When New Years resolutions, goals and the pledge to eat clean and exercise daily do more harm than good. My pledge for more self-care and putting our whole selves back on our list of priorities.
As I mentioned in my last post, I recently took some time off blogging. I needed to focus on my own health and my family. It was much needed. As much as I love blogging and want to be committed to sharing easy, healthy and delicious recipes and dispelling nutrition myths with all of you, self-care comes first.
The older I get and the longer I’ve been in practice as a dietitian, the more self-care has become something I’ve noticed is so important in our lives, yet highly under-practice. Many people put family, friends, work, and others before themselves. And don’t get me wrong, I think it is very important to care about and help those around you. But, if you don’t take care of yourself, how in the world are you going to take care of others?
Being in the health field, I see many people in all walks of life with all sorts of different life goals and dreams. Especially in the New Year, these goals and dreams are dusted off, or new ones found, most with the goal to better ourselves. I love goals. I am a type A personality and thrive off organization, ambition and reaching my goals.
Another thing I love is health and nutrition (who would have guessed, right?). I love trying new foods and experimenting with new exercise programs. In my years leading up to becoming a dietitian, I calorie counted, watched that number on the scale diligently and tried to eat and exercise to stay within my daily allowance. I thought this was what being healthy meant. I thought always getting my exercise in (#noexcuses #committed) was something to be admired, because you know, fitspiration. I am glad to say I now know this is not the case. As this New Year has come and we are still in the midst of January when people are committed to their resolutions, I see people religiously sticking to this diet that restricts X, Y and Z or making sure they get in some exercise even though they spent the entire day at the doctor’s office with a sick child and are dead tired.
As I’ve said in a past blog post on Orthorexia, sometimes too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. To the person who turned down lunch at a gathering with friends because their diet didn’t allow 2 of the food groups offered – one meal of beans and bread aren’t going to cause you to gain 5 pounds. Comfort foods and food with friends exist for a reason. To the mom who is so committed to her exercise and weight goals that she can’t miss a single day of working out even after spending an exhausting day with her kid at the ER – you need sleep, not exercise. One skipped day won’t ruin any progress you’ve made. And we won’t judge you for missing a day, either.
Self-Care Share on XI think sometimes we can become so focused on something we become obsessed with it. It consumes our every thought and action. I say, if anything to do with food is driving your every thought and action, it has gone too far. If your day absolutely can’t end without working out, it’s gone too far. It starts all in the name of goals, health and happiness, but over time can take a turn for the worse. All this #fitspo I see on Pinterest, Instagram and other social media sites can be inspiring to a point, but can also be very damaging.
My goal this year is to practice more self-care – and I mean whole self-care. Not just physical care, but mental, emotional and spiritual, too. All aspects of health need to be in balance. Self-care is different to every individual. To some it could mean engaging in an hour long yoga and meditation session each Saturday while to others it means sleeping in on Saturdays. To some it might mean enjoying a plate full of green salad each day and to others it’s a piece of chocolate every night. Too much of a bad thing is a bad thing, but too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, too.
I plan on allowing myself to be more flexible with my plans. I plan to blog more, but if it takes over my priorities as a mother to my children or a wife to my husband I might cut back on my blogging. I plan to work on making my body strong through a variety of exercises, but if my body needs some sleep I’ll take it. I plan on nourishing myself with healthy and nutritious foods, but if one day I only eat 1 serving of vegetables I won’t feel guilty or ashamed about it. I plan on spending more quality time with my family but if I need a night to myself, I’ll ask my hubby to take the kids.
Life isn’t meant to be rigid. The same goes for eating and exercising. Allow for flexibility, enjoyment and pleasure. I challenge each of you to take a look at what self-care means to you. Dig deep to find out what helps you be at your best physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Then, after finding out what helps you, put it into practice. You are important. You matter. Stop putting yourself on the back burner. Your needs are important, too. Fill your cup before filling others’ cups, because if yours is empty there is nothing left to fill theirs with.
What do you do to practice self-care? Let me know in the comments!
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