Love Thyself

I've read countless times that we should try to reward ourselves with non-food related celebrations. I've even put it into practice. For instance, when I lost 10% of my body weight, I bought a watch. For me, planning ahead for celebrations is easy.

I've even planned on what to do when stress pops up by putting my running/exercising into practice or by having friends that I can call in times of struggle. It was difficult, at first, to not turn to food. But after a while, it became second nature (at least most of the time).

So now I've been faced with a new challenge. On Chubby Girl Diary's blog, she wrote about taking care of yourself daily in non-food ways.

I know, you're probably thinking that that is no big deal - I mean, isn't that basically what I have been doing? The answer is no. I've been reacting to stresses...but not doing things daily to show myself love. It's a slight paradigm shift that I needed.

The difference is rather than being reactive to the stress or celebrations, I would be doing something on a daily basis to tell myself that I am loved, good enough, and fantastic.

Does that make sense?

See, if I PLAN to do something non-food related that helps me feel indulgent, loved, good, and special, then maybe I'll be satisfying needs before they come up. I might even be more balanced so that I can deal with the day to day stresses and have them slide off my back like it's no big deal.

After all, I try to help my friends, family, and boyfriend see how loved they are regularly. I do things that are outside of my norm to let them know that they are great. Why can't I do the same for myself?

So today marks Day 1 where I'm going to do something good for myself. I'll even tell you my plan: I'm going to give myself a mud mask tonight and enjoy a hot cup of tea as the temperature drops outside tonight.

What do you do on a regular basis to show yourself love?