Why Self-Care is So Important…

I think as women and/or moms we are told, either directly or through movies, social media, etc., that it’s NOT okay to think of ourselves.  We need to CONSTANTLY and ONLY think of everyONE and everyTHING around us:  our children, spouses, parents, jobs and houses. Once all that is taken care of, maybe fitting in a manicure is okay…or a yoga class or two.  When it comes to kids, especially, the YOUNGER the kids, the TRUER I find this to be…although, once ingrained over those first 5 years, it can be difficult to re-adjust.

Before I go further, let me be clear about one thing:  I am not advocating ignoring your kids, I am not saying that you should take care of yourself to the detriment of anyone else in your life. I am – VERY SPECIFICALLY – saying, however, that if you don’t take care of yourself, you will NOT be able to fulfill ALL of your other responsibilities.

The kind of self-care that I’m talking about is pretty basic, but does take practice to make it a habit.

Here is an acronym I developed that describes what’s entailed:

Sleep – how much sleep are you getting? What is the quality of that sleep.  The more you read, the more you see that sleep is WAY more important than originally thought.  For instance, those who sleep more LOSE MORE WEIGHT than those who sleep less.

Water – how much are you drinking?  I just finished a 14-day challenge (H2OMe) where you had to drink at least 64-ounces of water a day.  Even though it was only two weeks, the participants talked about sleeping better, better skin and better moods.

Exercise – are you getting any?  While “moving around” and steady state cardio have their place, recent studies are showing the importance of weight lifting to truly change the shape of your body.

Evaluate – what’s going on in your head?  Just as lack of sleep has been shown to be a real detriment to your health, so has stress.  Good stress management can help with facets of your health from better sleep to weight loss, as well.

Track – your food intake.  I am NOT talking about counting calories.  We don’t know all that we eat…meaning, we aren’t paying attention to it.  We eat on the run, we eat as we walk by food on someone’s desk, we pick off our kids’ plates.  The BEST way to get a handle on, and then address, what we put in our mouths is to spend some time writing it ALL down and analyzing it.  Are we getting enough protein?  How about fiber?  How much added sugar do we consume in a day?

That’s why I created “Carolyn’s Coaching Crew” (#CCC) to show women the IMPORTANCE of self-care.  To show women how much BETTER they can feel physically AND mentally.

I only have a few spots left.  We start on Monday, October 2nd so this opportunity is only available until the spots fill up or Saturday, October 30th.