I am 47 years old and have never felt fitter, stronger or more in control. Why has it taken so long? I\u2019ll tell you why \u2013 because this self-care thing, whilst crucial, can be a really selfish way of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you may know, a lot of my work is focused on wellbeing. But the truth is, I have not been practicing what I preach and that worried me. I have an insatiable sweet tooth, have not really done much exercise worth shouting about, sit at my desk ALL day and at 5 ft 1, it became clear that the extra kilos had been piling on over the years. It was time to reset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hardest thing is to get started and \u2018they\u2019 are not wrong about that. I spent ages researching for exercise that suits me and a modified way of eating but the truth is it\u2019s all about more movement and less food. It\u2019s as simple as that. I\u2019ve heard the 10,000 steps banded around and thought this would be easy to achieve and a good starting point. I was appalled that an average working day for me consisted of about 3000 steps. We are the very few who don\u2019t have a dog so my day would consist of coming downstairs to my office, walking backwards and forwards to the kitchen and perhaps popping down to the local shops or stopping by to see a friend. So to reach 10,000 was definitely going to be a challenge and some fundamental changes were going to be needed to achieve the steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I decided to talk to a friend about this and see if she wanted to come on this journey with me, therefore keeping us both accountable. She agreed and we simply decided to move more and eat more sensibly. You Tube became our best friends \u2013 I wasn\u2019t interested in going to the gym – and there are an abundance of free exercise videos available from cardio and resistance to pilates and yoga. I am now called Jane Fonda in my house \u2013 for those of you old enough to know who that is! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
BUT to do the exercise requires time and effort. To get your 10,000 steps in requires time and effort and to prepare good sturdy meals also requires planning and effort. The reality is, this self-care lark can actually be perceived as quite an inward looking selfish way of life and I grappled with this concept for a while. Perhaps because I was new to this and to change a habit it takes time. Was I neglecting others to take care of myself? Maybe. But at 7am when no-one else really needed me I was hoping it wouldn\u2019t be too problematic. There might be a lot more protein and veg in the fridge for me but everything else is still there for everyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, as I said at the beginning I have never felt fitter, had more energy or felt stronger and it has taken me 47 years to get here. I suppose better late than never. I have realised that no self-care is not selfish, it is vital and anyone that wants to call me selfish can come and find me!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zoe Sinclair, Founder, Employees Matter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I am 47 years old and have never felt fitter, stronger or more in control. Why has it taken so long? I\u2019ll tell you why \u2013 because this self-care thing, whilst crucial, can be a really selfish way of living. As you may know, a lot of my work is focused on wellbeing. But the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1642,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n