I’m a big believer in self care. I’ve always felt that when I take the best care of myself, I am able to show up for others in my life at such a better place. Finding “me time” has always been a priority, even though not always easy.

Back in the pre-kid days, self-care was a lot easier to accomplish. Now, with 3 kiddos running around, I find myself having the make certain sacrifices to find the time. It’s not sacrifices that take me away from what’s important, but more like indulgent sacrifices like catching the latest Bachelor episode right when it releases. Ahh, my guilty pleasure. I’m always about 1 week behind on the show, but I know that my time is well spent when I focus on bettering myself, rather than tuning in. Don’t get me wrong, indulgent self care is important, too, but how much is too much? Is there such a thing? All I know is what works for me.

I’m a huge believer in filling my cup with all things uplifting and encouraging. I am a podcast junky who is always on the lookout for the newest business/entrepreneural (is that a word??), weight lifting/macro counting, nutrition, holistic health loving and aesthetic/healthcare types that suck me right in. I have found that listening to podcasts while commuting, or running errands, or workout out has given me a new sense of purpose. I love the idea of constantly bettering myself, finding ways to improve and learning something new. Isn’t that why we are all here anyway?

I also love getting my nails done. This is something that I have done since the beginning of time, dating way back to HS. I started doing it as a way to break my nail biting habit, eww, I know, but it actually worked. Now I do it because I have patients looking at my hands all day and I like to feel put together and pretty. Why not?

Exercise has been a huge part of my life for the last 4-5 years. After I had my 3rd babe, I found myself lost in this body that I hardly recognized. Through a lot of self-love work I have learned, and am still learning every day, to love the skin I am in. And, with that, I love to take care of it as much as I can. Luckily, I am a habit maker and keeper. Once I form a habit I have a fairly high success rate, whether that is good or bad, cue Coke Zero, sigh. We have a home gym, which we are updating as we speak for our Christmas present to each other and I can’t wait! I know, I’m crazy to get excited about this, but honestly, I LOVE it. It is such a passion of mine to weight train, to push my body to the limits and to feel that rush of endorphins when I set a new PR. I’m no body builder, but I am definitely one who loves the weights.

Walking has become a daily ritual, as you have seen on my IG stories. I try to walk 10,000 steps per day, which comes out to be about 1 hour total of walking. It is an amazing time for me to add in another layer of self care as I’m usually listening to an uplifting podcast while I’m walking. I love the alone time (no screaming kids allowed), outdoors, and enjoying the beautiful earth we have been blessed with. There is just something about going on a walk that is insanely satisfying.

Have you ever wondered what your self-love language is so you can practice better self- care?

Macro counting has also become a huge part of my self care for over the last 3 years. I have a nutrition and exercise coach from Eat to Perform who has been with me every step of the way. She checks in twice a week, gives me macro goals and also provides me with my weight training at home workouts. She is amazing, and I am so grateful I found this program. What I love about macros, is you get to eat what you want. When I say that, it sounds quite crazy, but it’s true. However, if you decide to live off McDonalds and chocolate, you will feel very hungry and not satisfied. Therefore, you probably won’t keep within your macro goals. I find myself wanting to reach more for the whole foods as I know they keep me satiated and are nutritionally dense. I always feel better when that is what I am filling my macros with. I also love that she makes my macro goals fit my life. I have PR phases where my goals are to maintain while she continues to add more and more food, hence the “Eat” part and a fat loss phase where my macros are decreased. You better believe that during the holidays I am in full-fledge PR and boy is it awesome!

Life coaching is a new self care I have invested in just this past summer. I found myself feeling overwhelmed with this thing called life and wondering why. Aside from COVID, there just seemed to be a missing piece to my self care routine and I hired Jody Moore with Be Bold. I have LOVED everything I have learned thus far and I know I am just scratching the surface. So much thought work, so many ways to evaluate a situation (circumstance) and so many opportunities to better myself and my relationship with those around me. I find myself being more conscious of my thoughts and my actions which in turn changes my behaviors and outcomes. What an eye opening experience it has been to really dive into my brain, to look at how I am thinking about different circumstances and changing my whole outlook. Honestly, our thoughts create our actions which create our behaviors and our outcomes. Changing our thoughts literally changes our life.

Self care is imperative to our health. Even if you have just 1 ritual that is just for YOU, it will make a huge difference. I feel like I am such a better person when I first take care of myself and then care for others. You know, put your mask on first, then help those around you. I show up differently. I am more relaxed, more loving and kind and more generous. I just have more to give.