I’m a big fan of the website FitSugar and the various fitness bits it shares. Recently, a post on 5 Ways Being A Mom Makes You Healthier came through my reader which sparked my interest. I’m here to say, there are some other reasons that having kids makes it easier to eat healthy, stay in shape, or even lose weight. Reasons beyond motherhood improving your relationship with food or inspiring you to set a good example.

13 CRAZY, BUT TRUE WAYS BEING A MOM HELPS ME STAY IN SHAPE AND LOSE THE BABY WEIGHT

1. Kids Steal Your Food. It’s like automatic portion control. Make a hefty plate of food…then suddenly half of it is gone thanks to a particular toddler deciding she wants “just oooonnnneee bite, Mommy”. One bite, my booty!

That would all be “bites” from my lunch yesterday…after she ate her own pbj with carrots

2. Playing Chase. Turn your back to do one thing and children can get into all sorts of messes. Even at 8 months old, baby B already has his sneaky ways down pat. I’m chasing that boy all the live long day. I don’t even want to think what it will be like once he starts walking! I could probably train for a half marathon without ever doing an official training run.

3. Kids are $$$$$! I’m too busy buying things like diapers to afford going out to eat all the time or to fund my daily cravings for Dairy Queen blizzards.

4. There’s Just No Time! Things are constantly go go go as a parent. And I’m constantly distracted by my children. Sometimes it even makes me forget to eat.

5. The Gym Is An Escape. You want to know why I have no problem going to the gym or on a run six days a week? Free childcare and the perfect excuse to get away for an hour.

6. It Feels Good To Say No. I don’t have the junky packages of Ding Dongs and Ho Hos going into my shopping cart at the store. And part of the reason is because I get a wee bit of satisfaction saying “NO”. After all, I have to get revenge on that hour of sleep lost last night.

7. Kids Can Make You Lose Your Appetite. Mid-dinner and I hear the biggest explosion of nasty imaginable? Then getting elbow deep in baby poo? Not really in the mood to go back to my plate of Almost Meatless Sloppy Joe after that. You get the picture.

8. Kids Have No Filter. I really don’t care to have Makenzie tell me I have a big, lumpy booty…again.

9. You Do Active Things So They Will NAP! Nap time is heavenly bliss every afternoon. And I will do my best to make sure they take good naps. Enter dancing in the living room, visits to the playground, and going on walks.

10. You Become A Pack Mule. The amount of baby stuff to keep up with everywhere you go blows my mind. I can easily leave the house to go somewhere for 15 minutes having to carry three bags, a 16 pound baby, and dragging a 25 pound toddler. Let’s not even get to the amount of squats I do in a day bending down to pick them up.

11. Burn 1000 Calories A Day Cleaning. Kids are messy. Really, really messy. There’s always something to clean or do. Teddy bears to run downstairs and grab to bring back upstairs for bedtime. Sweeping and mopping up spills. It. Never. Ends.

12. Tuning Out Superpowers. As a mom, I have gotten very good at tuning out the whining. Sometimes you just have to. And that only strengthens my ability to tune out unnecessary cravings for a second bowl of ice cream.

13. Wine, Coffee, and Chocolate. Those three things have been shown to be “good for you”. Or so I heard that somewhere and I like that idea, so I call it truth. Antioxidants and heart health…or something? Sure, why not. All I know is that I need a little lot of each as part of motherhood. Total health powerhouse!!

So, as you can see, motherhood is my top secret way to stay in shape Wait. Hold that thought. I have to go run up some stairs to squat down and curl up my little man. Then, I have a feeling M will want to play “jumping bean” (aka me jumping up and down holding her). Yea…motherhood. It’s a pretty good secret weapon if you ask me.

• What is a random part of your life that helps your fitness/health without trying?

Disclaimer: I wrote this post in a very sarcastic manner. While the above are all true parts of motherhood, they do not mean I rarely make time to eat or think of my children as a burden.

You may have guessed from last night’s post about my mom being in the hospital that I don’t have the mental capacity to write a supremely well thought out post this morning. I still wanted to blog though, because blogging gives me the exact outlet I need in these situations. So, what to do when you want to blog but don’t want to think too deeply? Hop on board the latest blog post trend!

I have seen Lee, Janetha, and Caitlin share this “10 Personal Questions” post idea and it is just what I need right now. Hopefully it will be fun for you too!  

1. What are you really good at? What are you really bad at?

You mean besides eating frozen yogurt???

Hmmm…this may end up tougher than I anticipated.

I guess I would have to say I’m really good at commitment. If I want to accomplish something, I know what it takes to get there and I just do it. I work hard, try to go above and beyond, and remain consistent and persistent until I achieve what I set out to do. I believe in myself and my efforts.

What I’m bad at? Relaxing!!! Probably not surprising considering my answer to what I’m good at, huh? It seriously takes so much to get me to slow down and chill. My mind goes a mile a minute and I have to remind myself to take a breather daily.

2. Have you ever been in a car accident? What happened?

I guess I can now tell you all about that crazy time I was hit by a car. Yes, me…my body…no car encasing it.

The summer before my senior year of high school my friend and I were on the way to the pool to see some friends. We came around a curve in the road where a construction crew had burst a water pipe and left it leaking…to flood the road a good couple of inches. My friend’s car hydroplaned and hit the curb, busting her tire.

We were outside of the car, by the guardrail, calling her father to let him know what happened. Low and behold, another car comes flying around the curve and hydroplanes as well. This car was speeding (65 mph) so when it hit the curb, the car actually flew up off the road, flipped three times, and hit us in the process.

I was thrown into the road where I incurred a severe road rash, a fairly severe concussion, and three gaping holes (butt, elbow, and head). Which, by the way, I was in such shock that I spent the majority of my time in the hospital telling my doctor he was a lucky man to get to see my butt. And today, Peter is the only lucky one seeing that…so I will share a shot of the scar on my elbow instead. I thought you would appreciate that.

The skin below that scar used to inhabit the back of my tricep. It’s like Stretch Armstrong. Lovely, no?

I was actually the lucky one. My friend was unconscious for weeks and had a lot of damage to her hip/leg. I still vividly remember the sound of those screeching tires and seeing the car flying towards us. I also remember my two month long trip to Europe and my four years at UGA….which the settlement from that accident paid for in full. Yes, siree. And how fitting for the next question!

3. Why did you attend your college?

You know? I’m not 100% certain on why I went to the University of Georgia. I guess it was close enough to home to still feel “safe”, but I could still go do my own thing. I also planned to pursue a teaching career, which UGA’s education program is highly acclaimed. And – let’s face it…Athens is fun! Too bad I use pretty much nothing from those four years in my “careers” today. Unless you count teaching Makenzie to say “Goooo Dawgs! Sic ‘em! Woof woof woof woof woof!”

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Hehehe….hate me if you will.

I guess I will have to hold the other seven personal questions in my back pocket for future posts lest your eyes go into muscle spasms. Sometimes I surprise myself with how wordy I can get. Sheesh. See you in the afternoon!

• Where did/do you go to college? Or what sports team do you love?
• What is something you are really good at?