I’ve mentioned it before but I’m trying to prioritise myself lately. In my habits, in my surroundings. One of the things I’ve done is make healthier choices.

I’ve added fiber to my diet by making some small changes. (Minor aside, I told my ex husband that by adding fiber to my diet I’ve lost half a stone over the last few months and his response was ‘you’re so obsessive about calorie counting and all of that’ which baffled me because I’ve never calorie counted in my life and the only other time I was ‘obsessive’ was during lockdown when I lost 50lbs through diet and exercise!)

I’m drinking more water. I’m getting up and moving more during the day. I’ve started this walking thing most days. I want to add some resistance or strength training into my routine but I’m pacing myself so that it becomes a regular habit rather than something I do and burn out really quickly.

I keep being surprised by my feelings. Which mostly centre around …’it’s so surprising how much better I feel about myself when I prioritise myself’ With each thing that I’m doing I start to think ‘It’s important to do this. I deserve to treat myself well’

And it’s honestly shocking. It shouldn’t be. It should be absolutely normal to eat healthy, to do good things for my body. But I’ve realised throughout this entire exercise that I’m so used to not being a priority. Not even to myself. And I need to change that.

I’ve been loving this new breakfast I have most days. I look forward to eating it. I look forward to preparing it. I meal prepped healthy lunches on the weekend for the upcoming week. And every time I take a box out of the fridge on my lunch break it makes me happy. That I’m eating something good instead of grabbing a quick snack or skipping the meal altogether.

Every time I’ve gone walking I’ve thought ‘this is nice’ and I’ve been happy that I’ve carved time out in my day for myself. For something that I enjoy, that creates better space in my head and will ultimately see results in how I’m feeling about myself.

Why has it taken me so long to be kind to myself?