25 Reasons To Be A Healthy Mummy

It’s hard work maintaining a healthy lifestyle, isn’t it? Eating well, and exercising, and getting enough sleep, and managing stress…it’s time consuming and challenging for all of us. But especially for moms—we’ve got a hundred things on the go and it’s so easy to fall into the bad habit of paying more attention to our kids’ well-being than our own.

You sign them up for soccer and swimming and Little League, but do you get enough regular exercise? You diligently bring your kids to the doctor for check-ups, but when was the last time you had yours? Well, to help keep you on the right track, here are twenty-five different reasons to make your health a priority. Pick the ones that speak to you and let them motivate you to, say, order the salad instead of the fries.

To be a role model for your kids, and show them what it means to be healthy.
To feel vibrant and strong.
To reduce your chances of heart disease—the number one killer of women.
To look as good (or better!) in your jeans at age 42 as you did at age 22.
To keep a healthy immune system and protect yourself from the myriad viruses your delightful little Petri dishes bring home from school every day.
To be able to keep up with your kids.
To save time. Sure, exercise is time consuming. Try being sick, being in hospital, dealing with chronic illness. Those are the real time sucks.
To walk the walk, and teach your kids about healthy eating.
To be around to see your kids get married.
To be around to see your kids have kids of their own.
To be able to take part in outdoor family activities without getting out of breath.
To help your kids with their math homework—a healthier you has more brain power.
To reduce your chances of diabetes.
To have more energy when they’re little.
To have more energy when they’re teenagers.
To have more energy when they’ve flown the coop, and it’s time for you to do some of the stuff you put on the back burner while they were little. (Romantic trip for two to Paris, anyone?)
To maintain a healthy weight to keep your joints healthy.
To reduce your chances of cancer.
To model an active lifestyle for your kids.
To save money. Investing in your health now means less spent down the road on medication and other health related costs down the road.
To manage stress. A healthy you is better able to weather stressors that come up. And oh yes there will be stressors. Adolescence springs to mind.
To look as good as you feel: a healthier you tends to have shinier hair, more glowing skin, fewer dark circles.
To be in control. Because there’s stuff you can’t control like genetics and age. In contrast, what you eat and how much you exercise is entirely within your control.
To make money. A healthier you is a more productive you. You’ll be able to work more efficiently and maybe even retire earlier. (Or maybe keep working well into your later years—if you happen to love your job!)
Because your kids would want you to—if they understood what was at stake—and they knew it meant they would have more years with you.