After reading quite a few parenting books, I've noticed a common theme. YOU MUST TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO CARE FOR YOUR CHILD. #truth And after my beautiful friend, Faith, has passed, the reminder that "life is precious" has really hit me hard.
So, I wanted to share five easy ways for self-care. These aren't earth-shattering new ideas. However, in our culture of busyness and during the Holiday Season, these are easy to forget.
ONE // GET SLEEP
Did you see my Instastories where I posted a screenshot of my sleep average? It's HORRIBLE!! OMG!! I remember lecturing my little brother about getting more sleep. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black! Part of it is because both little ones are still waking up throughout the night. However, the other part is me making poor choices and staying up late with Mr. S to watch fill in the blank show on Netflix. We're not really spending quality time by being tired zombies on the couch glued to the TV. It's a bad trap that I fall into time and time again.
Sleep is needed by the body in order to recover and rebuild from all stresses and environmental factors during the day. Think of it as charging your phone battery. When you're sleep deprived, your body can't perform to it's fullest ability just like your phone will die more quickly when you haven't fully charged it.
I recently learned that I'm an "obliger" from one of my favorite Podcasts by Melissa Griffin, "Pursuit with Purpose" which means I tend to perform better if someone is holding me accountable. I use my iPhone's bedtime function, and it gives me a reminder to "get to bed". The iPhone reminder was not enough to motivate to get to bed. I am going to work something out with Mr. S. He LOVES to "help" with things like that (aks boss me around) so that will benefit both of us! LOL! That sounds silly, but I'm going to try it to see if it makes a difference.
TWO // DRINK WATER
Does drinking coffee count since it's MADE with water? NO, it's actually a diuretic and causes you to lose water. I'm a so guilty of this because I drink coffee like it's water THROUGHOUT the day, and IT'S NOT! It's really showing now that the cold is here, and the heaters are on. My skin kind of reminds me of a raisin! LOL (but also crying at the same time)!
Water helps the body in so many good ways - it keeps you regular, increases your satiety (feeling of fullness) so you eat less, improves complexion, and so much more! Did you know that even mild dehydration impairs brain performance and memory? No wonder I can't remember yesterday!
Personally, I've been trying to cut myself off from coffee after 12pm and switch to water only (although I cheated the other day at work). Also, late afternoon caffeine affects sleep, so it's better to drink water anyways. Using a fun water bottle also helps!
Additionally, I've been trying some natural dietary supplements to help with skin ( Glotrition), energy ( Philosophie Cacao Magic), and metabolism ( HUM Raw Beauty). I've been trying to sub out my afternoon coffee with one of these instead!
THREE // KEEP PROMISES TO YOURSELF
Another thing that I learned from "Pursuit with Purpose" is that most of us are able to keep promises to other people, but not ourselves. Here's the example that gave me so much clarity. Let's say you have a coworker who always states that they are going to do something, but then only complete it about 20% of the time or not at all. Would you consider them reliable? Would you trust them to do something for you if you asked? You would start second-guessing them, right?
Now, think about that scenario with yourself! I tell myself this and that all the time (like I'm going to start exercising...), and then let MYSELF down. After a while, why would I believe myself? I've had a pretty high incompletion rate.
Personally, I think this needs to stop. I get upset when Mr. S doesn't keep a promise to me, so why would this be any different. One thing that I'm going to do is set goals (make promises) and then reverse engineer the way to get there. For example, one of my goals is to get the house organized and go through it using the Kondo Method. I need to set a goal date, and then work backward to pick what days the kids will go to school and decide how much can be done that day. (I always think I can get more things done that what's actually humanly possible.)
FOUR // YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT
I've been stressing eating like a crazy woman lately, and the holidays aren't even here yet! Cookies, bread, chips, whatever has been going straight into my mouth like there's about to be a worldwide carb shortage. I'm very good at camouflaging it in clothes, but I'm starting to get that central obesity stress muffin top/tire thing! UGH!
Diet can be a whole other post in itself. There is SO MUCH information now. And actually, there is so much CONFLICTING information depending on what you read or watch. Basically, we've been eating 80% Paleo that last eight years, and I'm going to leave it at that.
I've decided to change my mindset on diet and eating. What happens when we abstain from something? We want it even more or start obsessing about it (like chocolate). Instead of stopping myself from eating whatever is bad, I'm trying to nourish my body with things that are good. See! It's just a positive spin on what I'm already doing. As stated above, I'm trying to replace some bad habits with good ones (substitute coffee for a nutritional supplement instead or cookies with chocolate banana pudding).
FIVE // EXERCISE
Oh man! This is awful. I haven't done an intentional work out in a while. I started during the New Year (talked about it in this post) but never kept it up. As discussed above, I'm going to try new ways to keep myself accountable since I fall into the "obliger" tendencies category.
Exercise only has advantages (unless you hurt yourself). It is a great stress reliever and improves mood (by endorphin release), increases muscle and bone strength (which can prevent future disease), and decreases risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. I can seriously go on and on, but the main point is that IT'S GOOD FOR YOU!
To get myself going again, I just signed up for Bodybar in Fort Worth. My friend, Katherine, told me about at 30 days for $30 special they were running. I'm excited about starting it, but probably need to find a work out partner to keep me accountable. Honestly, exercise can be something as simple as walking the dog. Our furkid, Franklin, can definitely use the exercise. He's gained some weight since the other babes have come along too. So, I may also try that, and he can be my accountability partner because he'll be disappointed if we don't go. Sad puppy eyes are hard to ignore!
Hope that was a helpful reminder for y'all to take care of yourself! There's only one you, and you are precious. What are some self-care things that you do for yourself?!
Happy Thursday Friends! Matthew and I had a Mommy and Me Day today! We went to the Zoo and had a lot of fun exploring a part that we don't normally visit. It's so crazy how fast these kids grow up!
And don't forget about the $1000 Nordstrom Giveaway currently going on!