Comments from Kathryn, the author of this blog and a licensed clinical social worker: A topic I hear about frequently in therapy is the difference between a healthy lifestyle (eating right, exercising, staying hydrated and getting enough sleep) and what people actually do. Thanks to TikTok and other social media sources, since the start of 2023 this lifestyle has been called “A Glow Up Plan”.
Whatever you call it, it bears discussing, especially at the beginning of the new year when everyone is looking at resolutions. It is all about becoming the best version of yourself, in whatever capacity that means to you.
Initiating a Plan
Sometimes the hardest part of a journey is the first step. It is the same for developing and following up with a glow up plan.
Low hanging fruit: Start your glow up plan with the “low hanging fruit.” Choose something that would be the easiest for you to implement, for example, drinking at least one bottle of water per day. Don’t start with, “I will never smoke cigarettes again.”
Start small: Starting small might mean saying you will walk 1,500 steps per day. Then work up to 5,000, then 10,000 steps. When you are comfortable with the first goal, then keep increasing until you have made steps a regular routine.
Replacement therapy: This part of your glow up plan is replace a “bad” habit with something less disruptive or negative. For example, replacing cigarette smoking with sucking on a lollipop.
Set reminders: Use the alarm on your phone or an app on your computer to go off as reminders to drink water or get up and move. It is very easy to lose track of time and forget to be active!
Be kind: Be kind to yourself. Expect setbacks. Whenever you are starting new, it will be a difficult process. It is completely normal to have setbacks. Don’t be so hard on yourself. But don’t give up either.
How to Glow Up Physically
Glowing up physically is taking care of your body, your vessel. Anything you do to take care of yourself mentally will not have a long-lasting effect if you do not take care of your body, too.
Drink water: Calculate the amount of water you need per day for optimal hydration, and then strive to drink that. Take your body weight, divide it in half and that is the number of ounces per day of water you should be drinking.
Diet: Eat fruits and veggies every day. You probably already know you should be wary of foods high in sodium (salt) and sugar. Have you ever thought about taking a look at the amount of sweets, fried foods and junk foods you eat?
Start a skincare and haircare routine: Think about sunscreen or moisturizer for your skin. Use a good hair conditioner and wear hats when outside. Both your skin and your hair need hydration, too!
Activity and movement: It would be great to work out for 30 minutes a day at least 5 days per week. Maybe that will be a goal of yours to strive for. But in the meantime, any activity is better than none. For example, use the stairs instead of the elevator.
Sleep: Ideally getting 7-8 hours of sleep per night is ideal, but your body may be different. You may need even more sleep for full recovery! Keeping screens (TV, computer, phone) out of the bedroom is a good start to more restful sleep.
Physical appearance: This could be many different things including trying a new hairstyle or makeup routine. It could be working on your posture (after bending over your phone or computer for hours a day). You could whiten your teeth. You might even buy a new wardrobe!
How to Glow Up Mentally
Glowing up mentally is taking care of your mind and spirit. These are the things you can do to feel better about who you are and your place in the world.
Daily spirituality: This is going to be different for different people. Your activity might be prayer or meditation. It might be walking in nature. Your daily spirituality puts you in touch with your higher spirit.
Work on your self-esteem and confidence: Self-esteem and confidence are not the same thing. Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself. Confidence is what you portray to others.
Do what pleases you: Do the things you love. Do the things that give you emotional nourishment, for example, painting, writing, reading, playing an instrument, sewing or even troubleshooting.
Surround yourself with positivity: Positivity can come from within, or it can come from surrounding yourself with positive people. Feelings can be contagious, meaning if those around you are negative, you may become negative, too!
Set SMART goals: Any goals that you set for yourself should be specific (lose weight), measurable (lose 10 pounds), attainable (I can physically do this), realistic (I can mentally do this) and timely (lose 10 pounds in 5 weeks).
Use affirmations: Affirmations should be based in gratitude and kindness. Only use affirmations you believe. Don’t say, “I can do anything” if you do not believe it. That will only lead to feeling like an imposter or worse about yourself.
Always work on self-improvement. Self-improvement could be as small as reading self-help books to as large as learning a foreign language. The idea is to be constantly in a state of learning more about yourself and what you are capable of doing.
Take Away Point
Your glow up plan is really nothing new, even though TikTok would like you to believe that it is a bright shiny new thing! A glow up plan is about doing what you need to do to be physically and mentally the best you can be.
If you need support with improving your self-esteem, try reading Stop Being Your Own Worst Critic – Using Affirmations and Journaling to Improve Your Self-Esteem
With warmest regards,
Thank you so much for reading this blog. If you enjoyed the content, please check out other blogs at:
https://relationshipsrelearned.com/my-blog/
https://rvingnomads.com/blog/
In addition to blogs and articles, I have written a series of self-help books. To view these books, please go to my Amazon Authors Page or go to the My Self-Help Books tab at the top of this page.
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