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This episode is an honest and candid dive into what my typical day is like juggling quality family time, running a business, meeting my own health goals, and getting outside as often as possible. There's no such thing as perfect when it comes to "doing all the things" and I hope this gives you some realistic and grounded inspiration of how to show up for yourself through every phase of life.
To try a free week of my signature Fit for Hiking program to get you fit from the trails (gym AND at-home options) start HERE.
To try a free week of my signature Fit for Hiking program to get you fit from the trails (gym AND at-home options) start HERE.
For next level fat loss strategies, hormone/gut health help, serious performance goals and unparalleled support, apply for Mountain Metabolic coaching. Learn more HERE.
For more free wellness resources, hiking/travel guides, and other blog posts, check out my website HERE.
What is Fit for Hiking?
Where fitness and outdoors meet. In this space we chat all things hiking, exercise, wellness, adventure, motherhood, and metabolic health from a female perspective! Get ready to learn + be inspired to live your fullest, most adventurous life!
Hi, my name is Brady and I'm a longtime fitness professional in Midwest girl turned mountain living hiking addict. In combining my knowledge of fitness and passion for hiking, I've helped hundreds of women get lean and strong for the trails. Think of this as your one stop shop for both education and inspiration on all things female wellness, trail talk and adventure. Hiking, female metabolism, motherhood, nutrition, travel and fitness are all topics you'll hear discussed here. If you are outdoorsy and active, looking to level up your health, unlock your potential, and become inspired to live your most vibrant life, you're in the right place. You're listening to the fit for hiking podcast. What is that fit for hiking fam? Welcome back to another episode of the fit for Hiking podcast! I'm so excited to be back with you this week, and this week we're going to be doing something a little bit different. I wanted to go over what a typical day in the life looks like, don't normally do day in the life content, because honestly, every day looks so different for me based on what's going on with Jenny that day, what's going on with work. So I just kind of haven't gravitated towards these, like day in the life, what I eat in a day type of, you know, content pieces on Instagram or on the podcast or anything like that. But I thought it might be helpful for other, you know, busy working moms who want to prioritize health, even if you're not a mom, even if you're just someone who's trying to balance it all. I mean, life is kind of exhausting. If you guys haven't noticed, there's a lot of things that we're always having to focus on. A lot of cups that need filling constantly between our mental health, our physical health, work, home life, relationships and sometimes it can be a lot. So I wanted to share how this looks for me in this current season of life. So day in the life as an outdoorsy, mostly healthy mom and business owner. So also, I just want to preface this by saying, you know, every day is a little bit different. I'm not really a person who's like. Super strict with the routine thing because, you know, you never know what's going to happen the night before with, you know, junipers sleep. If you have a baby like you, understand that it's not as solid as you would like it to be. I think we always think like, oh, I'm going to like, nail this routine and it's going to be perfect and my life's going to change for the better. And yes, while I am an advocate for loose routines, I don't think that it's necessarily feasible to always have every single day work out exactly like you planned it in your head the day before. Life is going to happen, especially when you throw kids into the mix. Even more so. So just a little disclaimer there that I am definitely not over here living these like cookie cutter scheduled perfect days. But this is kind of just a rough template. And I'm actually going to be sharing two versions of this because we have childcare days and then we have non childcare days. So for me these look a little bit different. So I'm going to go through both. So regardless of whether or not we have childcare that day usually waking up around 630 maybe seven if the night before was a little bit on the rough side. I wish I could be one of those people that like, started their day at 430 5:00. I'm not much of a morning person though, to be honest, and I think sometimes in the health space these like super crazy early mornings are like almost, you know, deified a bit. They're like put on pedestals of like you have to, you know, in order to win the day, you have to start your day at like 430 or 5 a.m.. I am not that type of gal. It's just never worked out well for me. Especially more so having a kid that doesn't love to sleep. I need my sleep in the mornings. And so I've really prioritized, you know, just accepting that that's kind of how it is for me. I'm not going to be getting up crazy early, but I do find that if I start my day between 630 and 7, I get a jump on the day and I still like how that feels. So that's typically the time frame in which I'm waking up. I have become a bed maker in the last year or so. I just find that it helps me feel like I'm completing a task upon waking up feeling more organized. My office space is also in my bedroom, so making my bed is a priority to feel like the room is put together in general. So wake up, make the bed, and then typically start my morning routine with Junie. So once I, you know, brush my teeth, make myself look somewhat presentable, I'm grabbing her, changing her diaper, doing all the things, and then we get going downstairs for our breakfast and I make coffee. So that's kind of how we start it. Usually she wakes up around the same time, sometime between 630 and 7. Um. So breakfast. A typical breakfast for us is usually a big egg scramble. I like to do this with eggs and then add some carton egg whites just to add volume without going through eggs so fast, because otherwise we go through like a dozen eggs in two days between the three of us eating eggs. Um, so eggs, egg whites. Sometimes I'll add spinach or breakfast sausage, mushrooms, and usually some sort of cheeses in there. So this is a really great way to just like, consistently get a high protein breakfast. Um, if I'm rushed in the morning, I also do try to keep egg bites stocked. And I mean, these are kind of going to vary based on the grocery store you shop at. But usually I just find these pre-made egg bites and they usually have some sort of meat in them or some sort of vegetable, and they are a quick hit of protein, like 15 to 20g. Um, and I love those. If I'm like in a pinch, if I'm rushing g off to childcare that day or for whatever reason, it's just easy. So I like having those on hand too. So regardless of whether we're in a rush, I do like to start my morning with something protein dominant and savory. The reason for this is when we have excessive carb or sugar intake first thing in the morning. It's really setting ourselves up for like a crazy blood sugar ride for the remainder of the day, which typically leaves you more hungry, more frequently and with like, energy crashes. So when we're getting those, like, super quickly digestible carbs and sugars. So think things like pastries or muffins or bagels or cereal. A lot of the standard breakfasts, orange juice, any sort of juice, things like that, or like really sugary coffee drinks are going to give you a massive influx of sugar right away. That break down, that breaks down really quickly into the bloodstream. And that's going to give you a fast energy. But it's going to also deplete more rapidly because it's not a slow, digestible carb or sugar. So. That's why you feel those energy crashes, and then you feel like you need more sugar or more coffee or whatever it is. So it's just going to kind of take you along for this wild ride that's not very advantageous for sustained energy, sustained satiety throughout the day, and just supporting your health in the best way possible. And just constant like influx of blood sugar is not going to do you any favors from a hormonal or a body composition standpoint either. So in the morning, when in doubt, go for something savory and protein heavy, even if you're having some carbs with it, that's great. What if you like to throw like eggs on a piece of bread or a piece of toast? Or have some, like granola? Pair that stuff with your protein that is so crucial for stabilizing blood sugar. So if you're going to have granola, have it with Greek yogurt, maybe add some protein powder into the mix. Like I said, if you're going to have some sort of toast, don't just have like toast with jam and eggs to it or something. That's going to give you a protein hit of 10 to 20g. Ideally, if you can do more than that. Awesome. So that's what we do for breakfast usually. I also do love Kodiak cakes though, so that's like a high protein pancake. And Jenny loves those. So we usually make those like once a week as well. Protein pancakes with fruit so clutch. So we also do coffee and I do put cream and milk in my coffee. I've never been able to become a black coffee girly. I really wish I could because it would make life easier. But I really love creamer and it's just it gives me something to look forward to in the morning. It's like a simple pleasure, so I'm not going to deprive myself. And so that gives me a little bit of a hint of like something sweet, because usually I do like something sweet with my savory. So that does it for me. Um. Pro tip before you have any sort of breakfast, coffee, anything, chug a big glass of water. Like first thing, your body's going to naturally dehydrate a bit overnight because you are going. If you're sleeping eight plus hours, you're going that full time without getting any hydration. So it's helpful to just start the day with some water instead of just immediately jumping to coffee on an empty stomach. I also am a pro Pro having water, then breakfast, then coffee or coffee with your breakfast. You know, so many times I get on calls with people who are interested in mountain metabolic coaching and their mornings look like coffee, coffee, coffee, maybe eat something around midday and they feel like crap, and then they usually end up overeating at nighttime, which is something that we really work on, kind of reversing that, that process and those habits. So if that sounds like you, I really can't encourage you enough, like start the day with some sort of protein with your coffee and make sure you're getting some water too. It's so easy. I totally do this. I'll just chug coffee all day, especially in those first few months postpartum where I felt like a literal zombie. I felt like I was just drinking coffee, coffee, coffee, and I really had to remind myself to mix in water, not just drinking coffee all day. So that's you. This is your reminder. Okay, so that's what our breakfast situation looks like. And then we have to do some cleanup because, you know, inevitably Judy's like almost one and a half right now. And she loves throwing half of her meal on the floor. So we're doing some cleanup. And then we're going to do a little bit of playtime. Usually during that time I'm also trying to do my morning devotions journaling. I have a Jesus calling like daily devotional, which is really short and sweet, which is nice when you are distracted. And so if I get up and Judy's still not awake, I'll try to do that before she's up. But if she's up, then I'm doing it at the breakfast table with her. Then we're going to do some playing because she always has lots of energy in the morning. So whether I have childcare that day or not, usually we try to schedule in a little bit of time in the morning to play and connect before I drop her off. Um, okay. So if it is a childcare day, this is kind of what my day tends to look like. So we do this twice a week. Childcare days. So if it's a childcare day, um, I'm going to be a little bit more crunched for time in the morning. So we'll play quickly and then get her address, get her ready, and then I'm going and dropping her off. I have to take her to our current childcare provider. So that's about a 30 minute drive. Mountain life and nothing is close by. You're driving 30 plus minutes pretty much for everything. So I have to factor that in. I'll drop her off. And then from there I try to hit the gym because the gym is really close to her house and it's one of the only days, 1 or 2 days a week that I get to go to the gym. It's just not super convenient on the other day. So on those days when I am able to go to the gym, I really like to focus on heavy strength because that's a kind of a stimulus that I'm not getting as much with my at home workouts. So I'm trying to use equipment like cables, barbells, pull up bar machines, things like that that I can't do at home and really capitalize on those times when I have gym access. So those are going to be heavier in nature, more rest, slow reps, and really taking advantage of that heavier equipment. After I complete my workout, that's when I go get set up for work for the day. I go to a coffee shop that's right by the gym. I'm a creature of habit with this. I know the places nearby that have good food and good coffee and good work environment, Wi-Fi, things like that. And in a small town, our options are kind of limited. So I go to the same place every time because I love their food and it's just a good work environment. So I'll go to the same coffee shop and this is where I get really good, uninterrupted work time. I can grab lunch there when I get hungry. It just is a good space for me to work. And this interrupted work time is honestly gold because so much of the week my time is super divided between taking care of Junee and working. So this is the time when I'm able to do some really good client check ins, checking calls, get on calls with interested prospects in mountain metabolic coaching, work on current client programming and just kind of catch up on the marketing side of things too. It's such a multifaceted thing to run a business, right? You're like just touching all of these different areas and so it can be a bit frazzled, and it's nice to have those days where you're not distracted. Um, so that's kind of what that time is for me. Like I said, I'll eat lunch there, and usually I order a similar type of thing. It's a bakery where I go, but they do have a couple really good healthy options. So in my mind, I kind of just already know what I'm going to get. And this kind of helps me not just go for whatever looks good. Like all the cookies and pastries and things that they have. They have a quinoa squash salad, and I usually add chicken to that just to make sure I'm getting ample protein, especially after I've done a big lift. So I'll usually get that within 1 to 2 hours of completing my workout. And that is a nice, really filling like high volume meal that's very healthy. Lots of good micronutrients, lots of good protein. So like I said, I'm a creature of habit and I like to just go with what I know is healthy, going to fill me up, and a good option. So after my workday, I'll pick up juniper usually late afternoon and then head home, and we usually go for a stroller walk pretty quickly. Especially now. This time of year, the sun is setting, so early, it's like 445 and the sun starts going down. So we got to like hit that walk really quickly if we want to get it in. 1s Okay, so if it is not a childcare day, this is three days a week for me right now. Then I'm juggling watching her and trying to work whenever possible. I don't necessarily recommend this method, however, we don't have family nearby. Childcare is tricky. It's expensive. This is just what we have done and it works for the most part. It's a bit stressful for me, but we make it work. So on these days I use nap times and or times when she's independently playing. So when she's independently playing, I'll do things like social post quick responses to emails, client messages, things like that that don't require me to be on zoom or anything like that. When she's napping, that's when I'm doing things like recording podcasts and getting on zoom check ins, getting on prospect calls, and connecting with my team via zoom, things like that. Um, sometimes I'll also be able to block off like an hour with my husband because he does work from home, but his his schedule is pretty demanding. We work in different areas of the house, but usually for like one hour a day it can be like, hey, can you take her during this time if she's not napping? And then I can schedule calls during that time. Um, so it's not as much work time as I would like. It's very scattered and kind of like discombobulated a bit throughout the day, but it's kind of what I'm used to at this point with balancing both. And I've made it work for the past almost 18 months. Um, yeah. So those days I also am trying to get an a home workout. At least you maybe 2 or 3 of those days. Right now, I'm typically working out 4 to 5 days a week. So usually 2 to 3 at home workouts and 1 to 2 gym workouts. So when in our home gym, it's just in our basement. It's pretty bare minimum. We don't have a ton of space, so we are a bit limited with this, but we do have adjustable dumbbells, a kettlebell, sliders, a big mat, treadmill, and a step. I just got the step. So I'm super excited about being able to add some step variations to my workouts, which is so nice for hiking. Um, so these days I usually focus more on like moderate weights, smaller muscle groups, or single leg variations so that the workouts are still challenging without having all of the gym equipment. So I'm probably not doing my most heavy like deadlifts and back squats and, you know, lat pull downs and like incline presses and things like that that I'm just not going to have access to. So I usually reserved those types of big compound lifts for my gym days. Um, this is just what works with my split of going to the gym only a couple of days a week. And like I said, I'm doing these about 2 to 3 times a week. After my workout, I will eat lunch. My typical at home lunches are the same. I love to just go with what works and for me this is usually like pre-made salad bags. And I'll add chicken or smoked salmon to those. Or maybe like a chicken sausage with cooked veggies and some type of sauce or dinner leftovers. So I like to keep it pretty simple. There always a good portion of at least four ounces, 4 to 6oz of protein, and then either a salad or some sort of veggies. 1s Okay, so when Junie is up from her naps, this is when we're going for walks together, going to a local play gym, going to the park we build with these like big Legos that she has. I just got her this like it's like a tumbling set so she can, like crawl all over it and things like that. So, you know, we're getting creative with ways to entertain her and let her, you know, be creative and play and get some energy out, especially heading into winter months where we're not going to be able to get out and walk as much and play outside. Um, and we do a lot of reading too. And the reality is, I honestly would not be able to balance working and watching her three days a week if I didn't have my own business from home and team support. So I think it's worth saying that because, you know, a lot of times is not going to be the option. My husband works from home, and there's no way he could do this because he works for a company. He doesn't really make his own hours the same way I can set my schedule accordingly. So it is a bit more flexible, and I am fortunate enough to now have a team of four other wonderful women who are working for fit for hiking, and allow this to be more feasible. Even a year ago I had no employees, no team and it was so, so hard you guys to do everything. It felt very deflating. And obviously this has been a work in progress and I had to hire and invest in the business before I could get to a point where I could build through hiring mentors and coaching for my own business know how. So it definitely took several years to get to that point, but having team support and outsourcing has been massive for me. Um, and, you know, even still. I struggle with feeling like my attention is divided often. I talked about this on a Q&A episode about like, the mom guilt thing and just feeling like you can't balance it all perfectly. It's freaking hard. And I know the struggle if you're in that right now, it is super, super tough. Sometimes time blocking works for me where I just say, okay, yes, I have a million things to do, but during these 1 to 2 hours I'm going to put my phone away, put my laptop away and just focus on playing with her and get to that stuff later. And instead of trying to always do two things at once, because it's really hard when your time is so divided and your attention is divided and you're trying to play, but you're also answering emails on your phone. I've done that so many times, and honestly, you just feel like you're half assing everything, which sucks. Um, so that's kind of how it looks for me in the evenings after usually we do some sort of family walk. Sometimes she can join in on that, sometimes you can't. Depending on how late he's working. Um, we will cook dinner, and this is usually just some sort of protein. So like steak burgers, we love to grill out chicken, salmon, etcetera as the base. And then we'll build around that. So we always have some sort of protein. We are pretty big meat eaters I will say always some sort of protein. And then maybe like putting that in pasta or in like a Buddha bowl or some sort of like just easy bowl where we're adding like some sort of meat and quinoa and veggies and a sauce, um, or, you know, just adding grilled veggies on the side if we're having steak, stir fries, things like that. Um, and then we'll play with Junie, read to her and just kind of hang out as a family during that time. Um, sometimes this involves being social, getting out of the house, especially when it's light out longer. This involves hanging out on the deck, longer walks, sometimes even getting out for a hike locally, you know, if possible. Not this time of year, but during the summer when we have longer days. And then around seven, we usually start her bedtime routine and clean up, and then we can finally enjoy a bit of downtime, just the two of us. Usually that's like reading, watching a movie, something like that, depending on how the day went. Sometimes I do have to work in the evenings just because sometimes if she's sick or just kind of having a more clingy day, um, I'm not going to get as much done. Or if she takes one short nap, I'm not going to get as much done. And so I do have to a lot sometime in the evenings to catch up on work. That's just kind of the nature of the beast and how it goes. Um, in the evenings, I usually like to snack on something sweet. So whether that's chocolate, a mocktail, glass of wine, or a little bit of ice cream, something like that. Um, I'm a big sweet tooth gal. I love something sweet. And so I have found that having something every single day works really well for me. When I used to restrict and say, like, I can't have anything Monday through Thursday or Monday through Friday, then the days when I would say, okay, I can have some treats, then I would like go so overboard, eat till I felt sick, really reinforce a poor relationship with food, and it actually made it a lot harder to stay lean because I ended up eating in a calorie surplus so much more often. So that's just what works well for me in so many different ways, mentally and physically. And portion sizes really are key. Obviously, if I was having like a massive bowl of ice cream seven days a week, it would probably make it a little harder to stay lean as easily. But this is just what works for me as long as I monitor portion sizes. Um. And then usually going to bed sometime between 10 and 1030. The days oftentimes can feel like you're not getting a lot of time to yourself. You know, there's a lot of like housework to be done after she goes to bed to, like, catching up on dishes, laundry, cleaning, all of these things. Like any other person, there's always something to be doing. And so oftentimes we're not even, like sitting down until 8 or 9 at night and then going to bed at 1010. The days can feel long and really tiring. But I'm also aware that, like, this season is so fleeting and so special and so trying to soak up that time with her, even though at times it can feel very exhausting. You know, we're not going to have this stage for long. So kind of settling into being more of homebodies and just appreciating Judy at this age and knowing that this is just a season of life, it's not going to last forever. Um, so as far as weekends, we usually save our adventures and hikes for weekends. I know based on social media, sometimes you can assume that people are like literally out doing cool things seven days a week, and that is unfortunately not the case for me. I am very tied to work and taking care of Jenny during the week, so usually our hiking happens like maybe one day on the weekends unless we're traveling and we're doing more adventure stuff more frequently, especially on like a van trip. Um, you know, and Junie needs routine, and I honestly like having some sort of routine during the week too. So if anything, we may swap our afternoon walk for a local hike in summer months, something that's within like 30 minutes of home. But the rest of the time, you know, we're just doing our routine during the week and then trying to get out a little bit more on the weekends. So there you have it. Currently working out about 4 to 5 times a week. I really do prioritize daily walks and getting as much non exercise movement in. Usually like 1 to 2 walks a day, we are getting into winter months where that is getting harder. We just got dumped with snow last night. So for instance today instead of getting out for a walk, I'm going to be using my walking pad, which I got off of Amazon a couple of months ago. I think it was on Amazon Prime Day, and I think with that sale it was like 400 bucks. But honestly, this is going to be so helpful for me because during the winter, especially in the mountains, like there's just days when you can't get out and I want to be able to still get some steps in. So that's something where I can be on my phone. I don't have a standing desk right now, so I can't use my laptop while I'm on it, but I can use my phone. I can listen to audiobooks, podcasts, whatever that might be, and get some steps in at the same time. So it's a nice little multitasking tool to still get some movement in. So yeah, just trying to balance all the things. This is what it looks like for me right now in this stage of life. I'm sure if we have another kid in the future, things will change as Juni gets older. All of these things. But this is what it looks like right now. So I hope that this is helpful to kind of see how health and activity and, you know, still trying to harness my adventurous side kind of works into the everyday routine of having a kid running a business, you know, doing all the things. So if you guys like this type of content, let me know. You know, sometimes I'm not sure what exactly is helpful to hear on the podcast. And if you guys have questions or recommendations for future episodes, I am all ears. Just message me at the fit underscore for Hiking Instagram page. Obviously on on these episodes, I'm always referencing what we're doing in Mountain Metabolic coaching. The application link is always in the show notes, and we are in the midst of some Black Friday stuff. So if you are wanting to get started and get some discounts while you're at it, now is the time. Definitely jump on it. We are going to get very full heading into New Year's, and you'll be stuck on that waitlist for a while, so hurry and apply now. I'll get you on a call, and we'll get the ball rolling so that we can set you up for success heading into the New Year. All right, you guys, thanks for joining me for another episode and I will see you all next week. 1s Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the fit for hiking podcast. As always, I hope it leaves you feeling inspired and informed on how to take your health and adventure into your own hands. For more content like this. Be sure to follow along with my daily posts at Ponytail Underscore. On a trail that's ponytail underscore on a trail. You can also stay up to date on my new episodes being released at Fit Underscore for hiking, and find more free resources at ponytail on a trail. Happy and healthy trails.