Self Care

Today's post is very positive- a drastic change from some of the posts I've written recently! Today I'm talking about self care. 

I've never been massive on self care. I mean, I look after myself. I eat, I sleep, I socialise, I keep clean. But it's not until I made some changes to my lifestyle recently that I realised, actually, I hadn't really been looking after myself at all. At least, not as well as I should have been. 

Here's some changes I made at the start of 2016, when I was left in a pretty bleak place and wanted to feel better:

- I slept for at least 8 hours.

- I blogged daily, being totally honest about my feelings and emotions and my feelings towards myself. 

- I made an effort to have a better social life.

And to be honest, that was about it. And whilst I definitely became happier as a person, it's not until literally the last week that I've started to feel...well. Amazing, really! 

So what happened? 

One week ago (today, actually!), I went to see a doctor for a check up etc. and whilst I was there, they told me that I was now classed on the BMI chart as obese. Now, I know I'm a little chubby. I have yo yo and crash dieted more times than I can even recall now. I have fluctuated in weight loss and weigh gain constantly for the last few years...and more so since I broke up with my long term boyfriend, going through phases of being so sad I didn't want to eat at all, to suddenly wanting all of the comfort food in the world. It's all balance, right?

Now, despite knowing I'm really not what most would class as obese, I still felt pretty awful. In fact, I was really, really down. So over the last week I've made some of the following changes: 

- Getting between 6 and 8 hours sleep.

- Being pro active at work (and as a result, getting noticed and praised for it).

- Eating more vegetables. I had salad for lunch twice this week and two or three times as or with my dinner. 

- I have reduced my carb intake. 

- I have begun to work out every day. 

- In the shower I have a new routine of washing my hair, conditioning, washing my body, using a body scrub, exfoliating, using a blackhead scrub on my clogged pores, tangle teasing my hair with a wet tangle teezer and then again with a dry one.

- I have moisturised my body all over, every day, with a moisturiser that makes your skin sparkle. 

- I have trimmed my nails and painted them rather than using false ones. 

- I have drunk at least 5 glasses of water a day (getting closer to 8!)

- I cleared out my drawers/room so my space is less cluttered. A clear space makes a clear mind. 

- I have used a different perfume every day. 

Now, these might sound like mostly small, silly and insignificant things. But let me tell you, I feel so good and happy and uplifted right now! I feel refreshed, revitalised, positive. My body feels better, less weighed down, less stuffy and stodgy. I feel less like a couch potato and more like a runner bean! 

It's amazing how simple it is to take care of yourself and feel just that bit better. I felt lazy, uncomfortable and...just blerugh. Now I feel more energetic, more motivated, generally happier. I was so focused on food/weight/diet, I didn't take into consideration the other things I had to do- like exfoliating, or wearing different perfume- to feel happier, better.

I'm not saying this will work for everyone. I'm not even trying to help anyone. I'm telling you what works for me and what has helped me. Self care is so important and I feel it's something we so often forget about.

Let me know what acts of self care you do to feel better every day!

Love from,
Florence Grace

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