womens health Archives - Mother 2 Mother Blog

Bringing children into the world is a rewarding privilege. However, the effects of carrying and delivering babies can have a significant effect on the body. Although you are grateful for the journey to motherhood, the aftermath can have an impact on mental health. Furthermore, it can leave you feeling disheartened when you feel unable to restore your pre-baby body. Today, I’m sharing empowerment tips on tackling women’s health issues.

Count Your Calories

Women’s health issues include weight loss. The only way to lose fat is to implement a ‘calorie deficit’ regime. This means consuming less calories than we burn each day. Downloading a calorie tracker is a useful way of monitoring consumption. Keeping a food diary will allow you to track and be more mindful of the calories that you consume. Additionally, we are a few ways to reduce calories from your diet:

Avoiding creamy sauces or dressings
Switching to skimmed milk for hot drinks
Using sweeteners instead of sugar in drinks and baking
Fill up on veggies to feel satisfied and reduce hunger pangs
Avoid heavily processed foods full of sugar and salts
Drink water, often thirst is mistaken for hunger
Track your drinks, this is often forgotten and can add up over a day

Increase Activity Levels

Increase the number of calories that you burn each day by increasing your activity levels. Activities can include walking to school or running to the shops rather than jumping in the car. Furthermore, squeeze a 20 minute stroll into your day. Walking for 30 minutes each day is scientifically proven to offer many health benefits.

Swimming is a great full-body exercise. Particularly for those with mobility issues or for those who struggle with joint pain or obesity-related complications. Other ideas include cycling, running, dance classes, climbing or skating. Pick something that you enjoy and you will have a greater incentive to stick with it.

Lift Weights

Contrary to popular belief weight lifting is actually more effective for weight loss than excessive cardiovascular activity. In addition to burning calories it also helps with shape and tone. Focus on compound exercises like squats, pull-ups and bench press to maximize results. Most gym facilities can offer help and guidance for beginners. Or, if you are able invest in a personal trainer who will devise a plan specifically tailored to your personal goals.

Medical Intervention

If you have tried the above and still aren’t satisfied, you may prefer to opt for medical assistance. Your medical practitioner may be able to offer advice or make a referral for services that can help or recommend a dietician or exercise plan.

Other procedures are available, such as Los Angeles Coolsculpting performed by Dr. Fedonenko, which uses temperature to non-surgically break down fat cells and help to tackle stubborn areas such as abdominal fat or thigh and hip areas and avoids invasive surgical interventions.

Love Yourself

You need to be happy in your own skin whatever your shape and size. Your figure is a beautiful testament to the incredible journey your body has been on. So, it is not something to feel ashamed of and you can embrace your body and love yourself just as you are. However, if you choose to make a change for you, then these tips offer a good starting point for a weight loss journey towards you feeling confident and happy.

Today, I’m sharing parenting tips on eliminating parenting stress. At times parenting can be strenuous. We encounter stress from our job, whining and disobedient children, money problems and so many other factors. As a result, parenting stress becomes a part of our life. Parenting stress causes us to lose control of situations and ourselves if we don’t get it under control. I guarantee many of us are guilty of yelling, screaming, or some other negative reaction at certain points in our lives.

Unfortunately, I remember yelling at my daughter for various reasons and feeling guilty after the encounter. I’ve had to eat my words on many occasions. If not with her than other family members and sometimes friends. During the encounter, I didn’t think about the consequences of my actions or the affect that it would have on the other person. It was the only way I knew how to respond at certain times.

Unfortunately, yelling, screaming and cursing were normal in my home when I was growing up. I carried that mentality and behavior into my marriage and used that technique to interact with my daughter in her teen years. Thank goodness, I learned quickly that it was unproductive and damaging.

Eliminating Parenting Stress:

Nobody wants to be yelled at, and nothing is really accomplished with that type of interaction. Here are a few negative affects:

Fear
Low Self Esteem
Intimidation
Anger

I didn’t like eating my words after I yelled at my daughter or after I raised my voice for whatever reason. There were times that I apologized and there were times that I didn’t. I would just live with the guilt and move forward. It left me feeling bad about myself and ashamed of the fact that I reacted in such an unhealthy way. I vowed to change that behavior in myself, and eliminate the need for me to eat my words.

Most importantly, I didn’t want my daughter to think yelling and screaming were normal either. I also didn’t want her to be afraid of me in any way. Her growing up with low self-esteem was a major concern. Furthermore, I didn’t want her to grow up being an angry, bitter young lady who looked for love in all the wrong places. Feeling unloved at home will lead you in that direction. I knew a change had to occur and it had to start with me.

The first step was to get to the bottom of why I was yelling. Until I accomplished that feat, I learned to walk away and than come back and address the situation in a much calmer manner. That change alone left me with my dignity and it left those who were normally on the receiving end of my yelling with their dignity too. I liked the feeling of walking away much better than yelling, it soon became a habit.

So, as parents we are responsible for our children’s emotional well being. I found that I was a more effective parent when I was not yelling too. Not yelling opens the door to better communication. It allowed us to establish a healthy relationship where we demonstrated mutual respect for each other. I reached a point where I refused to argue or raise my voice with anyone. Walking away became a way of life for me and it has saved me from a ton of stress and broken relationships.

Last, if you are constantly yelling and screaming, just stop it. If you can’t change it on your own, get professional help. There’s no shame in getting help. Especially, if you are damaging your child. Furthermore, you could possibly cause them to become violent or act out in some manner. Children have limited coping mechanisms in their teen years. So, it’s up to parents to lead and guide them on the appropriate way to communicate. Reach for it, you and your children will be thankful.

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