Self Care for Weight Management

Let's start with basic emotional self care. What does it mean? In class they provided a "Self-Care Inventory" which was adapted from "Take Time for Your Life: A Personal Coach's 7-step Program for Creating the Life You Want" by Cheryl Richardson. Although it will take a little more work than going through a check list, I think it might be more useful to come up with your own inventory. Think hard about what in your life makes you happy or fulfilled or at peace, gives you energy or satisfaction or pleasure. Make a list of everything you can think of. Now--and this might be easier--list what drains you. Which list is longer?

What would it take to maximize the parts of your life that fulfill you and minimize those that drain you? Are there things you want to be doing to fulfill yourself that you are not doing? And what is keeping you from doing them? Or is it that you are just doing TOO MUCH and need to be doing less, even if what you're doing is satisfying on some level?

I am debating how much to go into this. I think it is so personal that it would almost undercut the spirit of this exploration to offer specific suggestions or examples. Just take some time to focus on it and see what comes up for you. Aha! There is the problem, huh? "Just take some time..." Just take some time to be mindful while you eat, and just take some time to exercise, and NOW WHAT? "Just" take some time to ponder self care, which, we can only assume, should lead to taking just a little more time to provide said self care? Ay yi yi.

Well, there it is. Whether the things in your life that you identify as "nourishing" are weekend hikes, volunteering, candlelit baths, or whatever else, they all require a little TIME. And ultimately, I think that's what self-care is: taking TIME for yourself to do your heart's desire...or, to do nothing at all.

I know a lot of my followers are working moms, and we may be among the worst at taking time for ourselves. It is a constant challenge. But you know the rap about putting on your own oxygen mask first, right? If you do not take care of yourself, how can you possibly keep up with taking care of everyone and everything else?

This is where the little inventory exercise comes in. Are there small ways you could begin to shift the fulfilling/draining balance? Like everything else we've been talking about, start small. Start experimenting with saying no to requests of your time. Find some little thing that has been nagging at you and address it. Find even a five minute block of time each day where you do only exactly what you want to do.

If the way you take care of yourself is by eating when you're not hungry, you really must spend some time with this issue. If you incorporate some kind of spiritual practice or ritual or body work into your day on a regular basis, say no easily, tend to feel radiant most of the time, have plenty of energy, sleep well and feel deeply in touch with your "true self," feel free to move on.