Sarah Jackson
#ADULTING
This is adulting I
s getting enough exercise and eating right on a regular basis really easy for anyone? Add in the enormous feat of carrying and birthing a baby (or even babies!) and it can feel monumentally more challenging. Impossible. As a new parent, you have few #adulting assets — no sleep, no time (relative to your recent past), no money (in many cases) and no free child-care fairy (or grandparent). If you’re a working, commuting parent, dream on. Add in a dash of guilt about the very thought of taking care of yourself (instead of your kids or spouse), and you’re doomed. And I’m not just talking about mamas.
Dads suffer much of the same fate. Now, wait a few years (or eight) as you grind through the physically and emotionally demanding toddler and early-elementary years, and watch as your metabolism begins to plummet. Because, hey, you’re OLD now (or on your way). What can you do? You can stop making excuses and — in the immortal words of Nike and Shia LaBeouf (tinyurl.com/shia-it) — just do it. Find your thing. And then, when you inevitably lose it or it changes, find it again. It feels impossible, I know. But it’s not. I know because I’ve recently
↑↑Before: Val, a mother of three (pictured with her daughter Olivia, 4), felt tired before she changed her diet.
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September 2017 • mnparent.com
seen two millennial moms take charge of their health amid real challenges. And their stories seemed to me like the definition of #adulting. They’re my friends and co-workers at Minnesota Parent, Val and Dani. They both lost significant amounts of weight — 17 pounds for Dani and 33 pounds for Val. How? They used the Herbalife shake program. (Note: This article isn’t about HOW they did it. It’s THAT they did it.) The most striking story is that of Val, a 37-year-old mother to toddler twins (turning 2 in October) and a 4-year-old daughter. After her twins were born, she was
↑↑After: Val poses with her favorite Herbalife shakes at the Uptown Hub Nutrition Club in Minneapolis.