Taking care of yourself.

When I say ‘take care of yourself’ I mean it in every sense of the word. Taking care of your body is something a lot of people do not do and yet, without it, we would not be here. We completely take our lives and our bodies for granted. The odds of being born are about 1 in 400 trillion (or more) - most people don’t know this and it shows. I suppose we cannot appreciate how lucky we are because we weren’t conscious until we were that lucky 1 in 400 trillion.

I’m not exactly a connoisseur when it comes to health and well being. But I try my best to look after my mind and body. It is so easy to be reckless and eat shit things, because shitty junk food is all around you. Sugar has been proven to be more addictive than cocaine and yet it is added to many foods that simply don’t need it. When I’m shopping for food with Tyler, we always check nutrition labels to see what we’re putting into our body. Juice isles are a no-go zone now because most juices have more sugar in them than Coca Cola. Of course I like occasional cheat days where we gorge on pizza or Five Guys' burgers, but for the most part, we try to avoid bad food. 🍕

Throughout college, I used to have sugar everyday in the form of yoghurts, mochas, white bread, store-bought sandwiches and sugar in my tea. You don’t realise how addictive it is until you wean yourself off it. When I stopped consuming sugar as often, I experienced withdrawal…literally. I had really bad headaches almost everyday. I was addicted to sugar and I didn't even know it. Even now, I still have half a teaspoon of sugar in my tea because I don’t like the taste of tea without it. 😂

After Christmas, I decided I was going to loose some weight. Due to eating a shitload of cheese, mince pies, chocolate and drinking alcohol, I was the heaviest I had ever been. Since the start of January I have been running three times a week with the ‘C25K’ app, and going to the gym 2-3 times a week with 1-2 rest days. After the first week of cutting calories and exercising daily, I had lost five pounds. I only noticed how different I looked when I caught site of myself in the mirror at the gym.

I used to hate the thought of the gym; exercising in front of people, getting up really early, lifting weights etc. But once I took action and started going with Tyler, I got into a routine and somewhat enjoy it now. Incorporating any kind of habit into your life is always hard but if you think about it, it's as easy as just taking action. Screw excuses and that little voice in your head saying "one packet of M&Ms won't hurt". Save it for a cheat day! Until then, behave!

We all know that mental health is a huge part of our well being. Our mind is the control centre of our body so it needs just as much attention. Get outside and talk to people, take time for yourself, meditate, goal set, write in your journal and rest. I've started to meditate with Tyler again with the 'Headspace' app and it's really relaxing. Honestly, I used to think that meditation was a bit 'woo woo' and hippy but now I completely get why people do it. It's a really nice way to relieve stress and loosen up. Eating well and exercising both contribute towards mental health too. Mind and body work together and so they must be treated as such.

Thanks for reading! Have a lovely day. 😊

Love, Sophie 🐻