Put Yourself First: Tips to Take Care of You

Put Yourself First: Tips to Take Care of You

 Women are notorious for putting the needs of others ahead of their own. But bringing yourself into the spotlight¹ will give you the energy and enthusiasm you need to be at your best. Does the mere² thought of putting yourself first make you cringe? Here's why it shouldn't and a few ways to prioritize taking care of you.

FIND BALANCE IN YOUR TO-DO LIST

Stress often spikes³ in the summertime, when kids are home from school and vacations have to be planned and scheduled. If you're taking care of the house, work and family -- and neglecting yourself -- there's no balance in your life. Studies show that not taking time for yourself and fulfilling your needs, puts your health at risk, so you're less capable to meet life's demands. It's a downward spiral.

One way to alleviate⁴ some of the demands is to have a family meeting to coordinate⁵ other family members helping⁶ out with the daily chores and errands. You might even consider a nanny or working with extended family to take care of your kids, if they are too young to do chores; it will give you a few more precious hours in the day and better balance your daily to-do list.

INSTANT WAYS TO RECHARGE AND REVITALIZE

Feel as though you need a few rejuvenating⁸ days of not-lifting-a-finger at a spa? You may not have the luxury of time or money for that kind of indulgence, but it's the little changes you incorporate into your daily life that make the biggest impact. Start with these four "instant" strategies to rev⁷ your energy: move more, eat well, rest up and get connected.

TAKE CARE OF YOU: MOVE MORE

1. Start a morning walking group with neighborhood friends. A group activity provides the motivation and social support. Once you do it, you'll feel great for the rest of the day.

2. Squeeze in physical activity throughout your day. Walk up and down the sidelines at your kids' soccer games or practice mini-sprints around the playground at the park. Do lunges or squats⁹ while you watch your favourite TV show and switch to sit-ups or push-ups during the commercials. Buy a cordless phone so you can stand up and walk around while you're talking. Every bit counts.

3. Make fitness a family event and play with your kids. Run with a game of tag, skip rope, throw a Frisbee¹⁰ or kick a soccer ball around an obstacle course. Not only does this get the whole family moving, it also affords you important quality family time.

4. Get active during your vacation. Sometimes family vacations can feel more draining than staying at home. To help you reap the vacay rewards, make a concerted effort to connect with nature. Swim for 20 minutes if you're staying near a lake, bring your bike or inline skates along, too.

TAKE CARE OF YOU: EAT WELL

5. Forget fad¹¹ dieting. Resist the urge to crash-diet — it will only make you tired and cranky. A sensible approach that includes a healthy diet and regular exercise is the best route to looking and feeling good.

6. Eat fresh. Plan outings to farmers' markets or pick your own produce, so you'll have fresh fruits and vegetables on hand.

7. Snack smart. Stock up on good-for-you snacks for road trips and look for items flagged as healthy at restaurants while on vacation.

8. Forgo¹² the high-calorie drinks. Limit those high-calorie iced coffees topped with or without the whipped cream and sundae-style sauce available at most coffee shops. They're a calorie wasteland that will sabotage¹³ your diet and drain your energy, not to mention your wallet.

TAKE CARE OF YOU: REST UP

9. Make sleep a top priority. There are so many benefits from a good seven hours of sleep each night. It improves your mood, heightens your concentration and can help you manage your weight by regulating your appetite. Make sleep a priority, especially when you're juggling¹⁴ family, work, chores and your social life.

10. Catch a catnap. Lighten up the schedule during a vacation to give yourself a little extra time to sleep in or take a blissful afternoon nap.

11. Don't lie in bed and stew¹⁵. If you're having trouble sleeping, get up after 20 minutes or so and do something that relaxes you, such as reading a magazine on the couch or sipping¹⁶ a cup of calming chamomile tea.

12. Create a sleeping sanctum. Keep the bedroom for sleep, not TV time or discussions about money or major issues. When you go to bed with a busy brain, it's more difficult to mellow¹⁷ out and drift off to sleep.

TAKE CARE OF YOU: GET CONNECTED

13. Stay social. Having a social network of friends and family that you keep plugging into will lift your spirits and your energy level.

14. Reach out. Make a standing¹⁸ date with a friend, such as a movie night or brunch¹⁹ every two or three weeks. If you can't see your friend in person as often as you'd like, send her a note to say hello.

15. Rekindle²⁰ a friendship. Make contact with an old friend by a phone call or e-mail and plan an outing. Friends provide balance and can offer a fresh point of view when you need it most.

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

3 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

5 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

8 rejuvenating   

使变得年轻，使恢复活力( rejuvenate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The rejuvenating ambience of autumn is immeasurably more ancient than even the calendar. 秋天那让人恢复青春活力的气氛远比历法还要古老。 来自名作英译部分
• Rhoda says that it's embarrassing to be so idolized, but also very sweet and rejuvenating. 罗达说，给人这样过份地崇拜是很发窘的，不过也是愉快惬意使人年轻的。

9 squats   

n.蹲坐，蹲姿( squat的名词复数 )；被擅自占用的建筑物v.像动物一样蹲下( squat的第三人称单数 )；非法擅自占用（土地或房屋）；为获得其所有权；而占用某片公共用地。

参考例句：

• The square squats in the centre of the city. 广场位于市中心。 来自互联网
• Various squats, lunges, jumps and sprints are incorporated for the humans. 主人们还要进行下蹲、弓步、跳跃和短跑等各项训练。 来自互联网

10 frisbee   

n.飞盘(塑料玩具)

参考例句：

• We always go to the park on weekends and play Frisbee.我们每个周末都会到公园玩飞盘。
• The frisbee is a light plastic disc,shaped like a plate.飞盘是一种碟形塑料盘。

11 fad   

n.时尚；一时流行的狂热；一时的爱好

参考例句：

• His interest in photography is only a passing fad.他对摄影的兴趣只是一时的爱好罢了。
• A hot business opportunity is based on a long-term trend not a short-lived fad.一个热门的商机指的是长期的趋势而非一时的流行。

12 forgo   

v.放弃，抛弃

参考例句：

• Time to prepare was a luxuary he would have to forgo.因为时间不够，他不得不放弃做准备工作。
• She would willingly forgo a birthday treat if only her warring parents would declare a truce.只要她的父母停止争吵，她愿意放弃生日宴请。

13 sabotage   

n.怠工，破坏活动，破坏；v.从事破坏活动，妨害，破坏

参考例句：

• They tried to sabotage my birthday party.他们企图破坏我的生日晚会。
• The fire at the factory was caused by sabotage.那家工厂的火灾是有人蓄意破坏引起的。

14 juggling   

n. 欺骗, 杂耍(=jugglery) adj. 欺骗的, 欺诈的 动词juggle的现在分词

参考例句：

• He was charged with some dishonest juggling with the accounts. 他被指控用欺骗手段窜改账目。
• The accountant went to prison for juggling his firm's accounts. 会计因涂改公司的帐目而入狱。

15 stew   

n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑

参考例句：

• The stew must be boiled up before serving.炖肉必须煮熟才能上桌。
• There's no need to get in a stew.没有必要烦恼。

16 sipping   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
• She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。

17 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

18 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

19 brunch   

n.早午餐

参考例句：

• They eat much the same thing for brunch every day.每天早午餐他们总是吃同样的东西。
• What did you have for your brunch?你早午饭都吃些什么？

20 rekindle   

v.使再振作；再点火

参考例句：

• Nothing could rekindle her extinct passion.她激情已逝,无从心回意转。
• Is there anything could rekindle his extinct passion?有什么事情可重燃他逝去的热情呢？