7 Weight Loss Tips For Stay At Home Moms

Anyone can give you general health tips, but what about weight loss tips for stay at home moms? Here are 7 weight loss tips specifically for homemakers.

If you just want my *top* tip on how I stay accountable for my own fitness, it’s this very blog! I started this blog with Siteground and have been making money & staying accountable ever since. Onto the post!

As some of you know, I have been a stay-at-home mom since the moment I became a mom.

(And it has been hard. Lol.)

Originally, I had planned on staying home with my daughter (now almost 5) for one year.

My plan was to return to work after her first birthday, even though that was the full extent of my plan.

I had no real plan as for where I’d work or who would take care of my daughter, but I just thought I’d, “Figure it out later.”

Ha.

I never knew that years later I’d be writing about weight loss tips for stay-at-home moms like myself.

I also never knew that I’d be one to NEED weight loss advice. There I was Googling, “how to lose weight as a stay at home mom.” Lol.

But mine is the story of many moms. It happens, mama.

Help, how do I lose the baby weight? I need weight loss tips for stay-at-home moms!

You know how it goes. You’re getting ready to have your first baby. You’re young and you have a lot of expectations for yourself.

Oh, and a lot of expectations for your body.

You don’t need weight loss tips because you’re going to “bounce back” within a year of having your baby.

And maybe you do, for a little while.

You lose quite a bit of weight as soon as you pop that little one out.

But then you lose yourself in motherhood and sleepless nights, and the weight creeps back up.

It’s all kind a blur there for awhile. Maybe you have another kid and things get a little out of hand with nutrition & exercise.

(Mmmm, hmmm.)

And it’s not like you’ve completely “let yourself go,” because that’s not really an accurate description of what’s happened.

You care about your health and appearance, but you care about your babies so much that you’ve kind of put them first.

‘Cause moms do that.

But then you find yourself looking for weight loss tips on Pinterest, or whatever.

You land here.

And you need weight loss tips for stay-at-home moms from another SAHM because no one else quite understands what this is like.

Psst! Need help with nutrition? Check out my self-paced nutrition course for weight loss!

Stay at home mom weight loss is tough!

Sure you have the time to meal prep, but that doesn’t mean you have the money or energy to make it happen all of the time.

Sure you have the time to exercise, but that doesn’t mean you have the energy or motivation to get it done with a gazillion interruptions.

And I mean, let’s be real about how lonely, depressing, and boring being a SAHM can be.

And what do some of us do when we’re lonely, depressed, or bored? EAT. (See my depressed stay at home mom tips.)

And I’m sorry but these are things that working moms, husbands, in-laws, and other people just don’t always understand!

Right?!

It’s always so much easier said than done. That’s why I’m writing this, as a slightly overweight personal trainer/stay-at-home mom. I need these weight loss tips for moms as much as you do!

7 Weight Loss Tips For Stay At Home Moms

When I think about weight loss tips for moms and stay at home moms, I’m reminding myself to be realistic. The following are real things you can do now, without any major investments.

Related Reading: 7 Tips On Losing Weight After Pregnancy

1. Get dressed right away.

Getting dressed is among one of my weight loss tips for stay at home moms because it helps you set the tone for your entire day.

For me, getting dressed helps me make the mental switch from “I think I’ll lay around all day,” to “Let’s get sh** done!”

It doesn’t matter if you plan to work out in the morning, afternoon, or evening.

I personally prefer to exercise in the morning, so I typically dress in my workout clothes right away. You obviously don’t have to.

Even if you are dressing in regular clothes, this is important! I find that getting dressed helps me be ready for anything and being a little “put together” helps my self-esteem, too.

You Might Also Like: 30 Best Books on Mindset To Change Your Life Forever

2. Put your best shoes on.

Along with getting dressed, wearing good shoes is one of my favorite weight loss tips because it can encourage you to move more.

And when you move a lot in bad shoes, you’re going to end up in pain.

I like to wear my most supportive shoes (Asics) even if I’m planning on staying home.

Putting these shoes on has a similar effect to getting dressed, only it encourages me to clean, play, and move a lot more.

Even though my best shoes aren’t exactly cute, I feel ready to get things done and I can stay on my feet all day this way. And every little bit of movement counts!

I truly believe that wearing good shoes keeps my feet and back from hurting and helps me stay more active throughout the day.

Related Reading: How To Meal Prep For Weight Loss On A Budget

3. Don’t use robots.

Look, I love a good floor-cleaning robot as much as the next mom. But the advent of various technologies has us moving less and less. It can be tempting to let technology do so much for us.

But you’re looking for weight loss advice, right? Fight back by doing things by hand. Sweep your dang floor. Then mop it.

(As dirty as my floors are, you bet I count cleaning them as a little workout.)

The same goes for any other available technology…ride-on mowers, leaf blowers, etc.

You get the idea – just do the cleanup yourself! Increasing your movement throughout the day really does make a difference.

Related Reading: What Is The Best Diet For Balancing Hormones? (10 Top Foods!)

4. Get your kids on a loose schedule.

I emphasize the word “loose,” ladies. My kids are never on a strict schedule, but we do have a routine.

The times aren’t set-in-stone, but the things we do most days are. There’s a flow. There’s a cycle. And it is so helpful.

How does this fit into weight loss tips for stay at home moms?

Well, if you’re like me and you have a baby/toddler, you are living for nap time. I know you are.

Nap time is when most of my workouts happen, and the time when I clean and write best.

They’re like a power hour for me. And since my kids are on a loose schedule, nap time is fairly predictable.

That schedule that I’ve established helps my kids know what’s expected of them. Therefore, nap time is never a fight.

Having that set expectation of, “Okay, it’s time to rest,” helps everyone. I get my stuff done, the kids fend off potential late-afternoon meltdowns, etc.

So if you’re one of those people still using the “I don’t have time,” or “My kids always interrupt me,” excuses, stop! Invest a few days into establishing some expectations and implementing a routine.

It will save you so much time and energy later, I promise.

5. Incorporate exercises into your daily chores.

Remember that I recommended putting good shoes on as one of my weight loss tips?

That’s because I LOVE to do mini-workouts throughout my day. A prime example would be how I do my laundry. (I explain my laundry workout in detail in this post.)

But the idea is just that you add in a few exercises here and there throughout your day.

Because I truly believe that overall daily movement is important, I am sure to add a handful of exercises to my regular chores.

Example: Fold 5 items then do 5 bodyweight squats. Repeat until the laundry mountain is gone!

Other things you can do: 

• While emptying the dishwasher: Put 5 items away. Then do 5 countertop pushups. Repeat until the dishwasher is empty!
• After moping: Use two rags to dry the floor with your feet. Use the rags to slide into lunges and simultaneously dry the floor!
• While cleaning the toilet: Do a wall sit or two while waiting for the cleaner to activate!
• Check out this post about how many calories various household chores burn.

Don’t want to do mini workouts? Here are a whole bunch of ways to increase your non-exercise calorie burn each day!

6. Set aside weekly meal-prepping time.

A classic stay at home mom weight loss tip because it’s so important!

I don’t know about you, but meal-prepping is my biggest weakness.

And since weekends are the only time my family is together, I don’t like to spend that time meal prepping.

So I have recently started to meal prep on Mondays. This has so far been so much more successful than randomly meal prepping, “whenever I have time.”

Setting a day to meal-prep has been a big deal for me. The first week I did it, I lost 3.4 lbs! I prepped on a Monday and had almost all of my meals planned for the next 5 days.

Not only did I lose weight, I felt better and also saved a ton of time throughout the week.

You don’t have to go crazy during meal prep.

I prep 1-2 healthy snacks (i.e. wash & cut up veggies/fruit) and bake meat & vegetables. I do this all on one pan to make it easy & quick! Here’s another seriously easy meal prep idea.

I also have a big list of cleaning eating snacks you can meal prep, as well as a huge list of high protein meal ideas.

If you’re still breastfeeding, I have a list of snacks that should help you keep your milk supply up, too!

7. Know yourself.

If you’ve been here before, you know I had to throw this one in my list of weight loss tips for homemakers.

I think that self-awareness is a huge piece of the puzzle when it comes to weight loss.

Why?

Because you won’t be successful on your weight loss journey if you do what other people are doing. Your journey is unique to you.

I encourage you to try a lot of different things, but when you find something that works, hold on to it. Don’t abandon it.

This is one of the most important weight loss tips for stay-at-home moms!

Let me give you an example.

By paying attention to myself, I learned that I prefer the gym over home workouts.

I have a long history of depression, but it was at its worst after I had my daughter four years ago.

When I got back into going to the gym, I felt a huge difference physically, emotionally, and mentally.

This is because as a new stay-at-home mom, going to the gym was the only time I got out of the house. It was my only interaction with other moms and adults other than my husband.

Getting dressed to leave the house, making small talk, and leaving my kids to be cared for by other adults was huge. It still is. The endorphins aren’t the only thing I need.

I need socialization! Plus, I also truly believe that the environment of my gym makes a huge difference in how I perform.

So anyway, I learned that I really do well in the gym environment.

I don’t like to work out at home unless I have to. For a bit, I lost sight of this and decided to try home workout programs. I even became a Beachbody coach.

Honestly, I think I just saw that other people were doing it and I thought that maybe I’d enjoy the workouts. I also thought maybe it could add to my business.

But after just a few weeks of skipping the gym, I realized that I was feeling “down” again.

My workouts were half-assed, I missed my routine, my kids missed their social hour, and I was just not thriving. I knew that I had to get back to the gym!

That’s why one of my top weight loss tips for stay at home moms is to become self-aware.

Do what works for you and it will help you perform better and keep you from getting lazy or burnt out.

Feel free to branch out, but always remember the things that felt right for your health, including the aspects that aren’t physical.

Do you have any other weight loss tips for stay-at-home moms? Tell me below!

P.S. If you’re still wondering how to lose weight as a stay at home mom, here are some more articles for inspiration:

• 27 Delicious High Protein Meal Prep Ideas
• 21 Day Postpartum Challenge
• How Tidying Up Can Help With Weight Loss

I hope this helped you as you figure out how to lose weight as a stay-at-home mom.

Until next time,

Chantal