Start the new year with self-care instead of self-punishment

Start the new year with self-care instead of self-punishment

‘Tis the season notorious for indulgence – Christmas, New Year’s Eve, parties, drinking, eating and generally not exercising as much (if at all) as one plans to. For many years, I knew that December would be the month with lots of work and social events, so I would plan to indulge to my heart’s content and then come January 1st I’d put myself on a strict, healthy regime where I’d cut out a number of foods from my diet and begin a new exercise programme in an effort to lose some weight and counteract the month of overdoing it.

Year after year I got tired of this mainly because by about mid-December I would feel awful in my own body from not making healthy choices and not exercising much – I’d be sluggish, over tired and feel quite low despite the holiday cheer. Then in the new year I never kept up with what I had planned to do on my diet and exercise regime as it was a constant struggle and so contrasting to how I had been looking after myself in the month prior. Plus, January is one of the coldest, bleakest months in the northern hemisphere – a time when we naturally want to go inwards and retreat with lots of warm nourishment, not a time for pushing my body and depriving it of food.

Instead, come January, I started to focus more on honouring the season and what my body and mind craved naturally, which was lots of rest, warming and nourishing foods, as well as kindness and compassion towards myself. I found that by doing this I naturally started to feel better both physically and mentally. I was a much kinder person (to myself and others), less moody and exhausted and able to give more of myself to family, friends and work as I cared for myself in small achievable ways every day, without feeling the pressure of typical new year diets and expectations. I also carried on with many of the actions throughout the year instead of switching from one extreme way of living to another.

I will be sharing many of these tips and actions, encouraging you to be more loving and self-compassionate and ultimately find out what works best for you when it comes to your health and wellness, in my six-week health coaching group programme starting on Monday 8th January 2018.

So, if you would like to start 2018 ditching the diets and learning to care for yourself in the best possible way with ongoing support and accountability to help you stay on track and establish new healthy habits that work for you, please do join.

Make 2018 the year you stop putting everyone else first and start to really care for yourself. By doing this you’ll also be able to give more to others and inspire the people in your life to help themselves and thrive. Please see here for more details.

Need some more self-care in your life? You can join my next free self-care challenge here.

If you would like support around your wellbeing in any way, please book in a free 30 minute call with me here and let’s chat

Photo by Azrul Aziz on Unsplash