Loving Myself this Valentine's Day • diy mama

Valentine’s Day means different things to different people. Some people share elaborate dates with their partners while others feel the pressure to have a partner when they are single. I choose to think of Valentine’s Day as a day to share love in whatever way you want. That could mean with a partner, a friend, someone in need or yourself.

Our Family Tradition

Our family is starting a new tradition this year. I got the idea from Miranda Anderson’s Episode 17 podcast on How to Plan Your Year. She talked about how her family celebrates different holidays and how her family celebrates V-day aligned with our family values. I bought a Valentine’s Day backpack/mailbox thingy last year after the holiday on major clearance. At the Dollar Store, I picked up a few things like socks, sunglasses and lip balm to put in the backpacks along with a card I wrote for each girl. When they wake up in the morning they will wake up to waffles cooking and a book at their spot at the table. I chose a few National Geographic Readers for Soph, an Elmo flap book for Lilly, and a Neil Gaiman book for Jeffrey.

I wanted to start the tradition of giving small, useful items in their backpack along with a book tailored to their specific tastes while focusing on sharing our love with each other. I’m hoping this will start the morning off filled with love and gratitude so we can share these feelings with our friends throughout the day.

Loving Myself This Valentine’s Day

We just got back from a week of fun and relaxation in Anna Maria Island. We’ve been going the past few years to visit my snowbird in-laws.

On this trip, I tried hard to be mindful of what I was eating because I’d been doing the Fasterway to Fatloss program for the previous month. I’d been working with my coach, Brooke, on learning how to track macros, cut out dairy and gluten, and do intermittent fasting. Week by week we would introduce one new thing and it was a super manageable way to learn how to fuel my body and what was working to make me feel energized.

What I learned from my vacation:

Once you cut out dairy and gluten, your body hates you when you eat it again. I was more lethargic and bloated and had a hard time getting enough energy despite getting 8 hours of sleep each night and doing my runs every other day. My body was trying to figure out what in the world I was feeding it. The program does a great job of explaining why your body needs different foods and I worked with my coach to figure out what portions of each food group were best for me.

By paying for a program like The Fasterway to Fatloss, doing my monthly massages and joining a running group, I’m showing myself that I’m worth investing in. I’m not motivated to work out on my own, so I joined a group that would keep me accountable as I train for my 10k. My family has no interest in eating healthy, so I asked Brooke to help coach me through a program that would change my eating habits long term.

What are you doing to show yourself love this Valentine’s Day?