20/01/2025
Relax and Put Your Feet Up?
Instead of jumping on the ‘detox in January’ bandwagon, and instead of putting pressure on yourself to ‘get back into shape’, how about considering the winter months as a time to nourish and care for yourself?
Speak Words of KINDNESS: What’s your self-talk like? Are you being kind or unkind to yourself around the topics of food, exercise and body image? Are you berating yourself for eating too many mince pies or chocolates? If your self-talk is negative, ask yourself, ‘Would I speak so harshly to my own child or young member of my family around the topics of food/exercise/body?’.
Nourish yourself:
1. Awareness: catch yourself in that moment of negativity.
2. Interruption: immediately stop the negative thought process and replace it with kind thoughts about yourself and food/exercise/body image. It may feel hard at first, but with practice it will get easier.
Take PLEASURE in Life: As humans, we naturally seek pleasure and avoid pain. Don’t deny yourself enjoyment in life. It’s counterproductive and will always backfire.
Nourish yourself:
1. Create a list of all the things you really enjoy about life. This could be foods you particularly love but might have put on a ‘naughty’ list. Or, you might love an activity like swimming but have denied yourself that pleasure because your swimsuit isn’t fitting like it used to. Perhaps you love reading or painting or drawing but have viewed these things as frivolous when you’ve important ‘adulting’ to be getting on with. If you’re always on the go doing for others, perhaps you’d enjoy the chance to just ‘be’ by relaxing and putting your feet up for a change?
2. Using your calendar/diary, schedule time for enjoyment. Include things you can enjoy on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. (And if you love a new notebook or diary, enjoy choosing a new one!)
3. Keep the date! View it as important and invest time in your own enjoyment.
This January I’ve really been enjoying the simple things in life like going on long walks, listening to music, reading, drinking hot chocolate, and putting my feet up and relaxing on the sofa. 🤗
