8 Self-Care Tips to Love Your Body
I’m Doc Jen and this is a moment of vulnerability. Let’s talk self-love and self-care tips.
This is super scary for me to talk about. Mainly because it feels like I’m “supposed” to show up online, look perfect, feel good, workout, be fit, mobile, and all the things. At least, this is how I feel like I’m categorized whether or not people are viewing me this way.
Let’s be real. 2020 was a little bit hard. I felt it, too. Don’t get me wrong: I have so much that I am grateful for. But it was hard. Especially the toll of being stuck inside all the time and not getting to see my loved ones or do the things that I used to do every day.
Life has just been stressful lately. I found myself at the biggest I’ve ever been in my body. There – I said it.
I know that people look at me and perceive me as fit. I just want to encourage you not to be in comparison mode right now. We all fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others, but I’m just sitting here today telling you that I’ve also had to do some work around how I’m actively feeling in my body.
During quarantine, I found it hard to go outside as much and I even stopped moving around as often. (Me! The mobility expert!) I’ve taken on a lot of new things that cause me to sit in front of my computer and be on my phone a lot more. I’m just moving less in general.
I wondered what I weighed but decided not to weigh myself. As my friend Kelly LaVeque says,
“Measuring your food in calories is like measuring your worth in weight. It tells us nothing about your composition, nutrient density or health.”
Still, I felt bloated and inflamed and overall not good. Mostly, this feeling reminds me of a mental place that I used to be in. I used to hate my body. I hated myself. I was constantly talking negatively about myself when I was getting ready. It was a regular process of ripping myself apart with negativity.
Then one day my fiance pulled me into his lap and said, “say three things that you love about yourself.” I couldn’t. I just couldn’t do it.
After that, I decided things needed to shift.
I deserve to love myself, hold myself, say nice things about myself, and feel good about myself! Because I want to show up as a bright light for those around me. If I’m talking negatively to myself and not feeling good about who I am, then I have to wonder how I’m showing up for others?
You have to discover what isn’t working in your life and understand why. Why it’s not working and why it matters to you that it starts working.
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8 Self-Care Tips to Change Your Life
These are just 8 self-love tips that I’ve brought into my life to spark that shift into reality. I hope that these ideas and actions can inspire you, too!
Before we get into the tips, I want to share that I have taken these day-by-day. It starts off with it being a 30-day focus, and then that grows into 60 days, then 90… you get the picture. Keep your goals within your reach and see how much further that’ll take you!
1. Accountability: Ask for support
It’s okay to ask for support! It’s so much harder to do it alone and you’re probably not alone in how you’re feeling.
I reached out to my girl, Emily Gallagher. We both felt the same way – we weren’t connected to our bodies. This became something we could take on together. She made a spreadsheet with a little checklist, and every day we would check something off.
Two things are being accomplished here: we’re working towards our goals by connecting and supporting each other. Be honest with your support system and they’ll be honest with you. We’d talk about what we’re up to, what we’re doing, and most importantly, how we’re feeling about it all.
I made a calendar and called it my Grateful For My Body calendar with workouts inspired to get me connected again. All of the workouts were pulled from my Optimal Body Group! I was able to share it with my community (and Emily) and invited them along.
2. Daily affirmations: Speak kindly to yourself
It’s okay if, like me, you find you struggle to say three nice things about yourself right now. You can incorporate some daily affirmations to help you get there.
Every day, I look into the mirror and come up with 3-5 committed and loving “I” statements. Here are a few that I use:
- I am strong.
- I am beautiful.
- I am a light.
It’s even less about what you say (though it should always be loving!) and more about looking yourself in the eye and feeling that deep gratitude for yourself. Like how you would feel saying these loving truths to a friend! Why is it that the hardest person to be nice to is yourself??
Commit to this exercise every day – could be just one affirmation even – and speak it to yourself until it feels true.
3. Get outside and walk
Walking around sounds like such a simple thing but work has me stuck inside a lot more. And that’s my choice! But I also choose to step outside and get into nature. Studies show that nature has the ability to heal and nourish us. It’s grounding for our bodies and helps release stress and tension.
4. Self-care tip: Movement!
I’m focusing on movement again! I already told you about my Grateful For My Body calendar, and it’s full of my functional HIIT workouts that I can literally do inside of my house – so no excuses! I’m even going back to the videos I’ve made and blog posts I’ve put out as resources and guides:
Playlist of my HIIT workouts on YouTube
5. Drinking water
It’s super easy for me to get in two cups of coffee a day but not as easy to reach my water intake goals. Relatable?
So I make my water focus really doable. Four giant glasses from my big water cup. To be honest… I’m not sure how many ounces that is? Full disclosure: I’m not great at math. But I know that I can commit to this huge container of water. The goal is to drink an ounce of water for each pound you weigh up to half your weight per day. (So if you weigh 150 pounds, that would ve 75 ounces per day.)
6. Dry brushing
I was so thrilled to discover dry brushing and to find out that it actually works! We did a podcast episode on it if you want the full scoop, but essentially dry brushing helps the body get fluids moving and reduces inflammation. I have clients who do this and say that it makes them feel so much better.
7. Breathwork exercises for connection to self
Breathwork! I use breathwork to connect deeper within myself.
If you’ve never tried it before, or are a bit skeptical, we break it down in another one of our podcast episodes. Breathwork is a great way to get out of our mind and into the body. When we calm the nervous system and reach that parasympathetic ‘rest and digest’ mode, we can connect to our true selves and move away from a stress response.
Also, while I don’t do it every day, I always make a point to get to my journal and write out how I’m feeling and what I’m thinking about. Journaling can be a great action to take after doing some breathwork!
Remember: Self-care is about giving yourself what you need. It’s not just about chocolate and bubble baths; there’s a level of self-discipline involved.
8. Dress to feel good (even if that’s in workout clothes!)
This is one of my favorite self-care tips. Even if you’re dressing for comfort, you can still dress in a way that helps you feel good!
I literally am always wearing Fabletics. Not just because it’s super comfy, super high quality, but because it’s super cute, too! Did you know that they offer more than workout pieces as well?
You can check out my favorite pieces at Fabletics.com/DocJenFitYT and receive your first two pairs of leggings for $24 🙂 (I’ve also included a few pictures for inspo below!)
But seriously, dress to feel good. How you feel on the outside really does impact how you’re feeling inside. Put on your favorite outfit and try those affirmations!
Why my process works for me (and how it can work for you!)
You’ll notice there’s no strict outline.
I didn’t want to create something that was centered around restriction. I intentionally avoided “no more this” “cut out that” “I can’t have that.” I want you to be conscious of this as well.
Focus on adding positivity rather than taking things out. It is so much more rewarding and celebratory for our body and mind to actually look forward to a grounding, healing, connecting practice rather than living in scarcity of the things we cannot have.
In conclusion… I’m grateful for you!
I hope that these 8 self-care tips have inspired you to shift your life, too. Thank you for being receptive to my vulnerability. It’s scary for me, but I think it’s important that we understand that we all have perceptions of our own bodies and selves.
Do your best to curb comparison and try not to judge where you are in your journey. Take the tips that work for you and implement them into your life – it’s not perfect, nothing is. But what’s important is that we continue to come back to ourselves again and again and again.
Are you looking for a community to help you stay active and accountable for your growth?
Consider my Optimal Body Membership! Every month I’ll send you brand new mobility workouts that meet you where you’re at and push you to reach your goals – whether that’s to…
- Stretch deeper
- Squat lower
- Run faster
No matter what you’ll be feeling a lot better.
I feel so confident that you’ll love growing with us that I’ve included a 30-day money-back guarantee. What do you have to lose?
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