When you have children your priorities change and sometimes you don’t feel you have any time for you. It is totally normal to feel that all your time is devoted to your family, especially when your children are small, but it doesn't have to be that way. If you know that you need to make changes to get more fit and active then sometimes a few simple changes can help and it might be possible to get the rest of your family involved too.

Plan one day every week to do something active with your family. In the Winter you might prefer to stay inside and go swimming, but when it is less cold outside it might be good to go for a hike or a bike ride, or even just a walk exploring a forest. If you have a baby you can put them in an infant carrier allowing you to go longer distances and you can get baby seats or trailers to go on bikes. It’s great to take some healthy snacks out with you too. By making the whole day fun it won’t even seem like exercise and you will be surprised at how easy it is for you to get the motivation you need when you have your entire family behind you.

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There are always lots of health and fitness classes on in your area you can go to which cater for beginners through to experts.  You might not realise that there are often some classes specifically for parents and children too. In my area there is everything from Mummy and Baby Pilates through to Boot Camp Classes for Tweens and Parents. There are even Buggy Fit classes you can do from around 6 weeks after birth and the babies normally sleep through the class due to the movement of the pushchair! Doing an exercise class with your children means you can burn calories, get more energy and have more time for other things. So put some comfy sports leggings and get going.

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Whether you are lucky enough to have a dedicated family room or you just have a relaxed living room they are often the centre of laziness. In ours we have a big TV with Sky plus, a games console and a few comfortable sofas.  Having subtle reminders in the room can help you stay focused on your goals for instance you could put up a list of the workouts you plan to do that week or put a timer on the television.  You could also put housework on the calendar to help to encourage you to get up off the sofa and do something.

The more active you can be at home the better. Getting all the housework done can be a problem for most families and it can be really hard to get children involved as well. On the flip side, chores can be a fantastic way for you to get active around the house. If you want to get the whole family involved then consider making housework into a game. Have a list of everything that needs doing and see how fast you can race as a family to get it all done. The week after you can then try and beat your own time to see if it is possible. Doing it like this makes it a team effort and this is a fantastic way for you to make sure that everything gets done. Speed cleaning is all the rage on YouTube, maybe whole family speed cleaning is the next big thing? Cleaning while listening to music can make it even more fun and you'll find yourself dancing along too! 

Food is obviously part of being healthier and it helps to change around your meals as much as possible. Make sure you have lots of different vegetables throughout the week and have at least 10 go to dinners you can rotate so you don’t get bored. Losing interest in your meals will affect your motivation and could end up with you calling for a take away. Many people find meal planning a week in advance is a great way to save money and help you make healthier meal choices. If your goal is to try and lose weight, consider looking into https://www.isaaxcess.ca/faq/.

I hope you find these ideas useful to help you get more fit and active despite the time pressures of family life.

***Disclosure: This is a collaborative post***