How to Achieve 10,000 Steps Everyday when your a Busy Mum

As a busy mum I am always putting myself last in the family. I make sure that the children are fed, bathed, have clean clothes, clean sheets, tidy rooms and that they have everything they need for school.  I keep the house clean and tidy and the washing up to date but I always forget about me.  That was until I realised that I am a better Mum and wife when I make an effort to put myself first in one area of my life and that is my health and fitness.

To be honest I had been dragging myself through 2018, it hasn’t been a great year and I let my health and fitness slip.  I knew it was happening but I couldn’t get myself out of this hole I had dug.  I decided several months ago that it was time to put my health first and get back into achieving 10,000 steps a day to help improve my mental health, physical health  and overall well being.

Now at the beginning it is super hard to get those 10,000 steps in especially when I am at work as my job does require a lot of walking so I had to get creative with getting steps in on those days.  I don’t have the funds or the time to go to a gym and I needed to fit in my steps around the children and everything at home.  So this is how I have been getting those 10,000 steps in each day:

1. Every morning I walk inside the house.  As I walk I pick up toys, clothes, cushions, make the beds, run the vacuum through the house.  I can easily get 1,000 steps in quite quickly.
2. While getting ready for work or to leave the house I pop my favourite tunes on and dance in my room.  This might sound funny but after about 3 songs I can get close to 2,000 steps and my heart rates goes up making it a mini workout.  Plus dancing and music makes you feel happy.
3. I walk the kids into school each day, to their classrooms and then back to the car park.  This is an easy 1,000 steps.
4. When at work if the weather is nice a colleague and I will walk around the local streets for about 15 minutes getting in another 1,500 steps.
5. While at work instead of emailing someone in the office or calling them, I am making an effort to walk to them for the conversation or take the document that they need to them.
6. When I get home I will get into my active wear and go outside into the garden and I walk and run laps of our back and front yard.  I will do anywhere between 2,000 and 3,000 steps.
7. If I still haven’t reached my 10,000 steps for the day I will do laps of the house until I get to that magic number.
8. On the weekends and days off, in the afternoons the kids and I will walk to our local park and back adding to anywhere between 3,000 and 5,000 steps depending on which circuit we do.  The kids will ride their bike or scooter.

Having a fitbit helps to keep me accountable and when you are in the mindset of wanting to achieve the magic 10,000 steps a day it becomes like a mini challenge with yourself to do it.

By making myself accountable for these steps each day has also made me more conscious of what I eat, how much I eat and when I eat.  You don’t need to put yourself on a diet as such, you just need to make better food choices and decrease portion sizes of your main meals.  Being active needs to become part of your daily life to help make you as a person happier.

PS.  If you don’t make the 10,000 each day, don’t feel guilty!! It’s only a healthy target to aim for, it’s not the end of the world if you don’t do it everyday.

Leave me a comment below on how you achieve your 10,000 steps everyday.