As a single 45 year old mother of 3 I thrive being 45 and am proud of it. As a trainer in my 20 plus years, I have heard many reasons as to why an individual doesn’t put their health first. I have heard it all; no time, too expensive, I have a family, I need to get in shape before I work with you (this one gets me too, we will save this for another conversation), and one of my annoying favorites is I am too old, I can’t look like you.

Yet, the individual most times is younger than me, or the same age! I guess I lean towards moms more because I am a mom, and it breaks me inside to see them give up on themselves when they are not happy with themselves.

I am here to tell you that one is never too old and there is no time like the present, and age is a number! I can attest to this personally, I am not special, and we as moms still can balance feeling good about ourselves and maintaining the home. As moms, we wear different hats and that is great because we are awesome!

We should never feel guilty about taking an hour or two to ourselves, it is actually a must that we do. Doing this allows us to get our “happy vibe” (endorphins) flowing and makes us feel good. Not only that, but it allows for socialization, and if you’re a stay at home mom, it’s socialization for the kids as well. I feel too, it also set an amazing example for my kids. My babies live this healthy lifestyle by what I modeled for them. They make it a priority and I love that this is another avenue of how we bond in our relationships. They are educated in nutrition and the “gym life”.

Now, not everyone is going to be as intense into fitness as we are. and that’s okay. Hearing from clients that I have, they slowly immersed what they learned from me into their homes. The excitement the moms had about their families getting on board, eating healthy, taking up activities and making it a priority in their life, brought tears of joy to their eyes. I feel the issue comes mainly from, guilt, time management, and the overwhelming sense of how can I do it. It’s easy once you get started, by slowly setting small chunks of time aside for yourself, and hiring a trainer if you don’t know what to do. A trainer can teach and educate you, walk with you in baby steps, so it doesn’t feel overwhelming to you.

Remember moms, you’re a model to your children and you can pass this information to your children at any age. As the saying goes…”If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”

Remember, wear your own hat amongst the other mommy hats you wear… Don’t loose yourself. Happy training!