As we enter February, many of us associate this month with Valentine’s Day, the month of love and romance! However, with everything going on in the world, it is imperative to also make sure you show yourself some love and care. It can be very easy to fall out of love with your body, particularly after another lengthy lockdown, added with the fact that we live in a toxic social-media obsessed society that values appearance on falsified photos that are plastered wherever you look.
As we enter February, many of us associate this month with Valentine’s Day, the month of love and romance! However, with everything going on in the world, it is imperative to also make sure you show yourself some love and care. It can be very easy to fall out of love with your body, particularly after another lengthy lockdown, added with the fact that we live in a toxic social-media obsessed society that values appearance on falsified photos that are plastered wherever you look. Now, don’t get us wrong, we are vehemently pro-health, fitness and overall wellness but also recognise that the appearance of health, fitness and wellness can come in many different shapes and sizes, so without further ado, let’s explore how to fall back in love with your body:
Detox
Physical
Sometimes we can feel uncomfortable in our skin, this could be down to unhealthy eating or detrimental lifestyle habits such as smoking or excessive alcohol consumption. It never is as simple as suddenly stopping these habits as they can be addictive, engrained into our lifestyle, or we’re simply oblivious to the effects they’re having on our mental and physical health. So how do you go about detoxing?
Our first suggestion to ease you in is meat-free Monday! Try cooking a fresh, wholesome, and nourishing meal, cutting out meat in the process and you’ll be surprised at the benefits, if you enjoy it, up it to two days a week, then three and so on!
Water! This might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised at the sheer number of positive effects consuming water has for a detox. It keeps your joints lubricated, regulates body temperature, clarity of thought, healthy digestion and arguably most important, it flushes out unnecessary waste in your body.
When it comes to alcohol and bad food, minimise, don’t remove! We all enjoy a drink and a pizza every now and then, we’re not saying cut it out completely (you can if you want) but moderation is key!
Sleep! This is another one that might seem a bit obvious but getting a deep night's sleep is enormously beneficial when attempting a detox. It recharges the batteries, making sure you can effectively have the energy to remove toxins from your body and digest food properly, reaping the benefits whilst casting out the nasties. There is a lot of science to back this, if you want the clinical run down, click here
Mental
A detox can also be used to assist your mental state. Many fall out of love with their body because of the unrealistic ideals they see upheld on social media, which can leave the best of us feeling inadequate from seeing photoshopped bodies receiving admiration and a wealth of responses. It can be very easy to compare yourself to what you’re seeing on screen and this is unhealthy because much of what you are viewing is manufactured and fake! How do we go about a Digi-Detox then?A cut off point is a good place to start! We understand that social media has become an integral part of our lives but having a cut-off point, where you put your phone down at a certain time, can help with your close relationships, your state of mind and getting to sleep! Being online too late causes stimulation and stops you from getting some well-needed shut-eye.
Purge! Go through your social media accounts, be it Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and unfollow/remove people that are not conducive to your mental wellbeing. If their content is making you feel bad about yourself, try unfollowing for a while and see what effect that has on your self-esteem – you can always re-follow if you want to at a later date.
Follow accounts that are centred around body positivity, ones that inspire you, make you happy and help you love your body for who you are! We recommend following hashtags that promote these pillars of wellness.
If you need something a bit more thorough, when we’re all vaccinated and it is safe, consider a detox holiday, as they can often be the answer to purging yourself of anything that won’t benefit your body, cleaning your insides and topping them up with nutrients, whilst teaching about a healthier way of life. Digital detoxes are also available at a selection of our destinations that can help you press reset on your digital consumption and help you focus on both your mental and physical goals.
Recent years have seen the meteoric rise of vegetarian and veganism, these dietary lifestyles have been around for centuries, but it feels only recently that they have truly hit the mainstream. This is down to a myriad of reasons, animal welfare, sustainability and you guessed it, health! A greener diet is beneficial to your body and your mind promoting productivity and dexterity if done correctly. This can be cutting meat (especially red meat) out of your diet for a couple of days a week or a full-on lifestyle change, this will assist in prevented life-threatening diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
This can be a daunting and alien prospect for those new to a meat-free life, luckily for you, we have many green recipes for you to try! This newfound lifestyle will have a positive impact on your mental wellbeing as well as providing you with all the nutrients and vitamins you need helping you to fall back in love with your body.
Whether you're just starting out or a seasoned pro, exercising can help you fall back in love with your body. It is about finding a groove and running with it. Find exercise(s) that you enjoy, ones that don’t feel like a chore and ask yourself whether it is something you want to do in a group or solo? Sometimes the hardest part is simply getting going when it comes to exercise, so don’t be afraid to try different activities to see what works for you. Need pointing in the right direction?
Kettlebells – One of the few exercises that works stimulates muscle growth whilst being aerobic. YouTube has a wealth of workout videos for people who have never picked up a weight before to professional bodybuilders!
Running – For this one, we recommend the ‘Couch to 5K’ app which gives you the aim of hitting 5K that doesn’t throw you into the deep end but builds your fitness up in an effective and healthy manner.
Group Sports/Classes–While in-person classes will have to wait until we have seen the end of COVID, there are plenty of gyms, instructors and trainers providing cheap or free workouts on Zoom!A group environment can help spur you on to keep going when it gets tough, especially if it is competitive! Have a supportive team around you and do something you love whilst getting fitter.
Yoga – A mindful way to ease into the world of exercise through coordinated movements that help with strength, flexibility, and overall physicality.
For some, thinking about what you want to achieve from your fitness plan can be helpful in setting goals, for others just making sure you’re getting your regular quota of exercise in is enough, either way it’s been proven that exercise releases endorphins! It really does bring a myriad of health and wellness benefits that will encourage you to feel both happier and healthier whilst also improving your mental relationship with your body!
For further expert guidance from professionals in cutting-edge facilities, try checking out our fitness holidays as they could help in kickstarting a fitness-centric lifestyle!
Sometimes our unbalanced relationships with our bodies can be just one aspect of a bigger picture of things we would like to improve in our lives. These might be difficult to entangle by ourselves and could benefit from some outside help in order to gain a more detailed perspective. Experienced and specialist life coaches can help us to address the areas of our lives we want to improve and show us the ways in which we might do so. Embarking on a life coaching holidaymay be conducive to beginning the journey to a happier and more fulfilled you. These retreats provide expert professional sessions either in a group or bespoke 1-on-1, to help you set life goals, offer direction, and ultimately improve your way of life in multiple aspects.
They say that the longest and most important relationship in your life is the one you have with yourself. This is wheremindfulness comes in.Mindfulness comes in many forms,such as practising affirmations, which if done regularly and effectively can have ample effect on your perception of yourself. Too often we only view our bodies in a critical light – paying attention only to our perceived misgivings of it as opposed to all the amazing things they are capable of and allow us to do. Affirmations and mindfulness have been backed by science in effecting positive mood and behaviour changes.Meditation and spirituality also play a huge role in mental wellness, this can sometimes be tricky when surrounded by distraction, which is why a holistic wellness holiday is fantastic for allowing you the space to block out the noise.A mindfulness retreat affords you the opportunity to find inner peace and subsequently fall back in love with your body.
We hope this list has offered some help in trying to fall back in love with your body. A final thought from us is to remember that we are currently living through a historical event, with everything that has happened, be kind to yourself and your body. These are unprecedented times that are new to all of us and we are all going to respond in different ways. Some might go fitness-heavy, others might regress on junk food, either way, it doesn’t matter as long as YOU are being kind to yourself when you look in the mirror and that YOU are happy.
Talk to one of our Travel Specialists on 0203 397 8891 or contact us here to discuss tailor-making your perfect wellness holiday.
