Can exercise be considered pampering oneself?

I wanted to search some benefits of pampering yourself, and I found some. But I found an interesting twist. Many sites considered eating healthy and exercising "pampering." Now, while I can see where they are coming from, that's not necessarily the pampering any of us here want. No! We want massages, 30 minutes alone, relaxing in a tub with a good book. But it brought an interesting point to mind, pampering is anything that you do that makes you feel good about yourself, and of course, when you exercise and eat right, you feel better about yourself.

As mentioned in the before post, I sort of hard core went off the bandwagon, but as part of pampering myself this month, I'm going to make it a point to get back to eating healthy and exercising regularly. I can't believe how many articles mentioned exercising as a form of pampering. So, if you're feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or anxious (and yes, thinking you're too busy for exercise is considering stressing out), head to the gym for a half hour. It counts as pampering!!

Of course, straight up traditional pampering is good for you too and is obviously lots of fun!!

A

Audrina Patridge - googleimages search

google images search

March weeks 1 and 2 check in

So, I know this lately has become sort of a disaster blog. I'm half tempted to just say "forget about it" and never write another post. I'm losing momentum, and I know you out there are too. How did this start off sounding like such a great idea, and here I am, barely 1/6th of the way through the year, and I'm ready to throw the towel in?

And I did ponder throwing the towel in. In fact, just mere minutes ago before I started typing this, I was thinking about what I would say, but then I realized, no, it's time for me to get remotivated. Sure, I have a few set backs, my accident, then a birthday disaster, but I'm ready to get back serious about this.

So, we will check in with this month's challenge. This one was pretty easy, obviously. But I noticed that this time, when I got my manicure/pedicure, and highlights/hair cut, I made sure I was more aware of this being a treat, rather than something I just needed to do to look good. I sat there actively thinking "this is a rare treat that not everyone does." And it made it just a little bit more special.

Well, there you have it for me. The first weekend, I got a manicure and pedicure, then this weekend, I got my hair cut and highlighted, AND took a two hour nap, which is unheard of in my house hold. But I feel relaxed, pretty, and ready to get face the world.

In other news, I sort of fell off the workout bandwagon after the accident, so starting this week, I'm going to get re-energized to hit the gym every day. I also haven't had a good day of clean eating in over a week, so I'm committing myself to eating healthfully this week. I'm also committing to doing a better job of this blog. In fact, I think I'm going to research some stuff to post right now. And later this week, I have an interesting article/challenge that if you think exercising and not eating chocolate is hard, try this one on for size! Sort of puts things in perspective!

March 1

Here it is, the beginning of a new month, a new start. For some, the beginning of a new decade of being alive. Time to reward yourself for being so great. Time to take a little "me" time out. Many of us have so many responsibilities and things to do that we forget to take some time out to take care of our own well being. That's what the point of this blog was, to hopefully entice you to start caring about yourself. However, taking care of oneself is more than being healthy and eating right, it's about having a healthy soul as well.

Now while pampering yourself may not give you the same overall health benefits that eating right and exercise does, it does contribute in a major way by lowering your overall stress levels. High levels of stress are linked to many health problems including insomnia, back problems, stress eating (or weight loss for the other stress type), high blood pressure, depression, and even gastrointestinal disorders. The list is really extensive. Therefore, it's very important to take some time to de-stress every now and then. And this is not meant to be a stressful event (how am I going to fit in my stress relief into my busy schedule? will just leave you ending up more stressed).

Obviously eliminating stress is not possible. There's always going to be car trouble, a late deadline at work, a hormonal teenage, but we can strive to mitigate some of the stress though stress management techniques. And that's what this month is all about. Taking some time, not feeling guilty, and doing something that makes you feel relaxed.

My first pampering of the month will be getting a haircut. Yes, I know we get them every so often, but this time, I'm going to really enjoy the experience. Get that glass of wine, not worry about where I need to be after wards, or that my hair dresser keeps raising his prices! I'm going to just enjoy the over all experience. So, I'm set for week 1. How about you?