How I Fell In Love With Taking Care of Myself
My roadmap to feeling happy, healthy, and well in the month of June — and beyond
Self-care. Wellness. Fitness goals.
Buzzwords that every blogger, vlogger, and fitness enthusiast on the internet throw around when trying to promote their latest “what I eat in a day” or workout routine.
However, it seems like it’s easier to fall off the wellness wagon than stay on it — for a regular person, anyway.
Life always seems to get in the way for those of us who have a 9–5, several side hustles — or just aren’t camera ready at all times.
Care for yourself like your income depends on it:
Of course it’s easier for fitness bloggers, models, and celebrities to be fit and eat smoothie bowls — it’s because it’s how they make money.
Without their bodies and instagram documentation at every meal — they wouldn’t have an audience.
For the month of June I wondered what it would be like to care for myself like my income depended on it.
That got me thinking… the last time I did these things for myself, I had just seen a doctor and had been diagnosed with several food allergies that were causing my body to build up toxins — and my liver to go into a very unhealthy state.
I was told that if I didn’t fix it, it could cause my liver to fail — among many other serious health issues.
What if we cared for ourselves like our lives depended on it?
Instead of thinking about it like we’re celebrities, what if we thought about our health like our lives depended on it?
Because — they do.
At my unhealthiest, I was over 70 pounds overweight and my liver was toxic.
I had non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which meant I had a layer of fat all around my liver causing it issues as it tried to detoxify my body.
Every allergen and toxin that I put into my body was not able to be processed which caused a build-up in my body, causing stress on every major system.
That was 5 years ago, when I was only 22.
What I did to detoxify my body, my mind — and what I plan to do each day this June:
1. Walk 8,000 steps a day
Not 10,000 — you read that right. I wouldn’t stop myself if I went past 8,000, but sometimes that 10k is just a little bit more daunting than it should be.
Maybe you’re extremely tired.
Maybe you had a long day.
Maybe you didn’t get as much sleep as you wanted the night before.
8,000 is a challenge, but feels doable.
I usually feel that if I can make it to 8k, I can make it to the magical 10k — but the goal is tricking yourself into wanting to move that much, instead of feeling like you have to.
I’ve also found that at 8,000 steps, I notice that I sleep better, my muscle tone starts to improve, and I’m satisfied with how much I’ve moved my body that day.
It’s even more enjoyable if you can go with a friend, create a great playlist, or listen to a podcast/audiobook so that it doesn’t feel like a chore.
2. Drink as much tea as my body asks for
Tea is fantastic. You can choose different flavors, you can add milk, and you can add various sweeteners.
My favorite is honey since it’s a bit more natural — and you can always find herbal teas that are sweet on their own.
Teas can help your body in a variety of ways — and give you necessary hydration to make it through the day.
If you don’t love the taste of water, try icing your favorite tea or drinking a cup of decaf before bed!
3. Do at least a few minutes of yoga — a few times a week
None of these rules are hard and fast, and that’s the key to success.
You have to do them because they make you feel good — not because you feel like you have to in order to put a check on your list.
Yoga is sometimes difficult to do because my mind races during most times of the day — but that’s probably when I need it most.
I’ve learned that if you pull up a YouTube video or Apple Fitness, you can choose short flows that don’t feel like it’s taking up a lot of your day — but is still highly beneficial.
If you’ve been sitting for a long period of time, try 5 minutes of yoga.
Try 5 more before you go to bed — my favorite activity is bedtime yoga. You can do it right from your bed and you don’t even have to get up. It still counts!
4. Mini-Salads
Sometimes salads sound disgusting.
Sometimes salads sound refreshing.
It’s all about what you put in it — and your attitude.
While it’s really easy to get that container of spinach or mixed greens and have it sitting in your refrigerator until it expires, only to do the very same thing the next week, I try to play a game with myself where I use it all up within a few days.
I do this by making mini-salads.
Everything is cuter when it’s small, right?
By the time you add other items to make it taste great, you forget the texture. You forget that greens aren’t ice cream — hopefully.
While I’m eating it, I remind myself of how good it is for my body — and how it’s going to fuel my workouts and help my mental clarity.
When I was trying to detox my liver, I found that the texture of the salad often mattered more than the taste — but they were far more filling than I expected.
I found myself eating salads half the size of what I started with — but don’t underestimate a good, giant bowl to mix it in to really get all the toppings included!
This inspired mini salads, and I found myself looking forward to them on a daily basis.
Trust me — I was more shocked than anyone when I had to go back to the store for another container of mixed greens instead of throwing it out like I had in weeks past after letting it go bad.
It actually is about the little things:
You may have noticed a trend with the items above — it’s all about starting small.
It’s not about perfection — and I find that when I go in with that mindset, I quit the habits even more quickly.
Give yourself some grace.
If you look forward to it… keep it up!
Eat a cookie now and then.
Laugh.
Go for a walk.
Drink some tea in a fun cup.
Experiment with mini salads and toppings.
Find a new route to walk before the sun goes down.
Enjoy life as much as you can — because it’s all we’ve got!
Just do what makes you feel good — and continue to do it.
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