Getting Started With Self Care, Healthy Eating and Weight Loss. Podcast Episode.

One of my favourite subjects is “getting started with self care”? Why? Because until we take that step and prioritise our own needs, we’re stuck on the “habits hamster wheel”. We’re doing the same things over and over again. Without thinking.

We Often Need A Nudge to Get Us Started with Self Care

You know what life’s like. We’re all getting on with life. For parents, that includes looking after our kids. We often don’t have enough energy to think about “self care”.

We either think we’re doing OK and have got healthy living nailed. Or it’s something we put off for another day.

Often we need a bit of a wake up call to get us started on “healthy living” and feeling “fit and fabulous”.

I had several “small wake up calls”. I thought I was leading a healthy life. But I wasn’t feeling fit and fabulous. Now I do lead an amazing life style. I take care of myself. And feel fit and fabulous.

My first wake up call was how I was showing up as a mum. I was exhausted and “snappy”. I didn’t want to be a grumpy mum or a stressed person. But things needed doing!

The second wake up call was a random blood test. It showed that my “glycosolated haemoglobin”, a marker of glucose levels over the last month, was a bit high. At the time I thought I was eating a healthy diet. I ate loads of vegetables, I was thin and did a moderate amount of exercise. But my blood sugar level was still high.

It wasn’t so high that I worried. But it was high enough to spur me to make changes. I started thinking about how many carbohydrates I was eating. Bread for lunch, pasta for dinner. The typical diet of a family with young kids!

Over a the last few years, I have changed my life so that I truly do lead a healthy life. I now eat a diet with very little processed foods. That includes few refined carbohydrates. Yep, even with 4 young kids!

I exercise. I get 8 hours of sleep each night. I take care of my emotions and mindset.

I take care of myself and my 4 pillars of self care. (Nutrition, exercise, sleep and emotions.)

How Do You Start on the Self Care Journey?

When we start out on a journey, it’s easy to fixate on the end destination. But it’s important to enjoy the journey!

Every journey starts with one small step. Then another. And another.

In preparation for the journey, we need to get our mindset sorted out. We need to get to a space where we know we’re going to be successful and enjoy our journey.

Recently I climbed a “mountain” with a castle on the top. The first thing I had to do was ignore the complaints of my kids. If I’d listened to them, we’d have stayed at home.

But once we got going, they had a fantastic time!

As adults, we need to acknowledge our negative thoughts and rethink them.

Worried you can’t maintain a health eating? What exactly is going to make you stop? The cooking? The lack of cake? The shopping? Get clear on the obstacles you’re going to face. Then you can get clear on how you’re going to get around them.

You Need to Enjoy the Healthy Eating and Living Marathon

The key to healthy eating and living is to enjoy it. To create a way of living that you can sustain. Forever!

There’s no point “going on a diet” for a few weeks and then going back to your old way of eating. Healthy eating and living is a marathon. Not a sprint.

You need to enjoy the journey. As soon as you reach your destination, you’ll pick another to get to! So you might as well enjoy the travelling!

New Me Mindset Challenge. Join Now

I  invite you to join my short and sweet challenge. We’ll be having a look at all those thoughts that stop you from making changes. Thoughts like “I can’t do it!”

We’ll dig them out and then blast them away!

Just 10 mins a day for 5 days.

Find out more here: New Me Challenge

Dr Orlena’s 2 Week Healthy Eating Reboot

If you’d like some help getting started with healthy eating, why not join my reboot? The one on one sessions will help you work out exactly how you can start making changes.

The special offer mentioned in the podcast is available until Jan 31st 2020. It includes an extra coaching session, a year of “My Kitchen Miracles” and the “Healthy Eating for Kids Summits”.

Find out more here: 

Dr Orlena Author Bio

Dr Orlena is a health coach. She helps busy mums go from "I can't lose weight" to feeling fit and fabulous. Find out more about her here.