New Year Resolutions.

Happy Christmas my lovelies! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and I hope the new year brings you lots of happiness. I got lovely gifts in all shapes and sizes this Christmas, but the part I enjoy the most every year is spending the day with my loved ones.

So, as you can probably guess since we’re at the end of 2019, today’s post is all about my new year resolutions and if I managed to stick to the ones I made at the start of the year.

At the beginning of the year, I made resolutions to:

• Cycle to work.
• Read more.
• Continue writing my blog here.
• Learn to love my body more for everything it is and does.
• Wearing what I want to, regardless of other people’s opinions.
• Raise some money for charity through RED January.

First up, I did manage to cycle to work over the course of January, which was pretty good for me. One thing I didn’t account for when deciding to cycle more was that my chronic back pain would actually get a lot worse with cycling to work; this led to me having to stop cycling, but as soon as my health is in a better place, I will definitely start this up again as it was great for my mental health!

Next up I resolved that I wanted to read more. This one I did manage! I’ve read several body positive books, started listening to (and found a love for) audio books and I’m currently re-reading all of the Harry Potter books.

I of course have kept up with my third resolution of continuing my blog, because you’re reading this post now!

I’m very happy to let you know that since making the decision to learn to love my body at the beginning of the year, I have definitely made some big steps towards loving my body in the past year. One of the biggest things that has made a difference in my body image was finding a way to love exercise again, and exercising for the right reasons. Ever since beginning the be.come project, my attitude and outlook on physical activity has changed for life!

Going hand in hand with learning to love my body was wearing whatever clothes I wanted, and that was a huge success, now when I get ready in the morning it doesn’t even cross my mind that others will have an opinion about my clothes. After all, your own opinion on your appearance is the only one that matters.

Finally, I took part in RED January to raise some money for MIND which I did indeed complete and I managed to raise a small some to give to the mental health organisation.

So, with all of that reflecting done, what am I resolving to do in 2020?

Well..

• Continue last years resolutions.
• Find out what works for me now that I am off the pill (there will be a post about this when I’ve been a year free of it!).
• Find a skincare routine that works to help my adult acne (one of the cons to coming off the pill I was on for my acne).
• Make more time for my art.
• Finally get a diagnosis for my chronic back pain.
• Find a good work life balance and boundaries.
• Declutter every 3 months and try to stick to a minimalist approach to material things (I’m about to Marie Kondo this sitch!)
• Eat more vegetables and have meat free days in the week.
• Drink more water.
• Create a morning routine that works for me.
• Finally, I’m going to give up alcohol completely – I won’t lie, this one is super easy for me since I once have a drink once in a blue moon.

And those are my new years resolutions! I want to say a huge thank you to all of you who follow, read and support my blog, you really do mean the world to me and I certainly wouldn’t be where I am without you! And with that, that’s all from me! What’re your new years resolutions? Let me know in the comments!

Have a happy new year!

Love,

Why I’m Refusing To Make New Years Resolutions About My Body.

Hello my lovelies! I hope you have all had a happy Christmas and a very peaceful few days in the lead up to the end of the year! And of course, because we’re coming up to the New Year, New Years resolutions are popping up all over the place.

Which brings me to this post. For as long as I can remember, I have made New Years resolutions each year; and EVERY SINGLE ONE has been about how my body looks and my weight. It’s always along the lines of: I will lose weight, I will drop a dress size, I will change my body, I will go to the gym 6 times a week, I will stop eating certain foods etc. etc. etc.

This year I REFUSE to make a resolution about changing my body.

Now, some of you who are subscribed to my blog will know that I have spoken out about my body image issues and having suffered with Anorexia (see my previous post about it here!). Well, this past year I have been lucky enough to get some help and support and I am happy to announce that I am in recovery!

Writing this post came from seeing everyone’s resolutions on social media, with the majority of them being about their bodies and how they want them to look; and before I started my recovery journey, mine would have been like that too. I started thinking about what I want for the new year ahead and for the first time in.. well forever, I don’t know what my resolution should be if it isn’t about my appearance.

Here’s why I’m refusing to make my new years resolutions about my body:

• My body does NOT need to change to be beautiful. It already is.
• Resolving to eat less food/calories is stupid, food is fuel and we need energy to do all the amazing things we want to accomplish.
• Food is not ‘good’ or ‘bad’ it’s just food.
• Taking up less space does NOT mean I am a better human being.
• Losing weight does not solve all your problems.
• Spending hours in the gym trying to make my body into something it’s naturally not supposed to be is useless. And boring!

Here’s when it’s okay to make a new years resolution about your body:

• Deciding to get help with a medical condition or something you’ve been struggling with.
• Deciding to love your body.
• Resolving to develop a healthy relationship with food and exercise. And no I don’t mean deciding to go on a so-called ‘healthy’ diet that makes you hate yourself and feel guilty for eating!!

So, because I am not making any resolutions to do with changing my body here are some resolutions that I AM making:

• Riding my bike to work instead of driving so I become more confident in cycling. (I just got my first bike this Christmas!)
• Read more.
• Continue writing my blog, it’s by far one of the best things I decided to do this past year and I absolutely love it!
• Learning to love my body more for everything it is and does.
• Wearing clothes that I feel comfortable and confident in, regardless of what other people think.
• Raise some money for charity. (you can check out my JustGiving page for MIND here if you want to!)

Those are just a few of my many resolutions for the new year; and I just want to share with you how much I truly appreciate every single one of you for reading, commenting, liking and interacting with me on here. You have made my year so happy and I can’t thank you enough for all of your support! What’re your new years resolutions? Let me know if the comments!!

I hope you all have a great New Years Eve and a very Happy New Year! Love,

P.S. Thank you for voting for me and all of the other amazing bloggers nominated in the UKBloggerAwards!!