Self-love and joy is a powerful force that can create positivity throughout your life. Prioritizing your physical, mental, and emotional health is the best way to actively learn to love who you are. The idea of self-love is exactly how it sounds; love every aspect of yourself including the flaws you may see when looking into a mirror. No matter how you feel about yourself in this moment, know that you are important and deserve all the happiness the world has to offer. If you are currently struggling to love who you are or dislike the body you have been born into, it is time to take back control of your life! Let’s take the first step to self -love together by focusing on you.
Fighting Temptations And Taking The First Step To Self Love
There are many reasons why people have low self-esteem. Maybe it is from childhood bullying, lack of daily affection, always caring for others and ignoring your own needs, or a traumatizing event. No matter your reason, know that you are valid to have those feelings. Life can sometimes be difficult which makes it hard to turn away from those unhealthy desires. When we feel stressed, the logic part of our brain (pre-frontal cortex) can go off-line and then we can fall back into old habits that aren’t always healthy. Binge eating and over-indulging are two common coping mechanisms for pain.
This is where a little self-love and mindfulness can help. As we talked about in Episode 3 of our Living Your Healthy Sweet Life Podcast series, when we feel stressed, certain situations can kick off a craving. We call these situations a trigger. A trigger can be a situation as small as being irritated when someone cuts you off while you’re driving. Or maybe you get the urge to eat, the moment you turn on the TV. There are lots of situations that can cause us to suddenly crave food and eat things we later regret.
Anticipate The Trigger
Now there’s an alternative. What can you do to switch from a stress response to a relaxation response and make a better choice? Here’s a way to prepare ahead and be ready to interrupt a trigger before it turns into craving.
Ask yourself these three things:
- What trigger or situation usually causes my food craving?
- How am I feeling?
- What is it that I’m really hungry for (it may not even be food)?
Imaging yourself pressing the pause button and taking a few slow long deep breaths to switch from a stress response to a relaxation response. Now, you’ll be well poised to make a better choice next time you have the urge to eat mindlessly.
When Karen first came to see me, she told me that there was something that she could not control that bothered her. After dinner, family members went their separate ways. She drank beer, ate chips, and finished a bowl of ice cream every night while watching TV alone. We did a special assessment and we found out that Karen’s trigger was that she had nobody to talk to after dinner. She felt lonely.
Karen discovered ways to experience the companionship she yearned for. Then Karen got off blood pressure medication and lost 20 lbs. As a result, she built a healthier relationship with food.
Do you want to learn how to improve your overall mentality on life? Click here to learn the impact a healthy diet has on mental wellness.
How Else Can You Learn To Love Yourself?
Now that you realize how important it is to improve your self esteem, what are other steps can you take to self love? The best way to start loving yourself is by spending time alone and evaluating your emotional state. Many people wear themselves thin by trying to constantly help others. Though caring for others is important, it is also vital for you to take time out of your day to do what brings YOU joy. You are a priority and deserve me-time. One way you can spend time to yourself while also improving your health is through exercise. Exercise is connected to both mental and physical health. When you perform physical activity, serotonin is released in the body which help relieve stress. An important aspect to self-care is maintaining your physical health so that your body can function properly. Make sure to go on a walk alone once a week to get fresh air and reflect on your mental state.
Do you struggle to make it to the gym during the week but still want to workout? Click here to learn different exercise sets you can do while watching television!
Need more help towards reaching your goals and becoming your best self? Don’t worry. Give us a call and follow our Facebook page. We’ll make an appointment to talk via Zoom or by phone. Together, we’ll find a way to make your day a little healthier and happier.
Call 301-869-1787 or click here to set up an appointment as my free gift to you.
Announcement: Living Your Healthy Sweet Life Podcast Series
Be sure to check out our Living Your Healthy Sweet Life Podcast Series! In this series, we discuss how to break out of your old habits and form new healthy habits while still being able to enjoy cookies from time to time. Could you imagine a life not controlled by food or other cravings? It would be much easier to enjoy the moment you are in. Let’s make a fresh start together this week with Episode 5 on Enjoy Mindful Eating!
- Click here to watch the Latest Sweet Life Wellness Podcast Episode on How to Enjoy Mindful Eating: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5CmIaUild0&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=KayLoughrey
- Click here to listen for FREE on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/living-your-sweet-life/id1546623509
- Click here to listen for FREE on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6g6BNe3I8AwyXZGJcjUBMg
While you’re watching our Podcast please leave a comment and subscribe to our YouTube Channel!
To your Joy and Health,
Kay Loughrey, MPH, RDN, LDN
This blog post had contributions by Bailee Richman, Dietetics Student from the University of Maryland
