February, the month of love, is a great time to highlight what self-love really means. It means taking care of your body, mind and soul, prioritising your needs, and being gentle with yourself. 

As important as practicing positive mental health is, I believe that looking after your physical body is the most important form of self-love. Without your physical body, your mind and soul wouldn’t have a vessel to exist in. 

I encourage you to stop seeing healthy eating as ‘dieting’, and exercising as ‘punishment’, and instead celebrate every small, helpful habit you are creating which benefits your overall health. It is all connected after all. Your mental health will suffer if your physical health is not being cared for, and your physical health will deteriorate if you are not actively working on your mental health. Love yourself enough to want to become the best version of YOU. Also, if you really love the people around you, this alone should be a reason to focus on nutrition and exercise as self-love, as maintaining optimal health will ensure that you continue being an integral part of everyone’s lives.

If you would like to gift yourself the ultimate form of self-love, consider signing up for the mmach,health Becoming Your Best Self online course 😉 This is the ultimate health guide for women and you can find more details at mmacht.teachable.com . I am offering a discounted rate for All Things Charlie readers if you sign up during the month of February — send an e-mail to info@mmacht.com for more information. 

Alternatively, follow @mmachthealth on Instagram for daily inspiration and evidence-based information related to all things nutrition, exercise, and of course, self-love.