3 Amazingly Easy Tips to Loving Yourself this Holiday Season
Outfit details: top @target, skirt and boots @oldnavy, bar necklace and camille necklace @natalieborton.
Let’s talk about some hard things. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the holidays. But at the same time, there is so much pressure to look a certain way and to “treat yourself” throughout the whole season too. So I’m about to tell you my dark little secret… I’ve gained 10-15 pounds. You heard me: 10-15 POUNDS. Most women I know would keep this dark little secret to themselves and wait until they lost all of the weight to tell a single soul they even had a weight gain. I had a friend who actually asked me if I could be pregnant after I told her how much I weighed (it was meant with good intentions but, ya know). The reason I want to talk about this topic right now is because there is so much pressure as women in this holiday season to have the perfect photos, perfect hair, perfect lipstick, and so on. And I am here to tell you that I am not perfect. Not a single bit. It’s pretty common for me to gain a little weight throughout the holiday season as I’m sure it is for you. Instead of telling you that I’m going to workout and starve myself, I’m going to share with you how I am planning on loving myself anyways (and you should too).
1. Treat yourself… in moderation. I know the holidays are full of delicious foods and that doesn’t mean that we should be eating all of them (sorry in advance for the tough love). I am not in any way saying to starve yourself or to not enjoy food. I am simply saying to indulge in moderation. For me, I make my mom’s lasagna for Christmas once a year. I am going to eat slices of lasagna guilt free. But I am also going to eat like I normally do. Food is emotional. That is just a fact. And I don’t want it to control me this holiday season. In fact, I am usually a slave to it. And when I overindulge I tend to feel physically sick. So this year, I am going to tune into my body and eat until I am full while fully enjoying the treats I have been waiting for without a second thought.
2. Keep taking care of yourself. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the joy and the high stress of the holiday season. When this happens, it is too easy to put yourself as a top priority aside. I know I myself have been guilty in the past of letting it all go. Between being a slave to food, feeling fat already, resulting in not having any energy, I just give up. So, whatever self care looks like for you: drinking water, working out for 30 minutes a day, starting your day with a smoothie, taking your family for a walk, making pancakes for breakfast, writing in a journal; be sure to continue these habits throughout the holiday season. When I say no to my self care routines and habits during the holiday season, I tend to feel more stress, anxiety, and restlessness. Be true to you because if you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of others. In order to give, we have to make sure we have abundance within to give from.
Outfit details: top @target, skirt and boots @oldnavy, bar necklace and camille necklace @natalieborton.
3. Wear clothes that make you feel good. Often times when I gain weight, I find myself wearing my baggiest most unflattering clothing. It doesn’t make me feel good and quite honestly it makes me feel even more self conscious. Despite my weight, I still have a ton of outfits that are stylish, minimal, and comfortable. I want to make sure that when I put my clothes on I feel like myself because my weight is NOT going to define me. So, get out there and put on that dress or those skinny jeans and be yourself. As I get older, I am realizing more and more that the clothes we wear really are a reflection of how we feel about ourselves. No matter what size, shape, or weight you are, wear the things that make you feel good, inside and out.
What is your dark little secret this holiday season? And what are you doing to love yourself anyways?
