Many of us probably thought: “I hate my body!” instead of saying: “I love my body!”
Perhaps it’s easier for you to name just one part of your body that you love. For me, it’s my toes. J I love to pamper my feet, polish my toe nails (currently turquoise) and take silly photos at the beach with just my toes showing.
Copyright 2019 Taru Nieminen – 30-Day Self Care Challenge
Do you know how much water you’re supposed to drink? 8 glasses a day, 3 liters a day, or just a few cups of coffee will do for you?
It depends. On your weight, your eating habits (e.g. eating water-rich foods), your exercise level (strenuous vs. mild), and generally what you do during the day in your job (walking and on your feet all day vs. sitting at a desk). Here’s a quick look at roughly how much water you should drink according to your weight. (From SlenderKitchen.com)
Weight
Ounces of Water Daily
Liters (roughly)
100 pounds
67 ounces
1,9 liters
110 pounds
74 ounces
2,2 liters
120 pounds
80 ounces
2,4 liters
130 pounds
87 ounces
2,6 liters
140 pounds
94 ounces
2,8 liters
150 pounds
100 ounces
2,9 liters
160 pounds
107 ounces
3,2 liters
170 pounds
114 ounces
3,4 liters
180 pounds
121 ounces
3,6 liters
Are you trying to lose weight? Then you should drink more, because drinking water aids in eliminating waste from your body and gives you a full feeling. Exercise a lot? You definitely need to hydrate! Yup, I know – how can you drink SO much water?
Here’s a trick I use: I love sparkling water and specifically the flavored ones. When I have those around, I have no problem drinking my allotted amount; they taste like candy to me! You could also drink fruit-infused water, herbal teas, and let’s debunk the myth that coffee dehydrates you. There’s not that much of a diuretic in it to make such a big difference. Well, okay, if you drink only coffee and you drink more than about 4-5 cups a day, we may have a problem…
Want to read more? Here’s a link to an article on Healthline.
Do you know how stressed you are? Undoubtedly, you may be feeling a bit more relaxed as the holidays and the new year’s hubbub were just upon us (or perhaps you’re doubly-stressed as you had to spend time with certain family members… ;).
Here are simple online tests to see how stressed you really are, however, be mindful that these are just for you – if you get a high score, you may want to talk to your physician about how to reduce your stress.
The purpose of this challenge is not to make you even more stressed out by putting undue time limits on what you need to do. Remember, this is all for YOU.
So, instead of thinking we need to dedicate oodles of time, take just 10 every day. Perhaps today is a good day for you to schedule this time in your calendar, set up an alarm on your phone to take the 10, print out the calendar on the last page and stick it on your board or slip it inside your planner.
10 minutes is all you need. You CAN carve out that time. Of course, if you have more time, great. And remember that you can do this challenge in any order you wish.
Saving Memories: Or “If I could rescue one thing from my house in the midst of a terrible fire, what would it be?”
Kristiina, my sister, and I were happily playing in our grandma’s house…when-
“Oh, NO!” screamed our mom (along with a sigh embedded—you know that’s like a technical aptitude one gains as a mom).
“What ARE you doing!?” she insisted, now with her hand firmly staged on her hips, her face contorted in a grimace.
I looked at her as if she was an imbecil; wasn’t it obvious? We were getting ready to go out sunbathing. Duh!
You couldn’t tell from the suntan lotion Kristiina has on? My inquisitive look tried to communicate to her as I pointed at my little sister…
…who was completely covered – head to toe (really, -even in between her toes) – in smeared on, white and pasty, suntan lotion.
Of course, being the angelic child I was (not) – I’m batting my eyelashes at this point with that “I didn’t do anything…”-look…
But alas, there is no denying it happened…I have seen the evidence.
The photo proves it. My sister, about two years old, covered in that white, pasty, Nivea lotion… You know the kind that no matter how much you rubbed, your skin just refused to absorb it.
Those were the days…
Memories of childhood summers and antics lived, stories told with a snapshot in time.
That’s what I would save – the photos I’ve perused hundreds of times…
The #1 aspect of self-care you need to conquer is mindset.
Too often, we’re taking care of everyone else except ourselves.
By taking part in this self-care challenge, you’re giving yourself permission to take care of you – to feed your soul, to feel GOOD about taking time just for YOU.
This is not selfish. It is necessary.
Choose a daily focus for the 30 days. Think Mindset, Spirituality, Health, Friendship, Creativity, Happiness, Wealth/Wisdom, Family.
Think rich vs. well-being – of course, everyone needs to have their basic needs met. But you also need to have spiritual, intellectual, physical, and relational wealth, not just financial as we often think of when we hear the word “wealth.”
Think harmonic wealth.
For example, for mindset, perhaps you can choose to find a positive quote for each of the 30 days to psyche yourself up to be more positive. For Spirituality, choose to ponder, meditate, or pray for a few minutes each day. For Health, choose to limit wine to just one glass a night or drink more water, choose not to eat processed foods. For Family, limit your screen time and instead, spend the time talking with family or playing games.
It could even be this: choose to not look at your email more than 2-3 times a day, and even then, limit your time. Or choosing to limit Netflix to 3 episodes of whatever you’re watching or just one movie (binge-watching three movies in a row…? – It seems Netflix has this clever way of “knowing” what you want to watch next…).
All done with the 5 Free Days? If you found the meditation helpful, imagine what 21 Days of Guided Meditation can do? Order now and Listen to Days 6-21 to continue to create calmness, happiness, and energy in your life.
