When I weighed 265 lbs. I had a lot of days when I just felt bad. Physically bad, mentally bad. Spiritually and emotionally bad. Are there other ways to feel bad? Yeah, I felt those too.
I was a very busy, very stressed out mom of four, working full-time with a husband who had a demanding 24/7 job. I didn’t have the time or money to go to a spa. What I didn’t know at the time is that you don’t need expensive spa treatments, or a personal trainer, or a pricy all-organic, fancy-pants diet to feel better.
At the heart of a healthy lifestyle is practicing self-care.
Self-care means treating yourself – and talking to yourself – as you would a most beloved friend. And part of practicing self-care is tuning in to what makes you happy, then allowing yourself permission to do more of that, whatever it is.
So maybe none of these suggestions will help you lose 20 lbs. by tomorrow, but they might help you feel a little bit better by then.
Here are some ideas to bring a little sunshine into your life RIGHT NOW:
- Stop using caffeine (Yeah, I know. But if you wake up with a splitting headache every day like I did before I quit, it’s worth considering.)
- Get enough sleep
- Stop eating processed food
- Read a meaningful book
- Go for a walk
- Talk to / text a friend
- Have an apple
- Create something (Check out Pinterest for great ideas!)
- Buy a pretty new water bottle (Bonus points if you drink lots of water out of it!)
- Consider a short juice cleanse
- Do yoga
- Have a good cry (Best initiated by watching a favorite sappy chick flick.)
- Take a long bubble bath
- Listen to optimistic music (There’s no way you won’t feel better after listening to this!)
- Hit something
- Practice self-forgiveness
- Get outside
- Start ordering people around (By that I mean: delegate.)
- Clean out your car
- Start detoxing from sugar (This stuff is poison; get off of it.)
- Do something you’ve been procrastinating about
- Get a haircut
- Forgive someone who’s hurt you (You needn’t tell them, but you can if it helps.)
- Read The Chive (Gut-busting laughter will ensue, I promise.)
Not one of these suggestions will make you lose a pound, at least, not the kind that shows up on the scale. But the burden of being overweight or obese can feel like the weight of the world. I know how oppressive that is; I bore that weight for 20+ years.
What you might find though, is that doing more of the little things that make you happy lightens your load just a little bit. And that happiness is bound to have a positive effect on sticking to your healthy living goals. I’m the happy girl who’s living proof!