Celebrating Mother’s Day With SweatHouz and How SweatHouz Caters to Moms
At SweatHouz, we believe mothers deserve more than just one day of celebration. While Mother’s Day is a perfect occasion to show appreciation, we understand that mothers work tirelessly all year long, balancing numerous responsibilities. That’s why we prioritize supporting moms every day, offering wellness solutions that make it easier for them to stay committed to their health. Celebrating Mother’s Day With SweatHouz is about helping moms invest in their mental and physical well-being, not just on holidays, but as a consistent part of their routine. Hear from wellness experts—who are also mothers—on why taking care of yourself is crucial and how SweatHouz plays a key role in that journey.
Wellness is More Than Physical Health.
The science is clear: wellness is complex. Lilly Malardie, MPH, an exercise physiologist and mother, shares that “the main dimensions of wellness include emotional, physical, occupational, intellectual, financial, social, environmental, and spiritual” wellness. The physical dimension of wellness can include “being physically active, eating nutritious foods, managing any health conditions, and getting adequate sleep,” says Malardie.
Besides, the emotional dimension of health includes “managing your stress in healthy ways, feeling positive and enthusiastic about your life, and recognizing and accepting your values and attitudes,” she adds.
“Someone could be struggling with one (or potentially all) of these domains,” explains Dr. Brittany LeBoeuf, exercise scientist and mom of two. “Additionally, some domains may be more malleable than others given an individual’s unique situation,” she adds.
Prioritizing mental and social health is especially important for mothers, according to exercise scientist, online fitness coach, and mom Shelby Peterson, MS. “Most people are familiar with physical wellness – staying active with physical activity and eating a nutrient-dense diet – but we are less familiar as a whole on mental and social health,” she says. “That includes taking care of oneself through stress management, setting boundaries in personal and professional life, and paying attention to what allows you to thrive in those scenarios,” Peterson adds.
Self-Care is Essential, Not Selfish
A common challenge for many mothers is guilt over taking time for themselves. “Taking care of your health is not selfish,” says Dr. Leboeuf. She adds, “As a mom, you have the innate desire to care for your family. However, it is easy to take care of everyone else before realizing that you haven’t been properly caring for yourself.”
Putting your health behaviors on the back burner can come at a cost, though, and Dr. Leboeuf warns that “often, it takes an event where your health compromises your ability to care for your family to realize that you need to take better care of yourself.” At SweatHouz, we are dedicated to meeting moms where they are, offering preventive wellness services that support long-term health. Celebrating Mother’s Day with SweatHouz can be the perfect reminder that prioritizing self-care benefits not only the mom but the entire family.
Plus, evidence suggests that children model health behaviors they see from their parents. Malardie reflects that prioritizing her health “can positively impact (her) son – he’s seeing (her) engaging in healthy behaviors, and therefore being a positive role model in his life!.”
Echoing this sentiment, Peterson explains that staying committed to her wellness routine allows her to “spend time with (her) daughter on the floor, as well as take her for a hike where she’s carrying her the whole time.” She adds, that sticking with her non-negotiables allows her “to show her daughter what a healthy life looks like, and give her that knowledge early in life.”
The Barriers Moms Face in Prioritizing Wellness
Motherhood comes with a full plate, and the demands can make wellness feel like an afterthought. As Dr. LeBoeuf explains, “Entering parenthood and other life-changing instances can really disrupt someone’s wellness.” This may be in part due to the additional barriers mothers experience as their families grow.
One of the biggest barriers moms face is time. Lilly Malardie explains that “many mothers are managing the household, work, and also caring for their children,” which often leads to “our own self-care and personal health priorities being lower on the to-do list.” Regardless of your children’s ages, a large part of your day is “dedicated to taking care of children, feeding them, and getting them to activities, leaving less time for moms to focus on healthy behaviors,” adds Shelby Peterson.
Emotional barriers may also come into play. For example, Malardie says she has “spoken to many mothers who feel guilty for taking time for themselves if it is not contributing to their family or children.” She reminds us that “how we think about our goals and our perceived ability to achieve them can absolutely play a role in adherence and success.” By building confidence in their self-care routines, moms are more likely to stick with them.
Three Strategies to Help Moms Stay Committed
SweatHouz is committed to helping moms overcome these barriers by offering practical strategies for maintaining a wellness routine. Here are three expert-recommended approaches to help moms stay on track, no matter how busy life gets.
Malardie recognizes that “one of the main strategies that can assist with approaching a health commitment is identifying what your current routine and barriers are.” Think of this as taking an inventory of your current barriers to determine if they are physical (time, energy) or mental (for example, mom guilt).
Once the barriers are identified, you can look for “opportunities to create a realistic plan,” she adds. To get started with managing any barriers you face, Malardie recommends thinking through your current schedule by asking yourself questions, like:
- What time do you wake up?
- What time do you work?
- How many hours of sleep are you currently getting?
- What times of the day would it be possible to fit in additional activity or heal-supporting activities?
- Is there anything you can make easier to achieve that goal (ex: laying out our workout clothes the night before)?
Dr. Leboeuf recommends setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound) for health behaviors. “I find that with Moms, they often struggle with the ‘attainable’ and ‘realistic’ aspects the most. A lot of active Moms were able to exercise 5-6 days per week for 1+ hours prior to having kids.
Once they become a parent, that sort of exercise schedule may not be realistic or attainable,” she says. Rather, “it is important to set goals that make sense for your life right now.” Maybe that means booking 1 infrared sauna session each week and sticking with the commitment for the next several months before reassessing, for example.
Peterson is a huge fan of identifying your non-negotiables and setting yourself up for success by prioritizing them. She explains that “non-negotiables can look like always getting in a walk, where some days it may be short and some days it is long, based on how much time you have.
Everyone will have different non-negotiables, but finding what those are for you and setting those as your “bare minimum requirement” daily can allow you to take on a more some-over-none mentality (as opposed to all or nothing!).
Not every day is going to be doable to hit every commitment you want to make, but finding ways to still get some done can help you in the long run!” Losing the ‘all or nothing’ mentality in favor of the ‘consistency beats perfection’ mentality sounds good to us!