I am thrilled to feature Bess as a fit mom featured blogger for my site. Meet Bess and learn how she stays fit and active as a busy parent.

Hi! My name is Bess. I am a wife and mom to Libby (2 ½ years old) and Jack (9 months). I live outside of Charleston, SC on a little beach island.

I grew up in a small town in South Carolina surrounded by farm land. In high school, I loved running with my dad and working out at my hometown gym with my friends. I also played softball and danced pointe (ballet), but not very skillfully; I do not consider myself to be athletic, nor coordinated. I enjoyed eating healthy things in high school, when the low-fat, high-carb diet was all the rage. After high school and college, I enjoyed going “home” and doing cardio classes with my mom and sisters. My siblings and I have also participated in races together.

I have been married to Brett since 2010. As a couple, my husband and I strive to have an active lifestyle, to be physically fit, and to eat healthy meals. However, we are not strict or restrictive; we enjoy treats, too, especially at birthday parties and when dining out.

Every day, I work towards being a fit parent. Personally, I define being fit parent as having an active lifestyle, working out, and eating healthy things every day. I go for a short run every morning, and I love participating in local races, from 5Ks to half-marathons. My kids have participated with me in the jogging stroller in two races, so far (and our third is coming up in May)! In the summertime, I work out at the gym, where I run on the treadmill, do the elliptical, and take group fitness classes, too. For days that I cannot get out of the house, I love working out with HIIT videos on my iPad. I have enjoyed two fit pregnancies; I stopped running, but I walked 2.5 miles every day. I ate a lot of healthy food during my pregnancies, gained a reasonable amount of weight, and, therefore, was able to “bounce back” quickly after each baby. Right now, I am still breastfeeding my youngest child, so I eat A LOT. I try to eat healthy things every day, and I define that as eating whole fruits and vegetables every single day, no matter what. I really love green smoothies, too. My husband is very good about the vegetables and salad part. He is an excellent cook, especially on the grill. As for my children, I feed them a lot of whole fruits, chopped up. The only vegetable my daughter will eat these days, however, is a pickle!

The beautiful weather and beaches where we live inspire us to be a fit and active family. As a family, we love going to the beach, walking in downtown Charleston, and going for bike rides. My husband is a huge support in my fitness journey; he works out every day, watches my children so that I can go on long runs when I’m training for a race, and brings home healthy meals for our family.

Of course, I am especially inspired by my children to be a fit mom. I want my children to learn that leading an active lifestyle and eating healthy foods will make them feel good about themselves in a positive way. I hope that I am and will continue to be a healthy role model for them. I want to be positive and enthusiastic; I hope that I will not put down my body shape, my lack of athletic ability, or my food choices when they’re not the best. I want to provide encouragement regarding making healthy food choices, rather than be overly strict or restrictive regarding eating unhealthy things. For our family, being fit and healthy is really all about fun activities, enjoying food, and finding a healthy balance, together!

Please join me on my Fit Parent journey, by checking out my blog at bessbeehealthy.blogspot.com, follow me on Instagram @bessbeehealthy, on Twitter @bessbeehealthy, and like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bessbeehealthy.