Self-Care Mummy Blog Series - Week 4
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This New Year I’m talking all about Self-Care as a mum and how important it is to take that time for us. Every week I’ll be bringing you a new guest blog post with some top tips and hopefully throughout the next few months we’ll have put together an amazing list of different ideas for self-care.
This week is Rachael Broderick.
Tell us a bit about yourself - who you are, what you do and a bit about your family:
I'm a married full-time mum of 2 young children aged 5 years old and 10 months old. I started sharing my own experience of finding my health and happiness via my Instagram blog @thereallifefitblog and from this I have founded a movement called The Strong Mama Sisterhood; a free online community for Mamas who want to eat better, move more and incorporate positive self talk into their life. I'm also about to launch my Body Positive Bootcamp which gets Mamas prioritising their fitness, nutrition and personal development and mindset, with accountability with other Mamas all doing the same.
What do you do for self-care as a mum and how do you make time for self-care?
For me, self-care is a non-negotiable. So much so, I actually have it in my diary every day, as I would a Doctors appointment or meeting. I workout at home for around 30 minutes a day, as just even working up a sweat and moving my body feels amazing. I have also really become focused on eating food that nourishes my body 80% of the time. My mindset around food has changed massively. I think about how what I am eating serves my body. Occasionally it doesn't (hello, gin?!) but that's okay as life is for living. I'm very much 80/20 when it comes to health. Self care can be as something as simple as cooking yourself a meal from scratch even if it's just you, rather than eating toast or snacking constantly,
I've also become obsessed with my journalling! I make time to journal each day, to document things I am grateful for. It's so easy to get caught up in the busyness of everyday that it's easy to forget how lucky we really are for the very simple things, such as clean air, a home, clean warm clothes etc.
What are your three top tips for self-care for mums?
1. SLEEP! It's easy to talk about fitness and food but, sleep has to be a priority. Otherwise you aren't going to have energy to workout and are more likely to make poor food choices. I try my best to be in bed, lights out by 10.30pm. The result? I can get up earlier than my kids and have some quiet time to myself. It's the best piece of advice I'd give to anyone who wants to take care of themselves.
2. MOVE. I'm a huge fan of working out at home. I've done everything at home from pre/post natal programs, yoga, HIIT and weights. The key is to move everyday, even if it's a walk during a lunch break. It's the best thing you can do to keep your body feeling flexible and young!
3. BE KIND TO YOURSELF. This is a hard one I think! We've all had days when we feel like we are failing at being a good parent. But what I've accepted is that I am learning this from scratch for the first time. Talk to yourself like you would a good friend or a small child - with patience and kindness.
Are there any products/businesses/podcasts ect that you would recommend for self-care?
Well, I can't go without saying my new online virtual bootcamp for Mamas! The Body Positivity Bootcamp is launching 5th November 2018 and will run on a rolling monthly basis. It will provide everything from a structured fitness program, nutrition advice and meal plans as well as lots of inspiration and focus on positive mindset and personal deveopment to 1work on a a healthy mental wellbeing.
I also love listening to The Motherkind podcast by Zoe Blaskey and Dirty Mother Pukka by Anna Whitehouse (whose Instagram stories are hilarious btw!)
You can see more of Rachael over at:
For info about The Body Positive Bootcamp, reach out to me directly on rachaelbroderick@outlook.com
I hope you enjoyed reading this lovely guest blog post by Rachael all about self-care as a mum! Be sure to check out the blog next week for another guest blog post all about self-care!
Have a lovely day!
Emma x
If you would love to take part in this blog series please head to our website here!