It’s officially been five months since I embarked on my fitness journey and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that at the end of the day the only way you can see physical progress is if you’re making mental progress as well.
I’ve had to totally rewire my brain when it comes to food and exercise and slowly disassemble my old belief system that surrounded healthy living. I was just stuck in this mindset of “it’s too hard” and “I’m young, it doesn’t matter what I eat” and temporary quick fixes. I had to teach myself to care about my body and the way it feels, as crazy as that sounds. I had to learn how to care about my health and make it a top priority.
When you’re trying to make a huge lifestyle change, you typically will cycle through a variety of emotions that range from unshakeably motivated to totally hopeless and that’s honestly just part of the ride. You have to accept that some days will suck and some days you’ll feel on top of the world.
A lot of the time I feel really good about myself and pretty freaking proud of all the progress I’ve made (currently 18 pounds down as I write this!). But sometimes I feel stagnant and like I’m never going to reach my goals. Some days I am a beacon of health and others I am a trash bag. Thankfully, I am at the point where the trash bag days are few and far between.
As I’ve implemented all of these changes, big and small, over the past few months I have come to realize that I simply can’t make a physical change without making a mental one as well. I know “self-care” and “self-love” are extremely trendy phrases right now but don’t let the buzz fool you; they’re important and critical to everyone’s growth.
There are three main changes I’ve made when it comes to my lifestyle and the way I treat myself mentally and emotionally as well as physically, that have made this new healthy living thing feel much more enjoyable.
This is the third installment of my three-part healthy living series. If you want to know how making huge dietary changes (like eliminating dairy) helped me drop 12 pounds click here! And if you hate exercise like me and want to know how you can motivate yourself to get moving, click here!
Check out the three self-care practices I’ve started doing every day/week below:
MAINTAINING AN INSPIRING SPACE
There is nothing that makes me feel more out of control and uninspired than a messy apartment. Or a messy car. Or a messy office. Seeing a huge pile of dishes in the sink or an overflowing trash bin or clothes cluttering every surface of my home gives me IMMENSE anxiety and makes me want to crawl into bed with a bowl of mac and cheese and a bag of hot cheetos (#gross). I feel unmotivated and totally not like myself when my environment isn’t neat and tidy.
This means that my healthy lifestyle suffers as well because I don’t feel good about working out when I should be home cleaning and who wants to meal prep in a dirty kitchen? Not I!
By maintaining a clean and organized space I maintain my sanity. I get to come home to a clean apartment that smells good, where everything has its place and I can feel totally at ease. There’s something about a clean room that both relaxes me and also invigorates me. I always feel inspired to be the best version of myself (i.e. not eat cheese for breakfast, lunch, and dinner) when my space is the best version of itself.
The way I look at it is, the girl who lives in this cute, tidy apartment is the type of girl who makes time for the gym and cooks healthy meals. I want to be that girl.
CARVING OUT “ME” TIME ON MY CALENDAR
Not to make myself sound like I’m a complete angel or anything but I am definitely the type of person who gives a lot of my time away to others. I loooove my friends so when I’m invited to do something, it’s hard for me to say no. Even when I haven’t had a night to myself in three weeks. Add in work events, family time, workouts and errands and you get a very tired, very drained little lady.
I’m sure most of you will be surprised by this, but your girl is a serious introvert. Yes, I am bubbly and outgoing and I love spending time with others. But if I don’t get my “me” time in often enough, I am left feeling like I have nothing left to give. I need that time to recharge, relax and feel my best.
That’s why making time for myself is so critical. If I don’t physically pencil it into my calendar it simply will not happen. I have to carve out the time in my schedule or I will fill it with something social/work related without giving it a second thought.
I think we all underestimate the power of personal time and how it can drastically improve our mental health. When I give myself time to meditate, journal, enjoy my coffee, apply a facemask or even just sleep in on the weekends I give myself the opportunity to feel fulfilled on all levels. This makes me feel so in control of my life and motivated to take care of myself.
I have had to learn to feel okay about saying “no” to more things, especially during the work week so I can give myself the recharging “me” time that I so desperately need to function. I make sure I have at least 2-3 nights a week to myself on the calendar and squeeze in any other “me” time that I can fit in!
EARLY TO BED, EARLY TO RISE
You guys, getting enough sleep is no joke. This should be at the top of your priority list. I don’t care what people say about pulling all-nighters to get their stuff done, it is simply not worth it. Without enough sleep you will not be able to produce the same quality of work, be completely present with your friends and family (because you’ll be dozing off!) and do things that require you to be very alert (like oh, I don’t know, driving!). It’s science people, look it up!
Sleep has become more and more important to me over the years and if I don’t get enough I feel it everywhere. I feel it during my workouts, when I’m writing blog posts, when I’m grabbing drinks with girlfriends. I am just off. I try to get to bed by 8:30/9 during the week but never later than 10 if I can help it.
Sleep affects your skin, your weight, your metabolism, your digestion, your everything. I know that it can be difficult to fathom going to bed so early but one of the other many benefits of crawling under the cover by 9pm is being able to get up earlier too.
I feel like at this point I may have lost some of you and listen, I get it. Not everyone is a morning person. But imagine what you could accomplish by waking up just one hour earlier a few days a week. You would be CRUSHING it! More time to work, exercise, enjoy your “me” time or lie in bed catching up on The Bachelorette (even though this season is a total snooze fest).
If you’re not going to get up earlier, I get it. But at least consider going to bed an hour earlier once or twice a week and just see how you feel. I guarantee you’ll notice a huge difference!
How do you practice self-care? Tell me in the comments below!
Xo,
She
