So I have decided to try something new for my blog, to follow on from my previous post about a new direction (read that here) I thought it would be nice to do a weekly round up of things that I have been doing for my self care. It may be long, it may be short, but it should hopefully give you some inspiration for things you can do to improve your self care! So here goes, welcome to my Weekly Self Care Round up!
𝒫𝑜𝒹𝒸𝒶𝓈𝓉
This week I have been continuing to listen to my favourite podcast The Selfcare Club pod they have been talking all things self care and this weeks episode I listened to was all about Perineum Sunning (yes you heard that right!) it had me in stitches! The thing I love about this podcast is that as well as giving me ideas for things to try for my own self care, the two ladies hosting also have me laughing out loud on a daily basis which for me is a huge part of self care! In one of their episodes they shared a fact about laughter, that children laugh over 200 times a day but adults laugh on average about 17 times a day. This really stuck with me and now I try to find opportunities to laugh as much as possible! If you fancy a good laugh click the link above and download the podcast!
𝑅𝑒𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔
As you all know reading is a huge part of my self care! If I couldn't read I would be a very sad individual! This week I have been reading two books:
Unspoken by Guvna B
I am really enjoying this memoir, I had not heard of Guvna B but found his book on Netgalley when I first signed up to use it. It has been sat on my shelf since then so I decided I needed to give it a go and I'm glad I did! He writes so beautifully and his story is really heartfelt. I am really enjoying it so far. I have even since looked up some of his rap music and I have to say although not my usual style I really enjoyed his work.
The Full diet by Dr Saira Hameed
I got this book after listening to the episode with Dr Saira on the self care club pod, I thought it would be about intuitive eating. I have to say I am not sure how I feel about this book as it really is more of a diet book and I have been put off due to the restrictive nature of it. Any diet plan that tells me I cannot eat any form of carbs is not for me! However I am persevering as there is some good science in it and I find it very interesting learning all about insulin spikes etc so I will finish it. There may be some tips I can use but I certainly will not be partaking on a diet that demonises all carbs.
𝐸𝓍𝑒𝓇𝒸𝒾𝓈𝑒
I have been continuing with my Couch to 5K, I am on week 8 now. So far I have managed to run for 27 minutes in total! I am taking it easy as I don't want to overdo it with my fatigue but so far so good. I have also joined Fiton which is a great app with loads of great at home exercises, they range from 10minutes to 30minute sessions so you can easily fit them into your day!! I have been following the stretching programme to help my restless legs. I have also been attempting to add daily squats into my routine, in the hopes that strengthening my leg muscles will abate the fatigue symptoms. Watch this space!
𝒟𝒾𝑒𝓉
I am thinking about my diet at the moment, and although I don't want to diet anymore I do want to eat a little more healthily. So I have been a little more mindful of what I am eating. I have also begun time restricted eating. I stop eating at 8pm and start again somewhere between 10 and 12. I have read up a lot about this type of fasting, I originally heard about it via Dr Micheal Moseleys 'Just one thing' podcast - another self care podcast on BBC iplayer and it caught my interest. I like the science behind the idea. It makes sense that fasting for a period of time would help your insulin levels and stop them from spiking. It has worked for me so far, I definitely feel like I have more energy, I'm sleeping better and it has stopped me mindlessly snacking on rubbish in an evening. All happy bonuses, I have also dropped a few pounds so its a win win so far.
𝑀𝑒𝒹𝒾𝓉𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃
I found such an amazing sleep meditation app on Fiton which I listen to before bed most nights. It helps me to deeply relax so well! I highly recommend trying a sleep meditation exercise if you struggle to drop off well.
So that's been my self care this week. I hope it has given you some ideas of things you could try this week to up your self care!
What have you been doing for self care lately? Let me know in the comments. I am always up for finding new things to try! But for now I'm off to prepare for my upcoming spa day..... the ultimate in self care!
𝒯𝒶 𝒯𝒶 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓃𝑜𝓌
乂 乂 乂