Become Your Own Lover This Valentines Day

Valentine’s Day is soon approaching, and love is in the air. Couples will be buying each other cute gifts, planning romantic getaways, and sharing their adoration for one another. But there’s one type of love that doesn’t get nearly enough attention and should be on the top of your list for this Valentine’s Day… and every other day of the year for that matter 

Self-Love!

Unfortunately, many do not practice self-love on a daily basis. And it is easy to forget as life can be busy. You spend time looking out for others -- from your partner to your children and at the end of it, there’s no time left to take care of yourself. And we at BodySlims have heard many stories from the community that sound alike: People forgetting to have some “me-time” to look after their own well-being, particularly when it comes to areas of health, weight loss, and overall well being.  

According to Marie Claire’s Self Love Index, one in two women have more self-doubt than self-love and 60% wish they had more respect for themselves. These are shockingly high statistics that can be reduced through the practice of self-love. Let’s change that, shall we? If there’s one thing you have to include in your New Year’s resolution then it’s this. Let’s learn more about self-love, what you can do, and how BodySlims can help.

What is Self-Love?

Maybe the term self-love gives you a giggle or maybe it conjures up images of the Hollywood spectacle of a woman in the bath, surrounded by bubbles, candles, chocolates and a glass of wine. Or it could be the slightly cheesy idea of a self-help book to release the “inner you”. And while these are steppingstones to a happier you and are a nice way to de-stress and treat yourself, they only make up a small part of self-love.

Psychology books define self-love as “…a state of appreciation for oneself that grows from actions that support our physical, psychological, and spiritual growth”. In other words, self-love isn’t limited to just a feeling you have towards yourself or the result of one single action, it is the reinforcement of self-positivity through the continuous implementation of numerous different techniques.

Self-love does have certain demands though. It demands that you stay true to it and don’t cheat. If you do something to aid your self-love like going on a diet, don’t immediately ruin the benefits by drinking or binge eating unhealthy foods. Having a healthy relationship with yourself is the same as having a healthy relationship with your significant other. The only way to make it work is through dedication and by staying true to it.

Why is Self-Love Important? 

But what exactly are the benefits of loving yourself and how will they help you in everyday life?

When you practice self-love, it improves your health

When you start the journey of loving yourself, you must look at both the inside and the outside. And the inside won’t feel as good if you don’t give the outside or your body the care it deserves. Sleep, food, water, exercise: The combination of all these parts will help you lose weight and eventually, you will reap some benefits.

For example, by losing unhealthy weight, you decrease the chances of having heart problems and other diseases.  

By taking care of your body, you will feel happier, more active, and more confident. In addition to the benefits associated with losing weight, you will also improve your memory, your mood and reduce your risk of getting cancer.

You improve your self-esteem, leading to happier relationships

Achieving self-love will result in becoming more confident and having a higher opinion of yourself. Having a high self-esteem means you will become more resilient in the face of setbacks and will also improve your mental health, thus reducing anxiety.

Another great benefit of high self-esteem is knowing your self-worth and how you want to be treated by others. This leads to healthier relationships with family, friends, and work colleagues.

You get to know yourself more

Self-love is a great way of getting to know oneself. Your likes, your dislikes, the things that make you happy and your pain points. Understanding this is the first step towards improving your life and doing activities that will impact you in a positive way. Perhaps most importantly, self-love will help you discover your limits, be it physically, mentally, or emotionally. This will help in knowing how far to push yourself but also having the confidence to stop and avoid burnout.

You learn to accept yourself more too

A happier you is a more self-accepting you. Gone is the need to make excuses for any weaknesses you may have and instead you learn to embrace them just as much as you do your strengths.

You increase your productivity

Instead of criticising yourself, self-love will help you embrace failure as a challenge and remain calm in the face of adversity. This will lead to emotional stability, resilience and an increase in productivity. 

How to Practice Self-Love 

Now that you know the what and the why behind self-love, all that’s left is to figure out the how. How do you carry out self-love? The good news is that there is no shortage of ways to do this. This can range from getting involved with different groups to simple changes you can make in your daily thoughts. The following list provides several, potential ideas to cater for your physical, mental, and psychological well-being.

·         Eat a healthier and more balanced diet

·         Go for a walk

·         Meditate

·         Get more sleep

·         Learn how to say no or not overcommitting

·         Stop comparing yourself to others

·         Don’t be so hard on yourself

·         Listen and repeat positive affirmations

·         Carry out random acts of kindness

And the trick to ensuring that these small acts make a change is consistency. It is that daily, conscious decision that you have to actively do these acts of self- love.

In a way, it is a commitment to yourself. And you know that you deserve the best so you should be kind and loving to yourself. There’s no room for cheating by harming your body with unhealthy foods or forgetting to be kind to yourself on a difficult day.

Learn to love yourself and your body more with BodySlims

The journey to self-love is an incredibly rewarding and enlightening one but don’t feel that just because it’s called “self-love” you have to do it all by yourself! If you are looking to eat healthier and lose weight and you need that extra bit of guidance, that’s where we come in!

Because you take care of others, let BodySlims take care of you. It's about time you prioritise your health and your looks (nothing wrong with that) and with BodySlims' tried and tested programme, you can finally put yourself first, just like our many success stories have done. 

Check out our programmes and dates of intake here