Hello hello! Hope you are well today! I just got out of a yoga class and a spin class and feel incredible mentally (all before 9am) so felt this post was very relevant today. I wanted to continue with the topic of balance, something I've discussed a lot on my channels, something I live by but today, talk about why it’s so important to me from relation to mental wellbeing. Let’s go.
As most of you know, this year it’s been a total honour to collaborate with Yushoi, one of my favourite healthy snacks. It was about a year ago when I grabbed their delicious snacks in Morrisons and have never looked back since so it was obviously a dream when they wanted to work with me. Both Matt and I always have packs in the house to nibble on to curb cravings when we’re hungry. As most of you know, my life mantra is balance and moderation.
One of the things I always stress is that I work out and eat well for my mental wellbeing. It was only a few weeks ago I met with the wonderful Nicole Scherzinger and we talked about this exact topic, just how important it is to workout and eat well, not for how it makes your body look but for how it makes your mind feel. I watched a vlog this morning too, with Alfie Deyes and he talked bout the importance of mental mind management, we look after our bodies, we eat well, but how do we look after our minds? I think that’s why I was so excited to partner with Yushoi, they feel the same as I do about this and agree with the idea of the perfect balance. Their snacks definitely make sticking to the perfect balance so easy too and as mentioned, I've been snacking on them long before I started working with them too.
I find being unbalanced in life can cause problems to my mental wellbeing, for example additional stress or anxiety. Trust me, I’ve been there, done that (I wrote a blog post all about a detox trip I had and touched on this). I've burnt myself out a lot over the last few years, from over working to over exercising and generally just over-stressing. It's only in the last year I've realised how important it is to do good things for the mind. My brother burnt himself out so badly and has a chronic illness, we are not yet sure if the chronic illness came from 'just doing too much', it's what the doctors think anyway. It's really made me re-visit how I look at balance and made me a much more balanced person. Here are my top tips for mindfulness and I hope it helps you.
Work out - First things first, nothing makes me feel less stressed than a workout. It's like free therapy for my mind, banging on a treadmill. The endorphins it release make me feel incredible. I honestly think working out for mental wellbeing is so important. However, don’t beat yourself into the ground, if you truly are busy and can’t fit it in (story of my life at the moment!) then don’t beat yourself up about it. I try to do a minimum of 3x workouts a week and anything more is a total bonus but not essential. I work out because it clears my mind, rids me of stresses. If you can't work out, maybe just try go on a mind clearing walk? Even once a week. It does my mind so much goodness.
Eat well - This is where balance really comes into play. Eat well! If you’ve read any of my fitness food posts you’ll know that I swear by moderation. I try to eat well 80% of the time and try to get as many good things into my body as I can. Yushoi are my favourite healthy snacks, made from peas and very low in calories. They’re packed with protein though so they keep me fuller for longer. I find snacking on healthy things is key too, so Apples, Yushoi and blueberries are my go to.
Don’t deprive - I find some people get themselves really stressed when they’re trying to eat well and start being ‘on a diet’. Even the word diet sounds restrictive and makes me anxious. Don’t do it to yourself. If you want a packet of crisps, go for it. One bag of crisps won’t make you gain weight just like one salad won’t make you loose weight. It really is about balance and moderation rather than restricting. I ban the word diet and prefer to see it as a lifestyle choice. No-one is happy when they're deprived, stock your cupboards full of good snacks, delicious, healthy food and then don't beat yourself up for having one packet of crisps in a week.
Structure - Try have a structure to your week, e.g., does working out work best for you at 6am before work or on a Friday night once the week is over? I’ve found recently, working out on a weekend is better for me as I actually have the time and I’m not stressing! It's all about making a plan that works for you and fits in with your (I'm sure, busy) lifestyle.
Me time - So many people forget just how important me time is for your mental wellbeing, whether it’s sat watching X Factor with a pack of Yushoi, or just enjoying a bath with a gin and tonic. I've restarted yoga and swimming and couldn't be happier, it's my me-time, with no phone, no emails, no internet and just my mind. You can do yoga and practice meditation at home too, so you don't even need to leave the house. I like leaving the house as it clears my mind but if you don't have the time, grab a mindfulness app or watch some yoga videos and go for it. If something is bothering you, talk to someone, you might then realise it's irrational and feel much better. Make time for you time once a week and watch the stress fly away.
So there we have it, a few of my top tips to ensuring you’re balanced! If no-one told you today, you are doing brilliant, don't beat yourself up! You got this!
How do you feel about this topic? Do you work out for your mind? Do you have any mindfulness tips?
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*Thank you Yushoi for working with me on this, as always it's 100% my honest opinion.
Lots of love, Em x
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