Reality Check: Real Self-Care Isn’t About Weight Loss
The Real Reason to Prioritize Self-Care
(Hint: It’s Not About Your Size)
Have you ever started a diet to lose weight quickly for a wedding, vacation, or big event? It might work for a season… but then, for some reason, old habits return. Then we try again in another season… sometimes even going months or years without real success. Sound familiar? If your motivation is solely to wear a smaller size or get skinny fast, that motivation fades—fast.
Why Quick Fixes Don’t Last (and What to Do Instead)
Let’s step away from the shallow water of dieting and step into something deeper. Yes, the deep can feel uncomfortable, but it expands your capacity.
It’s not about how you look. It’s not about what you weigh. It’s about how you care for your body.
Honestly? Many of us start with a quick-fix goal, and that’s okay. But let’s deepen that mindset. Be mindful of your progress and focus on what really matters—how you care for what you’ve been given.
We’ve Been Sold a Lie
We’ve been told the lie that loving our bodies will happen once we reach a certain weight or size. But here’s the truth: You can hit every goal on the scale and still feel empty. Love for your body doesn’t come from shrinking it—it comes from nourishing it. True health is about how you feel, the energy you have, and the life you’re able to live. When your body is healthy, it can hold more light. And isn’t light what we’re all really searching for?
Let’s keep moving forward and explore what creates that lasting light.
TAKE THE TIME…BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR BODY.
It’s often more important to first understand how your body reacts to strategies than to try to follow every nutrition rule perfectly. You might already have lots of good health habits… but what for? Don’t make your health routines feel like a chore. Give them meaning. That’s when everything starts to shift.
Your results multiply when you stop “performing” health—and instead, start building a relationship with your body. Because here’s the thing: health isn’t “on or off.” And it doesn’t thrive in all-or-nothing mentalities.
Just like every meaningful relationship in your life, this one takes practice and consistent effort. It takes time. In fact, the deepest relationships you’ll ever have—those rooted in true love—always involve time and sacrifice.
LOVE is actually spelled T-I-M-E.
Treat your body like someone you love deeply. Be proud of what it can do. Admire the way it carries you through your life and supports your unique talents. This is how I see it: I treat my body and my spirit as if they are two separate elements that both need to be strengthened and nourished.
I know what my BODY needs and how it responds. I know what my SPIRIT needs and how it responds.
I nourish each of them separately—with the best methods I can find—and yet, they improve together.
It’s kind of like raising two kids under one roof. You love them the same, but you understand they each have different needs. So you parent them with intention.
Prioritize your body and your spirit. They were both designed to progress in this life. And they’re meant to become better—together. Your body is literally housing every experience and emotion you’ve ever had. And you can—and should—love it.
It just takes time and practice.
When you build a relationship with your body, here’s what starts to happen:
• The chore of exercise becomes the love of movement and strength.
• The chore of eating vegetables becomes the love of using God’s gifts from the earth to restore and replenish your body.
• The “shoulds” become “wants.”
• The guilt turns into gratitude.
When you align your actions with your beliefs—and give it the TIME it takes—your life begins to feel full of love and light.
LOVE yourself.
Spend TIME caring for your body.
I promise it’s worth it.
Make it stand out
Have you ever walked through a beautifully cared-for garden? Think of those stunning park gardens—trimmed hedges, rounded boxwoods, lush green grass, and vibrant flowers. The kind of place where each branch is guided by a gardener’s watchful eye, pruning and shaping it to arch just right over the path.
These gardens didn’t just appear overnight. They were cultivated with time, care, and patience.
Now, imagine the difference between a tended garden and one that has been neglected. One is thriving, inviting, and full of opportunity—the other is overgrown, stiff, and lacking vitality.
The same applies to your health and body:
• You can’t rush the process if you want true, lasting results.
• It takes small, consistent efforts every single day.
• If your health is neglected, it becomes weighed down, depleted, and overgrown in ways you don’t want.
HEALTH = INTENTION IN EVERY AREA OF LIFE
“HEALTH is adding a level of intention to every area of your life.” First, ask yourself: What is intention? It’s defined as “an aim or plan.” To have a plan for anything, you have to think about it before it happens.
Health isn’t just what you eat or how you exercise. True health is about showing up with thoughtful, consistent intention—in every area of your life.
Those areas?
Physical. Spiritual. Social. Intellectual.
(We’ll break each of these down more in an upcoming post, so be sure to check back. That’s where the transformation really begins.)
Routines Over Results
Now that you understand the importance of intention, let’s talk about where it really takes root—in your daily routine. It’s very common to believe that when we strive to “be healthy,” it’s a place we eventually arrive at…We picture that day when we’re finally deemed “fit.”
Guess what? It’s never quite like that. When you constantly chase just the results, you miss the joy in the journey to become. If the result is your main focus, it’s easy to feel like you’re either “on or off” a diet, doing “good or bad” based on arbitrary goals… But true health doesn’t work like that.
When you focus on routines instead, something shifts. The days start to feel lighter. The rhythm of your life begins to hum with purpose. Light and happiness start showing up—even in the hard moments.
That’s the magic of routine.
A routine.
A pattern.
A rhythm.
A system.
When the focus is the routine, then the waiting becomes the fun part. True self-care extends beyond diet and exercise. It also includes:
7–8 hours of quality sleep to restore your body
Daily detoxing through hydration and whole foods
Regular fasting (when appropriate) for digestion and renewal
Words of inspiration and lifelong learning for the soul
Acts of service to bring joy and fulfillment
Kindness—to yourself and others
Simple Daily Health Routine:
Morning Routine:
🍋 Lemon water (Learn more here)
🏃 Movement
Afternoon Routine:
🥗 Nutritious high-protein salad or smoothie (My go-to recipe here)
💊 Omega-3 supplement
Evening Routine:
🌙 A moment of peace in preparation for tomorrow
🛌 Prioritize sleep. 7-8 hours of quality sleep helps restore your body (Learn more)
Routines bring rhythms, rhythms bring grace, and grace brings results.
Let Go of the Comparison Trap
There will always be someone smaller. There will always be someone leaner.
DON’T COMPARE.
Comparison is the thief of joy.
Instead of striving for an unrealistic standard, take what you’ve been given and treat it like the priceless gift it is. Aside from our ability to choose, our bodies are one of the greatest gifts we’ve been given. Let’s care for them with love, gratitude, and purpose. Let’s stop chasing smaller sizes and start building habits that bring energy, confidence, and longevity.
Final Takeaway
Because when we take care of our bodies the right way, the rewards go far beyond aesthetics. Prioritize self-care for health, for energy, for life. It will pay you back in ways more valuable than you can imagine.
Fuel Your Day with More Wellness Tips
Craving more bite-sized wellness tips? Join me over on Instagram @live.right.nutrition where I share daily inspiration, simple nutrition advice, and real-life ways to fuel your body with grace—not guilt. Let’s keep your health journey fun, doable, and full of joy.
