Sleep or lack of it it, is often top of mind for many busy mums and parents and focusing on how much or how little sleep you’ve had can sometimes impact on your motivation to follow a healthy eating diet plan and reach your weight loss goals.
Many of us know what it’s like – we’re up all hours of the night with babies, toddlers as well as big kids.
Then they wake us up at a ridiculous time of day, we have to do a number of tasks during the day that seem never ending and try to get to bed at a decent time but this doesn’t always happen.
How are you expected to commit to a healthy lifestyle change that involves new ways of cooking, planning of meals, fitting in exercise etc when all you want to do is fall back into bed?
The good news is, eating well and exercising are some of the ways to actually combat tiredness or fatigue. Taking steps to improve your lifestyle and make it healthier will also improve the way you deal with your tiredness.
Here are some of our top tips to keeping on track with your healthy lifestyle improvement plans even when you feel exhausted:

Prioritise

There will always be housework to do, ironing and washing to be folded, work to do, jobs to be done etc. So put yourself first for once and even if you’ve had a bad night’s sleep, up with the children. still get up and do the exercise you’ve scheduled in.
Save the housework or jobs for later and if you’re too tired to do them, don’t worry, they will be there the next day when you may have more energy but at least you’ve done the important things to make you a healthier person, first.

Drinks lots of water

Being dehydrated can make you feel extra tired as your body isn’t functioning efficiently. Not only does drinking lots of water help when trying to lose weight but it will also help with your fatigue.

Eat well

Eating a healthy, balanced diet will ensure your body has the energy it needs to function at its best. Don’t skip breakfast – have a Healthy Mummy Smoothie or something easy to prepare if you don’t have loads of time in the morning.
Have snacks throughout the day to keep your energy levels ups. We all know what it’s like to get the 3 o’clock munchies and this is often when the yawns start happening – to prevent this from choose a healthy snack to give yourself an energy boost.

Exercise

Who would have thought that moving more and using more energy actually gives you more energy. So if you’ve planned to do some exercise at a certain time of day but are feeling too tired, don’t use that as an excuse. Get going and you’ll feel so much better afterwards.
If you’re extremely tired then maybe adjust your exercise level i.e. if you were planning to do a complete HIIT routine but have had a restless night’s sleep then go for a nice walk outside instead.

Relax

Doing something relaxing and learning to rest your mind from all the chatter that goes on can help improve your tiredness. We often worry about so many different things and this can lead to us having unrestful sleeping patterns which in turn make us tired the next day.
So take some time out when you can to do something relaxing, just stop and enjoy the sunshine, go for a slow walk with the kids and enjoy spending time with them rather than worrying about everything you need to get done. Do some yoga or stretching or even try some meditation to help with deep breathing and focusing your mind on one thing rather than on 1000.
If you can take a few moments out of your day, especially before you’re about to go to bed, then you’re less likely to be up all night thinking and worrying about things.

Work On Your Sleep Patterns

Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Yes this often depends a lot on what our children are doing and whether they’re unwell, restless or early risers, but you’ll know what your children normally do and can work your sleep at night around that.
For example if your children always get up at 5.30am then ensure you are always in bed around 9pm so you can get a good solid 8 hours of rest.
Try and go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday, even on the weekends, as having a good sleeping pattern helps ensure you get the rest you need.
So turn off the TV, the phones, the computers etc 30 minutes or so before you’re ready for bed and allow your body and mind to relax and reflect on the day. Then you’re more likely to be able to fall asleep easily and have a good night’s rest.
So really, using tiredness as an excuse for not being able to follow a healthy eating diet plan and exercise program to help you lose weight, is not an excuse at all, as eating well, exercising and being a healthier you, will all help to combat your tiredness and give you lots of energy even after a couple of sleepless nights.