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My 13 favorite self-care practices.

I spent so long feeling like if I wasn’t miserable in life, then I wasn’t working hard enough.  I’m so over that and all about the self-care now.

I believe you can take better care of others when you set boundaries with people and are taking excellent care of yourself.  You don’t have to set yourself on fire to keep other people warm.  You are allowed to take care of yourself and practice self-care daily.

Here are some of my favorite self-care practices lately:

1. The outfit.

Andrew has nicknamed this outfit, “the outfit.” It’s so comfortable, so I wear it ALL THE TIME.  I’ll get home from work and put it on so I’m pretty much in it every evening.  Andrew’s tired of seeing it and thinks we should burn it.  I feel differently.  It’s so comfy…and that makes me feel calm.

self care | immaEATthat.com

2. Audiobooks.

If I’m being honest…I don’t like reading.  I fought this for a long time trying to force myself to read.  I want the knowledge that is in the book, but I don’t want to read it.  Insert audiobooks!  

I’ve found some books that have 30 minute summaries of the entire book – not everyone’s cup of tea! But I’d rather get the main idea from 50 books by listening to summaries, than know the minute details of 10 books.

I just listened to the Daring Greatly summary.  And while I don’t use Audible yet, I probably will subscribe soon.

self care | immaEATthat.com

3. Walking, while playing “find the prettiest house” game.

The thing I love most about my neighborhood is that new houses are always being built.  I love putting on a podcast/audiobook and perusing the neighborhood for new builds.  I try to do this on weekends/weeknights when I have no where to be and can just wander for a bit.  So relaxing.  This is also a good time to for me to process through any uncomfortable thoughts/feelings I’m having.  Kinda like a mental journaling activity. 

self care | immaEATthat.com

4. Not rigidly exercising.

Since I stopped following a rigid exercise routine about two years ago, I’ve found that there is so much time/energy for you to discover what joyful movement looks like for YOU.  For me leisurely biking, sculling in a pool, and stretching before bed are all movements I really love!

If you have put yourself on a rigid exercise routine and hate moving your body (but force yourself to do it anyways), I’d recommend taking a month off the current movement(s) you are doing.  Make yourself switch it up for something else and get away from the rigidity.  You deserve to make decisions because you love your body…not because you hate your body

Exercise is not always healthy.  It could be ruining your life.  Time to check in with yo’ self! 

self care | immaEATthat.com

5. Being stupid.  

Laughter is the best. 

self care | immaEATthat.com

6. Yoga.

I do love yoga and it helps me feel so calm.  It took me 7 years to get it, but I get it now.  I always end the class with my hands resting on my belly during savasana.  Kinda in a heart shape around my belly button.  Whether I’m feeling bloated or strong or soft and fleshy, it’s nice to connect with my body and know that it is exactly what it needs to be.  Again…it took my YEARS to appreciate yoga and resting your hands on your belly is not for everyone.

Unfortunately since my hand is cut I’m having to take a bit of time off yoga classes.  Down dog would kill my hand.  But now that I’m thinking about it, I could probably go and just do forward-fold instead of chaturanga/down dog.  

self care | immaEATthat.com

7. Trying new coffee shops.  

For me, the atmosphere is more important than how the coffee tastes.  There are still at least 10 coffee shops I still need to try in Houston.  Aesthetically pleasing coffee shops make me feel energized and full of life…but maybe it’s just the caffeine (hmm. lol.).  

self care | immaEATthat.com

8. Pining to my BoPo pinterest board

Constantly surrounding myself with positivity and encouraging messages is so healthful! I like living in a positive and encouraging world.  People in the real world can suck…but your social media accounts can be so uplifting.  You just have to stop following people that make you feel like crap about yourself.

self care | immaEATthat.com9. Sweating

I do enjoy a good sweat session from time to time.  I’ve been going to Orange Theory, but they’ve been annoying me quite a bit lately.  I know I’m being irrational, but I don’t really care.  The issue is that if you are 5 minutes late to their classes you aren’t allowed to go in and then you get charged for the class.  A normal/rational person would just be on time, but I’m not good at being on time so I just don’t think it’s the best fit for me.  

I’ve been very close to cancelling my membership a number of times but then they do something nice, like offer to walk me to my car with an umbrella when it’s pouring rain.  And I forgive them.  I probably will be looking for something else in the near future.  I wanna try a pilates studio!

self care | immaEATthat.com

10. Early morning breakfast dates with a friend.

It’s such a nice way to ease into my morning.  Instead of going straight to the office or starting work immediately, taking an hour at a coffee shop with a friend before the city wakes up is so relaxing.  I love that the coffee shops are typically empty that early and eating breakfast out during the week gives you a little taste of the weekend on a weekday.

Also, life is one big learning process and I’m still learning how to work with the anxiety I can feel at the start of the day.  Waking up knowing I’m not going straight to work is so helpful for decreasing my stress levels.

self care | immaEATthat.com

11. Tequila.  

Had to include it lol! Growing up we ate Tex-Mex every week and while Andrew and I don’t hit up Mexican restaurants that often now, the occasional happy hour with Andrew or a friend can help me feel like I can solve all the problems in the world.  And that’s a good feeling:)

self care | immaEATthat.com

12. Eating food I’m craving. 

Cooking really isn’t my favorite thing.  I think that is because for the last 2 1/2 years I have hated my kitchen so much.  It was SO dated, dark and depressing.  Now that the kitchen is open and bright, I’m much more excited to cook.  But still, the cooking part in between recipe development and eating isn’t my favorite thing, I love the recipe development and the eating parts best.  But occasionally I’ll be super excited for a meal and it is relaxing to come home and make exactly what I’m craving.  Here I was sautéing red bell peppers to put on a pizza.

self care | immaEATthat.com

13. Maggie.

I’m a firm believe that everyone should have a dog or some kind of animal.  They bring SO MUCH JOY and teach you how to love better! When we got Maggie, I hoped she would be a cuddler and she IS.  Andrew snapped this photo of us a couple months ago.  

self care | immaEATthat.com

Another post needs to be self-care habits I need to improve.  High on that list would be sleep! I’m awful at getting enough sleep!  I would also like to take up journaling.  I tried using Penzu, but I’m bad at getting into a consistent journaling routine!

If you have a difficult relationship with food and your body, I hope you will look into my online course and see if it is something that resonates with you.

Time to share! I would love to know your favorite self-care practices? Are there any self-care practices you would like to start incorporating in your life but haven’t yet?

54 comments

  1. New reader here and loving your blog! :)
    This is an awesome list of self care things! 
    I would loooove to get a dog but its not fair whilst we are away living in Australia as I would feel so guilty about it having to be in quarantine before we move back home to the UK (eventually…).
    Some self care practices for me are meditating, exercising kindly doing what my body and mind loves to do, SLEEPING (I am a serious sleep monster), yoga, being in nature and so much more…
    I completely agree being silly and having fun is so important and also making sure you follow people and surround yourself with people who inspire you and are supportive. 
    Totally love brene brown too! 
    OK this first comment is an essay so I shall stop ;) 

    • Hi Lauren! The quarantine would keep me from getting a dog for sure! For a brief while we thought we were moving to Brazil for my husband’s job and we tabled the I-wanna-get-a-dog discussion. Good choice on waiting, and I’m excited there is a dog in your future at some point:)) And how cool you’re living in Australia right now…I’ve never been!

  2. Love this post! We all have “the outfit” don’t we? :)

  3. THIS.  I actually have a blog post titled “self-care is not selfish” pending in my drafts right now.  It also took me a long long time to embrace yoga, but man does it do the body good!  

  4. LOL at tequila!! I really need to start listening to podcasts. I have heard awesome things about some of them!

    • They are such a great resource! I highly recommend finding one that connects with you – Food Psych + Mind Body Musings are my favs!

  5. Love this post, and I relate to so many of these points – the outfit being my number 1! haha. Re: yoga with a cut hand – I sliced a chunk of finger off a few months ago (fun times :P ) and shied away from yoga for a few weeks because I was concerned about making it worse, but turns out there are also hands-free videos on YouTube, if that’s something you could enjoy! And you’re totally right about simply modifying the poses too :) 

  6. I adore this post!! and you!! These are some amazing tips and such a great resource for when I’m in need of a little extra self-care. Hanging out with my kitty, yoga, drawing/painting/colouring, and getting out into nature are some of my favourite self-care practices. Oh and watching old episodes of Parks and Rec. 

    • Oh nature! I should’ve added that on my list! Going to an ocean would definitely be high on the self-care list if only we lived by an ocean!

  7. I just signed up for a one week free trial for Orange- Theory (of course them hoping I will join fully after the week)!
    What do you love about the workout? Things you don’t like?

    • I use the bike instead of the treadmill due to some lower back issues, so I like that they have that modification available. I like that it’s a mix of cardio and strength training. One hour long spinning classes are boring and WAY TOO LONG, so I like that OT is like a little 20 minute spin class. I’ve always loved circuit type workouts…so the strength floor portion of the class is fun for me. It’s great that every class is SO different. And I’ve never rowed a lot in my life…so that’s a fun new addition.

      I don’t like the calorie burn focus that some of the trainers have or when they mention ‘clean eating’. But I’ve found trainers who are focused more on overall health and listening to your body…and I only go to their classes. There is one trainer who I’m 98% sure has anorexia and I avoid her classes at all costs because I don’t like worrying about her heart stopping while she is demoing the exercises. I also don’t wear the heart rate monitor they encourage you to wear so you can push yourself to get into the ‘orange zone’ for ‘x’ amount of minutes. I don’t like external things telling me what to do. I much prefer to listen to my body…so I don’t wear the little monitor and I don’t get the emails after classes telling me you burned ‘x’ calories. I just wanna go and move my body and sweat!

      • I appreciate this review a lot. Evidence that certain types of workouts, gyms, or fitness studios don’t have to be off limits to me just because they mention “beach bodies” or weight loss – as long as I’m confident enough to modify how I engage with the class!

        • Absolutely! It can be a form of resilience training to hear those messages and stay centered in intuitive movement and intuitive eating!

  8. Hooray for embracing self-care!

    Some things I enjoy: a cup of hot tea, reading a book, baking, browsing the farmer’s market, and acupuncture. I started semi-regular acupuncture appointments in the last few years and I am so glad I did. It helps me a lot with ridding myself of the tension that I keep in my shoulders and back from stress. I highly recommend it.

  9. This is such a great post!! I am going to write a similar one – thanks for the inspiration :)

  10. Love love love this list!! Every single thing on here, but trade the tequila for vodka for me ;) I too have been struggling lately with morning anxiety, I’m going to have to hit up my besties for some pre work dates. Thanks for always sharing with us! My current faves are self help audio books, worship music, leisurely walks and mindless tv shows + wine. 

  11. Great post and a good reminder that we all need to take some time for ourselves and not worry about so perfect all the time! I get caught in work all the time, and I tend to be an anxious person (and I’ve struggled on and off with anorexia for most of my adult life), so I often just forget that I need to take time for myself and just slow down. My favorite self-care activities are reading and going to Sephora (I know–weird) or just going to check out one of the museums for a few hours here in DC. I love reading your posts but somehow they haven’t been coming to my inbox lately (not sure what happened), but still visiting your site to read them and try your awesome recipes!

    • I got annoyed with my newsletter lol! I thought it was so boring and I didn’t want to bother people with daily emails in their inbox! I’m trying to put together one email weekly, but I’ve been forgetting lately!

  12. Orange theory is awesome but they make cancelling very difficult!! U have to decide a full month beforehand. Just a forewarning!

    • I KNOW! That’s another thing that annoys me about them! And you have to go to the studio you initially signed up at to cancel…which is a pain for me because I go to some of the other studios they have in Houston. UGH.

  13. Love this post!

    A money-saving tip on audio books: If you are/become a member of the Houston Public Library, you have access to checking out both audio books and e-books electronically FO FREE. As much as I LOVE visiting libraries, I sort of get lost in them, and 4 hours go by, and where did my day go, so not only is it a good money saver, it’s a good time saver! And the cool thing about it is if they don’t have the book you’re looking for, you can recommend that they get it, and when they do, they’ll email you (this happened to me)!

    Also, thank you for teaching me what sculling is. #weekendgoals

    • SUCH A GOOD TIP! I’m gonna look into the Houston Public Library thing. Thank you!:)) Aww yes, sculling. Years and years of doing my neighborhood’s summer swim team taught me something!

  14. Coffee!  Massage! Bike rides with my girlfriends.  Shutting down by 8:00PM and reading and sitting on the couch until bed at 9:00.  Yoga and living in yoga pants ;-)  You have a great list.  I’ll have to consider the tequila ;-)

  15. We keep doing the same things, we literally wrote a self care (or as we call it in our house bliss list) last night.AND my list included walking around new estates checking out the new houses, coffee and dogs!!

  16. loved all these tips!! And gave me some new ideas for self-care practices. I love going for walks to clear my head. And I think having a pet can really make a difference in your happiness. Dogs are the best :) 

  17. I love this post! It’s so true that you need things in life that make you happy. Killing yourself on a strict diet and workout plan never totally work because you get so sad… Like if I don’t have that chocolate chip cookie I’m going to go crazy! Also your new kitchen looks stunning! Can’t wait to see the final product.

    Julia
    http://Bunnybaubles.com

  18. LOVE THIS POST! Self-care isn’t selfish but most definitely needed so that we can put our best selves forward. I love that you highlighted this. Although I have a membership at the Y, I’ve been trying to take advantage of free classes and deals with Barre3, Pure Barre, and Barre Belle Yoga. Yesterday evening, my twin sister and I met to take a Barre Belle Yoga class for free. This morning I participated in a free Pure Barre in the Park class and am signed up for one more free class in their studio on Monday. These classes really have been so amazing for my mind and body! Other self-care activities I love are going on mid-day walks to break away from work, hot tea with my fiancé in the evenings, reading, cuddling with our purr-babies, and cooking. :)

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  20. Dog snuggles make everything better. Self care for me is getting plenty of solo time so this introvert can recharge. I can sometimes go overboard on that though and get stuck in the house on a Netflix binge so my pup forces me to get outside for a walk.

    I also feel so much more relaxed when I commute to work on my bike in the morning.  

  21. I wish we lived close so we could do breakfast dates together! Love that idea – and this list! xoxo

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  32. Yes to pets! Cuddly dogs are the best!!

  33. I love this post! So many awesome ideas I will definitely try out.

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