Hi again! Long time no post, but that was because I was running low on ideas, but just in the nick of time, on this lovely Thursday evening, I came up with an idea. Well, not necessarily an idea, but more so something to share.
I tend not to share my goals because I see them like wishes, and you know if you tell someone your wish it won't come true, and while I still believe that, I think the in this case sharing may actually help me. You're probably like, "okay Kayla, we get it, just tell us what you're talking about." OKAY! Relaxxx, it's rude to rush a lady ;). Anywho, the goal. The subject. The objective. Drum-roll please......SELF-CARE!
What? Anti-climatic? Oh, please.
In all seriousness, I've been really slacking in aspects of self-care. I always pride myself on catering to my mental health, but sometimes I don't do so much for my physical. Not that I'm being dirty (I shower and brush my teeth, and tend to smell nice so I've been told) but I just don't put the much daily effort into the little things. Like skin care, what I eat, exercise, clean room, etc.
I need to form healthier habits (and before your roll your eyes) let me explain. Personally, I have always been intimidated by the word "healthy" because when I hear it I automatically think skinny. I think kale, diets, and fable tics..so I've always cringed at the word. It felt like it went against me being who I am. "Healthy" always felt like there was something wrong with me. I never want to diet and I also don't want to feed into fat-phobia and the standards of beauty. Soooo, I've never aimed to live a "healthy" lifestyle.
I've began to understand that being "healthy" doesn't have to be those things. It can be whatever I want it to be, mean, or look like. I want to work on my body in specific areas; I'm happy with my body but I want to target those areas because as much as I love my body, those little over-pouring areas of fat...como se dice...kill the vibe.
Instead of setting a goal "weight" because it isn't about weight (as you should know that from my blog post "How much do you weigh?"), I will instead document changes made in those specific areas. I couldn't gaf about the number on the scale, that's between the scale and the customary system. I want to emphasize that overall, I love my body. I just know that she could be better. I love my thighs and my boobs, I love my stretch marks and even my big arms, lol. I think that by targeting my problem areas, I'll just be happier.
So of course, I don't want to do this self-care/weight loss (*read in 2x speed lol* I really don't wanna call it weight loss because that's not the entire goal so just understand I don't want to get skinny I just wanna tone some areas) journey alone so here are the steps I plan on taking, I hope that you start doing these or even keep doing them if you're already doing them. My journey starts on Monday (along w my period) and I can't wait to see where we need up!
Exercise
I know very little about exercise and I lowkey don't trust just picking up any exercise routine. So I look up exercises specific to the area I'm looking to work on ex. upper body. I also am very lazy, so I want to slowly build stamina. I plan to start off with 15min workouts everyday and then build up to longer sessions. Once a certain workout seems "easy" on my muscles, I'll switch up routines. I usually use youtube fitness channels that I feel are trustworthy (and doable). I really want an exercise that works for me, I also have been walking around a park for 2 laps for about 2 months now inconsistently. That adds up to 2 miles so I want to do that more consistently, in addition to the youtube workouts. I really do enjoy exercise--as I kid I loved running until puberty hit ("big boobs? chileee anyways"). I even actually liked gym class, I just felt too insecure to do the activities fully because I sweated(?) a lot and just felt really fat.
I don't want a whole section dedicated to food, so basically I'm gonna stop snacking so heavily. That's really my main problem, I usually eat because I'm bored and not because I'm actually hungry :/ Also, I'm not going to eat anything after 8:00pm or before 6:00am--sorta like Intermittent Fasting. However, I don't plan on dieting or trying to stick to a meal plan because if I loose the weight and end up slipping up with my diet, the weight will just come back...so yeah, I'm just gonna try to consume less food throughout the day.
Now that we have the boring stuff out of the way...let's get into the fun stuff✨
Daily Quotes
I am a thot for quotes. I have a whole notebook dedicated to quotes, I have a quote wall, and my phone wallpapers are always aesthetically pleasing quotes. All this to say, reading quotes are very motivating for me. Seeing quotes are really the only thing that makes me wanna get off my ass and do something. There's a lot of different apps that show you quotes via notification, for example the app called 'motivation'. However, you do have to pay to access some features. I obviously didn't, so instead I plan to swipe through it at the beginning of each day (it works like one of those wallpaper apps), have my intake of quotes, and get motivated.
Reminder App
If you own an iPhone, you have the lovely reminders app. I truly believe we are all sleeping on that app because it is beautiful. I've used reminders from time to time to have a quick reminder the day before a free trial ends, or to remind me to pick something up, etc. However, I've never really explored the app until a few days ago. The layout is very clean, you can make different list and color code them, you can set reminders to be daily, weekly, biweekly, the list goes on. It's to the point where I feel bad for ever overlooking it. It is way better than any reminder apps that I've ever downloaded, so to Apple I say good job! Anyways, I have been using reminders to remind me to do my healthy lifestyle related tasks--such as, drinking water, having my 15min workout, eating during my scheduled eating time. Its just great overall, I just do wish I could change the notification sound because its kinda "ping", idk...idk how to explain it. Just remember, reminders are your best friend!
Planner + Schedule
You know how school always talks about how important planners are? Well, *whispers* they kinda are. I loveeeee my planner, its so fun to write in, its so pretty to look at , and its so organized. I think that's important with a planner because if your planner is ugly..you're not gonna want to write in it nor will you be motivated by it. There's so many different styles and themes that you can buy, with many different price ranges (just search up 'planner tumblr' then go to shopping for some ideas). I think everyone should have a planner because even if you don't have much going on, it makes you want to just so you can fill the planner up :)! This is going to help my healthy lifestyle because this self-care journey isn't just about weight loss; it's about forming better habits. In addition, having a planner makes me feel less overwhelmed about all the assignments I have to do because I have a specific time set aside to do them--along with plenty of space to set time-friendly goals for the week/month. My planner:
Journal
I am a strong advocate for journaling because its just so nice to release your emotions onto a piece of paper to look back and reflect on. I plan to have a journal specifically for documenting my feelings towards my "weight-loss" journey because I know some days will be better than others and it will also be nice to look at if I ever reach my goal. Like planners, journals come in all different flavors so I suggest you get one that makes you wanna write in it. I kinda like the composition notebook vibe right now (don't kill me) so I may use that, but I have so many notebooks, because I buy whatever pretty one I see, so I'm still deciding which one I want to dedicate this part of my life to. I think its nice to journal in general, just everyday things. I have a ninth, tenth, and half of eleventh grade journal and its crazy to see my perspective on things change and just my general emotions during that time. Anywhooo, get a journal!
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Alright, that was all the things I plan on doing to aid my healthy lifestyle journey. These can be applied regardless of what's going on for you, but I know that these things have always helped me. I'm sure as I begin my journey I'll find new things that help me and I'll be sure to make a pt.2 and share. I really hope I meet all my goals body wise because I just want my outsides to match my insides. I feel a negative cloud coming over me and I really want to kick it out of here. Quarantine has taught me a lot about myself and especially that I can turn anything into a habit if I keep with it. I've started small by brushing my teeth twice everyday (I was slacking around bedtime) and just by seeing how quickly I've made that a force a habit, I'm sure I can do the same with all these things. If you've made it this far, like always, thank you for reading.
~Okay bye. Tell a friend!
P.S
i hope you meet all your goals too :)