No Calorie, Easy Self-care: Simple Ways to Savor and Indulge Without Gaining Weight

No-calorie self-care treats for YOU

We’re nearing the end of the 30 Day Self-care Challenge.  Mother’s Day is approaching, and I’m continually being asked—

“How do I fit in self-care?”

“How do I actually indulge and reward myself without turning to food?”

“I’m out of practice—what are some do-able and easy self-care ideas?”

High quality self-care begins with good intentions, but it only counts when you find ways to follow through, put yourself first, and prioritize and act on the things that make you shine and feel fabulous. There are at least two types of self-care.

The basic foundational pieces include things like sleep, good nutrition, regular activity and stress relief. These keep you functioning and in good condition. Then there are the lovely, special self-care actions you take on your own behalf—the ways you indulge, treat yourself, and gift yourself with kindness and good stuff. Unfortunately, this is the fantabulous aspect of self-care that too many busy women decide they don’t have time for—or that they don’t deserve—or that they need to work even harder to earn.

Important note: you don’t have to earn the right to high quality self-care and every single one of us deserves to be treated fabulously.

You know what happens. When you don’t get what you need, or when you expect to do without and live solely on hard work and the things you “should” do, life not only gets tedious, but stress builds, and so do habits like overeating and emotional eating—ways women try to make up for not getting what they are really craving.

Treating yourself is important. And yet, if you aren’t used to doing it, if you are busy and overloaded, you might have a tough time figuring out where to start. Guess what? I’ve made it easy. Whether you’re looking for ways to continue the self-care challenge, treat yourself, or even find the perfect Mother’s Day gift for another busy woman, I want you to have new, do-able, fun ideas to get the ball rolling—no matter how busy you find yourself.

Full disclosure: In my search to bring you some fresh ideas, I put the word out about what I was looking for. I learned about some of the ideas featured on this list because companies sent me samples to try. Other ideas are some I’ve come to love all on my own. I am not receiving any  compensation from any of the companies featured here.

Fun Self-care: Simple Ways to Savor and Indulge Without Gaining Weight (no matter how busy you are)

Indulging is about savoring and experiencing fully, and this means really engaging your senses. Any time you are looking for fun self-care, think about ways you can really engage and delight your sense of touch, taste, hearing, smell, or sight.

The Perfect Mother’s Day Delight

I used to think the smell of roses was too old and too much, but lately, it seems like the rose scents have changed. The One Hundred Roses line is perfect—and how fitting if you are looking for a special Mother’s Day gift for yourself or someone else. The One Hundred Roses Bubble Bath is infused with essential oils of fresh cut roses and summer flowers, rosewater and natural extracts. Take a mug of tea, or a glass of your favorite wine into the bath with a great book and you may just have created the ultimate self-care indulgence. No time for a bath? The body lotion smells just as good.

Spa Day for the Time-challenged

If a bubble bath sounds delightful but you just don’t have the time, an Aromatherapy Shower Burst might be what you’re looking for. When taking a bath isn’t an option these 100% natural Shower Bursts transform your ordinary shower into an aromatherapy experience. Place one burst on the floor in the shower and let the indirect spray activate the aromatherapy experience.  Made of 100% essential oils, you can pick a scent that fits your mood. Oh, and in case you wonder like I did, they don’t make a mess or leave gunk in your shower. 

A Facial for your Hands

That’s what I labeled the experience that I got when I tried out the therapeutic hand scrub and cream from Seed. In the time it takes to wash your hands, you massage a bit of the 100% natural seed scrub into the backs and the palms of your hands. It feels great and exfoliates (something I’ve never done to my hands before). Then you use their hand cream—I loved the relaxing lavender. My hands felt great, the quick treatment was stress relieving, and the smell of the hand cream lingered. This is truly simple self-care.

Sink into Yourself

Gift yourself by giving yourself time and the opportunity to connect with yourself. One of the most powerful tools for knowing yourself and staying tuned in to what you need, want, and feel is journaling. Make it a treat by downloading your words into something gorgeous and substantial. I love the feel of a brand new, blank journal—just don’t let the beauty of the book intimidate you. These are made for free associating, scribbling, and, yes, making mistakes. It’s all good. Paperblanks makes beautiful journals and they are widely available in stores and online.

Escape and Savor your Surroundings

It’s so easy to miss the delights that are happening all around us. That’s why I loved the suggestion I received from Sweet-seed. Recovering from surgery a few years ago, my husband discovered a whole new, relaxing world as he sat trapped in a recliner and noticed the birds in our backyard in a new way. Since then, we’ve added more bird feeders and learned that the quality of the bird food makes a difference in the birds we attract—and we’ve had a great time just sitting, watching, and listening to all the life that happens right in front of us.

And for the Really Time Strapped

Let’s get one thing straight. Self-care is not optional and I don’t believe there is no time for it in your life. I challenge you to claim the time. That said, in writing this article, I was reminded that there are simple ways to feed your senses well in the midst of all kinds of experiences. Even cleaning your kitchen. Doing simple acts, like scrubbing your sink, mindfully and with your senses engaged can ground you, help you quiet your mind and reduce your stress. The key is being aware and being present. Creating a rewarding sensory experience helps a lot with this. If this is how you are spending the moment, why not upgrade the experience? Lemon Road introduced me to their all-natural scented kitchen cleaners for your home. These handcrafted cleaners for your sink contain essential oils and actually do smell great. The citrus spice scouring powder really does help shift the experience and just might help pull you back into yourself in the midst of a busy day.Take this idea and run with it. How can you upgrade the sensory in your day to day?

Give Yourself Permission

I hope these ideas have helped. That said, it might not be a lack of ideas that has you stuck. Easy and consistent self-care requires a mindset that allows you to prioritize your own needs and possibly a new approach that allows you to find the time. Putting yourself first isn’t selfish. It’s actually critical for thriving in your life and creating long term success. If you struggle with keeping yourself on your radar and claiming the time and the energy you need and reserve, the How to Put Yourself First 7 Day Blast-off may be just the place to begin.

Life is too short not to live your best version of it. I hope this list helps you infuse more high quality self-care into your days.

Take good care,