherhood, Self-Care
Wellness Routine: Self-Care Rituals for Moms
- 7:20 pm
- 0 comments
- by Adanna Dill
Wellness: Routine: Self-Care Rituals for Moms

I remember the last few weeks of high school, I was beyond happy it was over. The days were slow as we practiced for our graduation ceremony and sat around chatting about nothing and everything. We had no idea what the future held for us, but our teachers took the opportunity to warn us about how difficult adult life and the “real world” would be. I remember not taking those warnings seriously, brushing it off and looking forward to the freedom of adulthood. Well, I was WRONG! Adulting is tough and can be stressful AF. Of course, you don’t need me to tell you this, you know what it’s like. Add motherhood, responsibilities, work, relationships, the political climate, and rumors of a recession. If we skimped on self-care in 2019, 2020 this is the year to establish a wellness routine and some self-care rituals to get us through the tough moments. I wanted to share a few self-care rituals that I’ve added to my own wellness routine. Listen, I am a believer that self-care must be custom to your needs, you know what they are but if any of these speak to you add them to your routine.

Learn something new.

Isn’t it amazing how excited we feel when we learn something new? I love that feeling. I don’t mean taking a student loan and going back to school but researching something that intrigues you. Reading articles, watching TEDTalks, listening to podcasts and reading books are all ways I learn.

(Tea) Time-Out:

One of the things that I recognized about myself over the last year is my need for timeouts. I had a bad habit of trying to do everything on my to-do list without stopping to take a breather. It was so bad that I had to be intentional about making a change, so I started to do a tea time-out. I make myself a cup of tea because it’s fast, doesn’t require me to be away from my children and focusing on drinking my tea helps me to destress at least for a few minutes. I love taking a tea time-out when I get back home from picking the bigger kids up from school. Just getting the kids in and out of coats and car seats can be draining, not to mention the backseat bickering, so I usually need a minute to decompress before we start homework and our evening routine. It may not be tea for you, maybe you need a snack or to just sit and take deep breaths, but a timeout can be really helpful when you’re busy.

Nourishment

Our bodies need nourishment — there is no escaping it. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I struggle with snacking. I eat clean but snack dirty, really dirty. I’m working through this but 90% of the time, I start my day with a healthy breakfast meal. It’s easy for me to eat healthy in the morning as I feel ill when I had sweet as my first meal, so I load up on a healthy breakfast.

I used to skip lunch frequently or eat junk, but I try to eat lunch on time more often now, starving and waiting until dinner to eat again usually led to some really poor decisions and trips to the drive-thru. Even if we’re out I try to get something that would make my body feel nourished and not stuffed.

I’ve also removed certain foods from my diet, I’ve been a pescatarian since last April and while my goal was to become a vegetarian, I feel much better about my food choices now. My skin and eyes are much clearer, and I feel more energetic. I’m sharing this not to say that you need to become a pescatarian too but, so you can think about what changes you can make in your diet to feel better.

Get Fresh Air.

I mentioned this in another post getting out of the house on a daily basis to get fresh air helps especially if you struggle with SAD, PPD or depression. On the days that I really can’t go outside, I open a few windows even if it’s really cold just to get some fresh air and clear the energy in our home.

Cleaning/Organizing.

Since last November I’ve been purging our home. I have some spaces that I’ve completely conquered and some that my children can tear apart in minutes that I’m still trying to organize so they can’t tear it apart as bad. Decluttering is one of my favorite self-care rituals, and I’ve been donating and selling things we no longer use. I am not a master organizer, I’m focused on learning, so I can do better. In the meanwhile, a cleaning schedule and ensuring that my kids are helping helps my anxiety.

Sleep

I know, I know…moms who sleep are like unicorns. It’s tough if your children are still waking up at night but if you can, trying to go to sleep early at least a few nights a week will help you feel much better. If you’re nursing, take turns with your partner, pump and get some sleep. If I am well rested, I accomplish a lot more and I can think much more clearly. I was able to function on less sleep in my 20’s but these days sleep has become much more important.

What are your favorite self-care rituals?