Looking After Yourself

One of the biggest issues we have to address when it comes to improving our health is actually making space to take care of ourselves. Real care that is ongoing, not a fleeting 48 hours of eating right and going for a run, then falling back to old habits. We women are the worst, prioritising everything else in their life except themselves. 

The woman who feeds her family and forgets to feed herself, the woman who goes to a drive-through for lunch at 3.30pm whilst dropping the kids off to sport, the woman who has 6 coffees a day without thinking, the woman who pours herself half a bottle of wine each evening just so she can hold it together through dinnertime.  

The body is our greatest barometer; it lets us know when something is awry way before our mind recognises it. Fatigue, anxiety, low libido, IBS, feeling frumpy… these are all ways the body has to let us know all is not well.  

Start Close In. It’s the little things count.  

1. Eat real food. At least 2-3 times a day. It doesn’t have to be fancy, just honest. When you’re serving dinner, put another serve straight into a lunchbox for tomorrow.  

• Eggs (keep a few hard boiled ones in the fridge for a quick breakfast or snack) 

• Vegetables- the pre-chopped salad mixes are great. So are avocados, left-over roast veggies, celery sticks, baby cucumbers… 

• Good fat- this keeps your hormones happy & your skin (& other important bits) moist. Raw olive oil drizzled on meals, butter (yep), avocado, macadamias, sardines 

• Eat some carbs. Women on low-carb diets feel great for the first couple of weeks, then rapidly fall in a heap. The right carbs are gentle & nourishing, especially at dinner time: white potato (Yes!), brown rice, quinoa, spelt pasta. 

2. Drink water. 2 litres of it every day. The single easiest step you can take to get your cells healthy. 

3. Move your body. Do what you love (dance, run, yoga, squash). Or, if you don’t love anything, just walk. Preferably with a friend. I wish I’d never gone for that walk, said no one. Ever.   

4. Meditate. Make 10 minutes in your day to simply be still with yourself. The more we gently guide our minds into quiet places, the easier it is to find peace. There are some beautiful apps around that guide you if you prefer; I like Insight Timer & Smiling Minds, but there are plenty of others