Whether you enjoy it or try to avoid it, February is the month of love. I know how difficult it can be to feel the love sometimes, especially when you aren’t feeling very good in your own skin. However, one of the most important steps to your weight loss journey is learning to love yourself. What does that mean exactly? Self-love and self-care can exist in many different forms, but in the end it’s all about balancing three very important things.
Taking Care of You Body:
We all know we should eat well, drink enough water, get exercise, get enough sleep, but these things are more than just doctor recommendations. When we drink enough water and eat the right foods we feel energetic. When we feel energetic we move more, we have the energy to stretch, or take that walk. When we move more we burn the restlessness that so often keeps us awake at night. By placing intention into the way we care for our body we create a system that’s in harmony, leaving us feeling more alive each day. You should drink plenty of water, not because you’re supposed to, but because you feel better when you do. You should choose your foods carefully, eat lots of vegetables, fiber, and protein because it gives you energy, not because you want to change your body. You should get up and move for at least 30 minutes a day because the endorphins make you happy, not just because you need to burn the extra calories.
Take Care of Your Mind:
Poor mental health can hurt you both emotionally and physically. So many of your internal system depend on your brain and your mind and vice versa. Being kind to yourself, having a positive mental attitude, making plans to control the chaos in your life, giving yourself time to rest, these are all things that we need to keep our minds healthy and happy. Exercising your mind with something like a 10-15 minute daily meditation can start you on a path to better critical thinking, help relieve stress, and increase productivity.
Take Care of Your Spirit:
Allow joy into your life, don’t waste your energy on negative people or situations, be curious, take time to do things that are just for you, indulge yourself, forgive yourself. These are all ways we can take care of our spirit. If you like to travel and explore new places, do it. If you like to read, set aside an hour before bed. Create a peaceful space to reduce the clutter that might bog you down, make your bed every morning, replace the unnatural things in your life with natural alternatives, whatever it is that feeds your soul. These don’t need to be large gestures, and they may be different from person to person, but they are just as important to our well-being as any food or exercise.
It’s not easy to bring these three things into balance. In fact, if any of you out there know someone who’s succeeded, I’d love to meet them! However, just because it’s difficult, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. The act of trying is often enough. Try to introduce some of these habits into your daily routine to show yourself some love. Don’t get frustrated if you miss a day or mess up sometimes, forgive yourself (this is also a form of self-care), and just keep getting back on that horse. Eat like you love yourself. Move like you love yourself. Speak like you love yourself. Act like you love yourself.
I understand how hard it can be, especially when you are just not feeling like yourself. Sometimes it takes more than just standing in the mirror repeating “I love myself” over and over (although sometimes that helps!), but if you try introducing some of these daily habits into your routine, you may be surprised to find that self-love comes easier and easier.
I spend a lot of time talking with my dieters about how important self love is and I know how hard that gets around Valentines Day, so this month Ideally You is offering some self-care specials to help give you a boost. For the month of February our LipoMelt services are 50% off - pamper yourself in our calm quiet LipoMelt suite and boost that confidence. We’re also running a Buddy Up referral promotion for those of you who practice self care by surrounding yourself with other positive people trying to create healthier habits. Bring a friend in with you for the month of February and get our $199 starter pack and a free box of food for each of you.
The path to self love is full of mistakes and set backs, but nothing is more fulfilling than learning to care for yourself out of love rather than survival.