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Jessica Holmes on “The Mom Report” and Making Time for Yourself

Jessica Holmes on “The Mom Report” and Making Time for Yourself

Mom knows best — or does she?

Ever the nurturers, moms are known for putting the needs of their children above all else, but according to the Becel ‘Mom Report’, it’s coming at the expense their own health.

The report suggest 60 per cent of Canadian mothers do not have enough time to take care of themselves, which is important when contrasted with the fact that one in three women in Canada dies of heart disease and stroke.

Canadian comedienne and Becel Encourage a Mom spokesperson Jessica Holmes, is shouting that message from the rooftops in hopes that Canadian women will take action towards their personal health.

“Like so many moms, I was letting my own health go down the drain when I had my kids, because you just get so fixated on making sure they’re healthy,” says Holmes, who lost her grandmother to heart disease when she was in her 60s.

“The best gift we can give to our kids is to be there with them in the long run,” says Holmes. “It’s just keeping in mind that you’re somebody’s kid too, and it should be kids and you being the priority.”

MAKING A CHANGE

Holmes, 39, has two children, a four-year-old boy and a six-year-old daughter. Initially, she found herself struggling with her eating and sleeping habits. Not knowing how to properly combat them, she tried to make sweeping changes to lifestyle, but it proved easier said than done.

“At first, I tried making the change in my life of doing a 180 and going to the gym every day, and always eating healthy food every day and getting out anything bad, but that, of course, failed,” says Holmes.

It wasn’t until she watched a Becel video, entitled Encourage a Mom, that Holmes decided to take a different approach.

Together with a group of moms from the neighbourhood, she started a community basketball and soccer team in Toronto.

“Honestly, it’s the social and physical highlight of the week for me — we really get a good sweat on,” says Holmes. “And now my blood pressure is in a great place.”

But as far as changing her diet, Holmes again took more of a practical approach and simply ate smaller meals throughout the day and cut out a portion of the “bad stuff.”

“The bottom line is you’re going to be healthiest if you follow a plan you can actually sustain,” says Homes. “There’s no point in losing five pounds a month and you’re still not any healthier a year later.”

For her upcoming 40th birthday, Holmes is organizing a neighbourhood basketball tournament, for both men and women, with the theme of “short shorts for all.”

“We want to see our husbands out there in the short shorts, too,” jokes Holmes.

By Trevor Robb
The Edmonton Examiner