Dieting For Busy Dads: 4 Tips To Keep You In Shape
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We often talk about the woes of parenting from the perspective of the mother, but today, we’ll shine a spotlight on dads. In fact, the mental health of fathers is a commonly overlooked topic. Insights from Mental Health America indicate that apart from parental anxiety, drastic life changes — such as becoming a new dad — can be a stressor for fathers. As is standard mental health advice, it can be therapeutic to focus on physical exercises that engage our bodies to help nourish our minds. After all, our minds and body are more connected than we think, and a healthy dad sets an excellent example for the rest of the family. In today’s post, we’ll explore the four essential tips to help keep busy dads in shape:
Exercise regularly
This first one may sound obvious, but you need a routine to maintain your fitness and keep in shape. Regular exercise — whether daily or weekly — can help you get in shape and become much healthier, as explained in our post titled “Get Great Abs This Summer”. You can start with calorie-burning exercises such as cardio. Keep in mind that you don’t have to spend a fortune on a treadmill or rowing machine unless you
want to. Strategic changes, like working lifts into your exercise routine, would be enough. For a couple of times a week, this exercise can already help increase overall muscle mass while helping you with your body fat loss goals.
Track your progress and goals
Speaking of goals, you want to track how you are doing in your diet and fitness journey. WeightWatchers’ weight loss plans for men incorporate digital tools in a mobile app so users can monitor their weight, food, and activity to stay on top of their progress. Tracking is vital as your health journey should include a combination of your food, physical activity, as well as other factors such as quality sleep. For busy dads, tracking apps can be a great way to visualize your progress. A day of caring for your kids balanced with working can be overwhelming and can often distract from your health and fitness goals. Keeping a tracking app handy on your smartphone can help curb this hindrance, and most of them are easy enough to input while you’re handling other tasks as well.
Involve your children
Children love copying adults, which is especially true for the adults they spend the most time with. Letting your little ones in on your health plans can help keep you accountable and motivated in your progress and can be a lot of fun. TikToker @babyznme posts their father-daughter workouts, revealing that “training” his
daughter helped control his young daughter’s overflowing energy while strengthening her tiny muscles. If you’re feeling inspired, remember that you don’t have to be a TikTok influencer to do this with your children. After all, being healthy is much better when everyone around you is on the journey with you.
Cook healthier meals
Using your kitchen skills for healthy meals doesn’t only give your partner a break from being the one to cook every once in a while, but it also allows you to control thenutrients you consume. As mentioned above, letting your children help out with cooking — do make sure to keep them away from the knives and scissors — can also be a wholesome bonding activity while allowing you to teach them about healthier dietary choices. A feature from US News includes fun menu items from morning pancakes to start the day, to grilled veggies to teach the kids about the benefits of protein at a young age. Cooking can also be a way for you and your kids to be playful and creative with your food, experimenting with recipes and leftovers to make eating fun.
Get more sleep
Resting may seem counterproductive to fitness, but not getting enough sleep has been proven to be among the most serious weight loss mistakes a person can commit. In fact, evidence from the CDC and the University of Colorado suggests that sleeping an average of only five hours nightly can result in up to two pounds of weight gained weekly. This is because sleep deprivation impairs how the body regulates hormones that trigger feelings of fullness and hunger. Additionally, when you lack sleep, you’re less able to self-regulate and avoid overeating. As such, experts suggest getting between seven to eight hours of sleep every night. For busy dads, you can get this shut-eye by sticking to a regular schedule, dimming your room, and avoiding gadgets around bedtime. If you have little ones, try sleeping the same hours they do, so there’s no need to stay up. Over time, this can reduce the risk of many health issues that men are especially vulnerable to, like obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
