Self care is health care

Saturday 6th February 2021
Don't give up on the person you're becoming. 

My stats as of today

I started at - 200lb
I wanna weigh - 165lb
I plan to lose - 35lb / 17.5% of my body weight.
The scales 24/1/21 - 189lb
I've already lost - 11lb 
Yesterday I stepped 7753 times 
I covered 3.3 miles 
I burned 2136 calories  

I consumed lots of calories
I was active for 45 minutes 
I slept  8 hours 9 mins
 

#walk1000miles challenge - Total YTD =  left to walk =

My 3 good things;

1) Chatting on the phone.

2) Walking Alfie and getting out for an hour.

3) Receiving an unexpected thoughtful gift.

I need to get back to my self care, I'ev definitely let it slide this week, moms behaviour hasn't helped and I've let that affect my behaviour, so I haven't cooked good food, I've eaten too many snacks and treats, I've lost focus.  

What is self care?  Some people misunderstand and think it's merely having the odd massage or having your hair and nails done, it's so much more. Self care is about looking after yourself and also knowing when you need to seek professional help. 

A dictionary definition is;

self-care (noun) · selfcare (noun)

1. the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one's own health.

   "autonomy in self-care and insulin administration"

   • the practice of taking an active role in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress.

Self care can mean spending time alone, asking for help, putting yourself first, asking for what you need, setting boundaries, saying no, forgiving yourself or taking a step back. 

It's so important to make sure we take good care of ourselves - mind, body and soul every day, not just when we start to get poorly.  Learning to eat right, move more and getting enough rest will help us stay healthy and happy!

Why is it so difficult then?  Well most of us are crazy busy, we might have stressful jobs or have others to take care of too.  Some people feel guilty about taking time out for a little bit of precious 'me-time' .

What can we do about it?  Start, just start by doing something, then if it slides like mine has the last week, start again.  Sleep has a huge effect on how we feel emotionally as well as physically, not getting enough can be a killer, it massively affects how I function.   Are you eating and/or drinking right before bedtime, caffiene and sugar is likely to keep us awake.  I only drink tea and coffee in the mornings now, but I know the amount of wine I drink counteracts that!

I talk enough about eating well and moving more without having to repeat myself today, but you know what works.  Howeer some of the most amazing self care foods include fatting fish, blueberries, nuts, green leafy veggies and brassicas like brocolli.  A salmon dinner with brocolli, followed by yogurt with blueberries and a sprinkling of nuts and boom you've done yourself a favour. 

Learning to say no's tough as most of us want to help people and make people happy, but remember you matter too, if you knew your best friend was crazy busy and under immense stress - would you ask them to do more?  NO!  Then don't expect yourself too either. 

If you can get outside for a walk, it'll do you the world of good, fresh air can help reduce stress and lower your blood pressure, it's my saving grace most days.  It'll help you sleep too, another way of being outside is to start gardening, you can do it on a small scale, maybe plant a few herbs.

Next weeks all about love with Valentines day so start today by loving yourself and taking care of yourself.

I'm going to start by having scrambled eggs and spinach in a wrap, a good healthy breakfast with some green veg.  I'm thinking turkey and chips for dinner, I'm hoping mom will have a chip sandwich if I do that, the chips are slimming world ones so a little healthier than deep fat frying them.  Alfie will have some of the turkey too, it's a frozen joint my sisters given me.  I'll have some vegggies with it too of course and today I will stay away from chocolate and crisps! 

Mom's just let me give her an all over wash which is great for her self care, I've massaged her with some lovely avon body cream which smells lovely too.  This is brilliant for my self care too because it was starting to get to me knowing she wasn't letting me do it, so today is a good day already!

I've got a wonderful zoom to look forward too and a couple of calls, I look forward to my daily walk and hopefully I'll get to give my car a run out too, I need to post a parcel to someone - wow that almost feels like a real day lol. 

Have a good one folks, let's make it all about US! 

Mwah, luv ya 

ove me xx

 

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