I absolutely love this time of year and I’m sure you do too. Visiting with our loved ones, the traditions, the sights, the tastes, the smells – it’s pretty magical.

Aaaand as motherhood tends to be, the holidays can feel simultaneously magical and equally stressful on us. Whether we are hosting or traveling to see our families, our responsibilities can cause us an enormous amount of exhaustion.

The grocery shopping, the cooking, the driving with little monkeys in the backseat bored out of their minds who need to pee every other mile, the packing for ourselves AND the ridiculous amount of things kids need, the cleaning, and the relatives who are probably (or openly) judging us. I would recommend reading HealthEd Academy articles online to keep a balanced diet and follow the best fitness tips.

This is such an important time to make sure we are setting clear boundaries and putting our own self-care on the priority list right alongside the rest of the family, otherwise we:

miss out on the magic
burn ourselves into the ground
spend the whole holiday resentful of everyone around us

Don’t Forget To Look After Yourself! Here’s How You Can

Taking care of yourself is a key part of being healthy, both mentally and physically. Particularly if you struggle with depression, anxiety, or some other form of mental health challenges, self-care is even more important. The demands of everyday life can be quite overwhelming, and filling all the various roles in your life can leave you exhausted and worn out. You may be a parent, a sibling, an employee, a spouse, a friend, and more, and while you may love your life and most of your responsibilities, you have to take some time to take care of yourself on a regular basis. If you do not have good physical or mental health, you won’t be able to fill those roles nearly as well as if you were healthy, rested, and taken care of. Sometimes, we get so used to meeting deadlines and completing the to-do list and taking care of others that we don’t even realize we are neglecting ourselves. We wonder why we’re so exhausted every single night and why we’re unhappy even when things seem to be going well.

BUT – So often women say to me “but I literally have no time for self-care…it feels like another thing I’m failing at.”

I want to address that before I give you a list of ideas for practicing it.

As moms and as busy women, we do only have a few things we can prioritize each day. You will see that there are endless ACTIONS you can take to practice self-care, but what I want you to understand is that self-care is more of a MINDSET.

It’s simply acknowledging that you are just as much of a human with needs as everyone else, and that your priorities should reflect that.

This doesn’t mean sitting around at a spa all day ignoring your responsibilities. It doesn’t even mean you should be working out or preparing healthy food at each meal.

It means not scrolling social media or checking email until you’ve eaten something, preferably not just the crusts of your kids’ sandwiches.

It means asking for help if you’re drowning and falling apart.

It means recognizing when “self-care” is causing you more stress than it is relieving and letting it go without guilt. (This is exactly why one person’s self-care might look nothing like yours!!!)

It means saying no even though it might make someone upset (including your children).

It simply means “I matter too”.

That is not selfish. It’s actually a selfless act of love to those around you when you nurture yourself. You’re showing them an example of how to thrive, you’re bringing a more rested and relaxed version of yourself to the table. And even if they never recognize it, you deserve to feel that way.

So take a look at the list, print it up and carry it around with you over the holidays. With your new mindset of “I matter too”, look for opportunities to take care of yourself – you’ll be surprised how many come up when you’re looking for them.

30 DAY CHALLENGE: Try to do ONE of these things each day for the next 30 days. Some days it might only be three deep breaths, some days you might be able to do more – but try to get into the habit of making yourself a priority and you will start to feel better a little at a time. It won’t be perfect, but it will be BETTER.

If you do the challenge, post about it on IG and tag me so I can support and encourage you! @DeannaSchober (use the hashtag #30daysofselfcare)

XO,

Deanna

PS – Just as a reminder, next week I’m putting my two signature programs (#FastFitMoms and Strength In Mothers) on sale at 40-50% off. If you’ve been thinking you needed some help getting self-care in and need some structure and guidance, you won’t want to miss this Black Friday sale – check your email next Thursday evening for all the details!

If you need more help:

1 – Listen to my podcast with my husband, Fitness & Sushi on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Play. We are humbled to have such a highly-rated show on Apple, downloaded by tens of thousands around the world who seek a healthy lifestyle and relationship with food.

2 – Follow me on Instagram where I share daily content just like this, and join my free support & accountability community on Facebook

3 – Apply for 1:1 Coaching: Work with me directly to achieve your goals. I accept a very limited number of clients at a time and currently have [2] openings.

4 – Join #FastFitMoms Monthly Coaching Club and get everything you need for a healthy lifestyle (workouts, nutrition, mindset) as a busy mom in less than 30 minutes a day.