How I Stay Healthy As A Dad
Parenthood forced me to rethink my approach to exercise, nutrition, and sleep.
Today’s post is brought to you by my husband, Harley, to give you some insight into his POV when it comes to parenting! I hope you enjoy this - let me know in the comments if you would like more columns from the dad’s perspective, or ways we can support the dads in our lives! - Diana
How I Stay Healthy As A Dad
by Harley Goedhart
Staying healthy is challenging no matter what season of life you’re in, but when young kids are thrown into the mix, the time and energy you can dedicate to your health becomes much more limited.
One thing I realized after becoming a dad is that time is now my most valuable resource. I had to reevaluate how I maintain my physical, emotional, and nutritional health and focus on the habits that give me the biggest return on my investment.
I’ve always been a very active person. I was on both the track and cheer teams in college, and during those years, I spent four to six hours a day training. While I don’t work out nearly as much now, that period of my life helped build a habit of prioritizing movement. Those habits benefited not only my physical health but, as I would later realize, my emotional health as well.
After having a child, though, life changed dramatically. Activities that used to take up entire afternoons, like kayaking or jiu-jitsu, became much harder to fit into my schedule. I now have only a few hours each week for exercise, so I have to be selective about how I use that time.
One strategy that has worked well for me is choosing activities that accomplish multiple goals at once. Instead of driving somewhere for a workout, I’ll often take our dogs on a run in the morning or evening. That way, I’m exercising, caring for the dogs, and spending my limited time efficiently. As a parent, I’ve found that the habits I can maintain are the ones that fit naturally into my daily life.
Another thing I’ve learned is that consistency matters more than intensity. It’s much harder for me to work out sporadically once or twice a week than to follow a regular routine. When I’m inconsistent, I’m more sore, less motivated, and every workout feels like a bigger mental hurdle. But if I exercise five days a week and leave weekends for recovery and family time, I feel much better physically and mentally.
Having a plan and being able to communicate with your partner is also important. Diana and I coordinate schedules so she knows when I’ll be working out, and I know when she’ll be working out. That helps avoid disrupting her workday and holds me accountable. I’ve also simplified my workouts, so instead of trying to create my own routine, I take classes. At this stage of life, reducing mental load wherever possible is really valuable for me.
One of the reasons exercise remains such a priority is that it checks two boxes at once: physical health and emotional health. I’ve learned that when I don’t exercise regularly, my sleep suffers, my mood declines, and I become more restless and irritable. Staying active is one of the best ways I have for maintaining my mental well-being, which is important for everyone in my family.
The other major contributor to my mental health is sleep. Before becoming a parent, I could handle all sorts of challenges. I worked as a river guide in Patagonia, dealing with long days, extreme weather, limited food, and high-stress situations. As long as I got enough sleep, I was usually fine.
Then I had a baby who isn’t particularly interested in sleeping.
I just started drinking coffee this year, at 36. I’d never really needed it before, but after a few rough nights of sleep, a college friend made me a latte one morning, and the difference was remarkable. I went from grumpy and exhausted to happy and functional for the rest of the day.
I know that many people rely on caffeine to push through chronic sleep deprivation, and that’s not something I want to do or a great long-term strategy. My priority will always be getting enough quality sleep to feel rested and recovered. But right now, with a toddler and a baby on the way, coffee has been really helpful.
When it comes to nutrition, my primary goal right now is to get enough fiber. I try to eat around 35-60 grams a day spread through my meals (I don’t use fiber supplements).
Why fiber and not protein? Because the more I’ve learned from Diana, the more I’ve realized that fiber supports so many different aspects of health. It supports digestion, metabolic and cardiovascular health, and the gut microbiome. Since my time and energy are limited, I want to focus on habits that have the widest-reaching benefits. If health habits were bowling, fiber wouldn’t be knocking down one or two pins – it would be throwing a strike.
The other nutritional change I’ve made over the years is around how much meat I eat. When Diana and I first started dating, I thought our different eating habits would be a challenge (since I was a pretty big carnivore and she is a lifelong vegetarian). It turns out that if I want meat, I can always cook it separately and add it to whatever we’re making. The funny thing is that I’m usually too lazy to do that.
As a result, my meat consumption has dropped dramatically over the past decade. Most of the meat I eat now comes from restaurant meals, aside from the occasional burgers or fish we make at home.
When I do eat meat, I’m trying to make more intentional choices. I often opt for fish or shellfish instead of beef, pork, or lamb. Chicken has never been particularly difficult for me to cut back on, but I do enjoy the others and eating a good steak brings me a lot of happiness, so I don’t feel the need to eliminate them completely, nor do I think it would be sustainable for me to do so.
One lesson parenthood has reinforced is that health isn’t divided into neat categories. Nutrition, fitness, sleep, and mental well-being are all interconnected. Since I have less time and energy than I did before becoming a dad, I try to focus on habits that support multiple aspects of my health at once. The more boxes a habit checks, the more valuable it is for me to spend energy on.
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