Being a busy WORKING mum is one the HARDEST job on the planet!
We are stretched as thin as it gets. From waking up in the middle of the night to comfort our kids to the school drop and run and then also trying to keep up with our workload – us mums have busy schedules and that means we’re often exhausted!
When it comes to looking after our own health and fitness, it’s very overwhelming! After all, where is the time to eat healthily and exercise in a very hectic day?
Fear not; there is a way! Five of our amazing mummies share exactly how they started their weight loss journeys.
The 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge – how to get started when you’re a busy working mum
Bek Tickner
Bek Tickner has lost 13.3kg through the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge and she reveals she made a major life change 12 months ago and quit her job to nine years to study for her dream job.
“Once I made this change my life also began to change in a bad way. I was eating bad, drinking too much and never exercising,” she reveals.
“I began cleaning part-time and one day caught my reflection in the mirror and realised I looked as bad as I felt. I had been following Healthy Mummy on Facebook and finally decided to join.
“That was September 2021, I have since become a member and have totally changed my life! I began my journey at 77.5kg and a size 14-16, very unmotivated and had to push myself to move my body, now I’m 64.2kg size 10-12 and so motivated!”
Bek’s top tips for other mums looking to start their health journey in the new year
- I make sure I move my body every day, some days more than others but every bit counts. I have now made changes to my life and I never want to go back to how I was.
- My advice for new Healthy Mummies is NEVER GIVE UP, the first step is the hardest but also the most rewarding.
- Forgive yourself of you stumble, get back up and continue your journey.
- No matter small the step is as long as it’s in the right direction that’s all that matters.
Erin Nicole
Erin Nicole had previously lost 23kg with The Healthy Mummy but gained some weight back and is 4kg down again.
“I work for myself running a flower and gift business. The thing I struggle with working from home is food is always there, and when I’m constantly working with my hands. I just grab stuff that’s quick to grab and eat but wasn’t always the healthiest,” admits the mum-of-three.
“I really love the Healthy Mummy approach of every single BODY is different and your calories required will differ to each person. I also love the meal prep idea so having food ready to go that I can just microwave and heat up or grab quickly is so handy!”
Incredibly, Erin’s began by going through the App and looking for her favourite meals, things that were quick to make, filling and yummy!
“Also, I looked for things I could bulk cook and freeze easy. Setting alarms is a good idea if you forget to eat… or find you’re eating at crazy times,” she says.
“Honestly, I feel wrecked if I exercise during the day plus I’m always on my feet for work, so I prefer to do a quick 10-15-minute workout with the kids before bed. That way I can just go straight to bed afterwards and find I sleep better too.
“I do meal prep each Sunday, things like gnocchi, minestrone soup, and muffins are my faves!”
Erin’s top tips
- When you only have limited time do things like bake a batch of muffins at dinner while the oven is already on, set aside 30 mins – 1 hour a week to meal prep and plan ahead for groceries (perhaps when chilling on the couch after the kids have gone to bed instead of watching tv)
- ‘Shop your pantry’ to save time and money by making meals around ingredients, herbs and spices you already have and try a 10-minute workout.
- Make sure you have a good, filling, nourishing brekky. This will set you up for a good day.
Claire Moore
Claire Moore is a teacher based in Brisbane and has lost a whopping 3.9kg in 10 weeks.
“I made small changes at first with my exercise and meal prep. Then I got into my Healthy Mummy groove,” says the mum-of-three.
“I started by using the amazing app to plan our family meals ️ I also committed to doing 3-4 app workouts a week.”
What’s more, Claire says she manages to squeeze her workouts in before the kids get up in the morning.
“I love the 28 Day Tone Up challenges and the take 10 workouts from the app! They’re also easy to do while dinner is cooking,” she says.
“I also meal prep for the whole week on the weekend.”
Claire’s top tips for mums looking to start
If you’ve got a super tight time schedule, then I recommend:
- Picking a few healthy snacks to prep for the week – make double and freeze some
- Set yourself small goals life increasing water intake or an extra 1000 steps per day – it al adds up
- Take those photos and measurements!
- Talk to your family about your goals
- Make a shopping list of everything you need and prep on a Sunday
- Find any exercise buddy or invoke the family in your workouts
- Do the best you can, that’s all we can do – you’ve got this!
Samantha Lozano
Samantha Lozano is a criminal barrister based in Sydney and has lost 51kg in 15 months by following the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge!
“My start weight 126kgs my weight today is 75kgs, so I’ve lost 51kgs so far. It has taken 15 months,” says the mum-of-three.
“I found it hard at first until I start to change my mindset around food. I made myself a priority for the first time in a long time I would plan my day so I would have the time for myself.”
To start with, Samantha reveals she kept a food diary of everything she ate and drank for the first two weeks to see what her patterns were.
“I get up before everyone anyway usual an hour before everyone else in the house so I’ll go for a run and I can usually fit in a workout as well,” she says. “I meal prep for the whole family.”
Samantha’s top tips for working mums
- Buy an actual book diary The Healthy Mummy one is good! (Grab your copy here)
- Get a whiteboard you can put on your fridge or wall in your kitchen these two items will help you actually plan your week and see clearly where you are at any time.
Kylie Melville O’Connell
Kylie Melville O’Connell has lost 11.5kg and 67cm from all over in the last 3.5 months!
The mum-of-five is a caregiver, and she says The Healthy Mummy has made her life a lot easier, as she’s more prepared!
“Before I joined up, I didn’t eat breakfast, sometimes had a morning snack, no lunch and would then find myself coming home and making unhealthy choices due to being hungry,” she says.
“I would then have to think about what we were going to have for dinner and if I hadn’t taken meat out of the freezer or didn’t have any in the fridge then again the meal wasn’t a very healthy one.
“Since using the healthy mummy app, I now have a freezer stash from doing meal prep ahead of time.
“I now have a Healthy Mummy meal replacement smoothie for breakfast every morning because it is so quick and easy amongst the morning rush of getting the kids ready for school and myself ready for work. It’s a great healthy start to my day!”
Kylie also makes healthy snacks, which are easy for herself and the kids and she’s chucked out processed food in packets.
“There are over 5,000 recipes to choose from which makes dinner choices so much easier, just type in an ingredient and it will bring up a whole bunch of recipes to choose from,” she says.
“With not having a lot of time in the mornings I opt for doing 1 or 2 of the quick 10-minute workouts and when the kids are in bed I will do another 30-60 minutes in the evening at my own home/yard.”
Kylie’s top tips for busy mums
- Start off small & do things you know are achievable.
- (Drink more water, make 1 or 2 batches of snacks for the week, go for a short walk or do a few exercises at home.)
- Plan your meals ahead of time so you know exactly what you are making & have the ingredients at home.
- Set yourself a few little goals to achieve over a few weeks so you have something to work towards.
- Take photos, measurements, record, plan & prep!
- DO THIS FOR YOU!!
More handy tips on how to start
Firstly jump into the app and find your way.
Calculate your: BMR
What is it? – The number of calories required to keep your body functioning at rest. Taking into account your height, age, current weight, goal weight and activity level provides and accurate reading of how many calories you need daily to lose weight. If you want to maintain then make your current and goal weight the same.
Why is BMR important? To lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit so its important to find out a rough calorie intake to follow. Recalculate for every birthday, every 5kgs you lose or if your activity level changes.
My BMR seems high – Do I have to eat that much?
You can calculate your BMR directly within your profile section in The Healthy Mummy App.
It can be daunting but Healthy Mummy is a long-term approach. This will not hinder your results, in fact I got better results when I ate more and consistently during the days – e.g brekky, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, dessert. Think maintainable enjoyable LIFESTYLE. If you fuel your body properly, it will function more efficiently and in return release weight and toxins.
What activity level do I choose?
- Sedentary – No-one is sedentary unless they are bedridden so you should at least choose lightly active even if you don’t do any structured exercise.
- Moderate – If you workout 3+ times a week
- Highly – If you work out 4+ times a week
Calories
Your daily calorie intake is also calculated within The Healthy Mummy App profile section.
You will also notice that each recipe has full nutritional and calorie info which makes things super easy and straightforward; no extra thinking.
Do you eat back the calories you burn? No, to lose weight the key is the remain in a calorie deficit.
Do you have to count calories to lose weight? The short answer is no, you don’t have to count your calories precisely to lose weight, I didn’t and lost over 30kgs in 9 months.
At the beginning, however, it is a good way to learn the calorie value of the foods you most commonly eat. As the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge has all recipe info its easy to roughly add up the foods you’re eating. My best bit of advice is don’t stress about the minor details.
Do you have to follow them exactly? No!
They are there to make your OWN. The only right way to do the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge is the way that works for YOU, thats the beauty of it.
The best feature when it comes to this is BULK SWAPS – you can repeat a lot of meals to save time and money so bulk swapping it brilliant.
Meal Prep
It is optional. Every bit of prep counts and what works for you is what’s best. You don’t have to cook in bulk to be successful. I tend to do a bulk cook every 6-8 weeks to stock the freezer. Other than that I prep my dry smoothie ingredients weekly, cook double of dinners and any leftovers or extras go in the freezer.
When making anything, a hot tip is DOUBLE it and store it.
Working mum meal plan
The working mum meal plan is designed for the office working mum, the retail worker, the nurse or first responder. We understand in this day and age mums work in various roles (besides being a mum which of course is one of the hardest yet most rewarding jobs in the world). This meal plan supports a mum working outside the home with limited access to kitchen facilities during the day.
The Working Mum meal plan is also designed to save you time and make meal prep and eating healthier more manageable. We want to help you avoid the dinner chaos or the last minute takeaway on the way home.
We have designed this meal plan to help you have dinner ready in under 30 minutes, to have more time to relax and spend with your family. You don’t even need to think about writing a shopping list, we’ve got that covered in the app too!
If you are not yet a Healthy Mummy 28 Day Challenge member – check it out here
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