Last week I had some time off, I was sitting on the couch relaxing and before you know it an hour had passed and I had hardly taken my eyes off my phone. I had spent my time scrolling through blogs, profiles and news feeds.

To be honest this struck me as quite a sad thing. What could I have been doing in this 1 hour I spent sitting on my butt stalking the lives of others? So I decided to have some time off social media and this is what I learnt.

I was more active

Instead of sitting on the couch after work or on my breaks I walked, cleaned the house and one day even went for a run at lunchtime

I actually saw the sunrise

So many times I will jump out of bed before work and sit on the couch with the curtains down and check Facebook until I am a little bit more awake. I am usually so focused on how many likes or shares my last post got that I forget to look at what is going on in the real world around me

My friends messaged me and asked how my week was

I am a person who blogs and status updates non-stop throughout the week. I didn’t realise but throughout the week I am telling everyone so much about my life that there is nothing for us to discuss when we catch up or there is no reason to text me. (this was probably the most confronting thing I learnt this week)

I ate mindfully

Until I stopped using social media I didn’t realise how much I look at it while I am eating. I noticed that this week I enjoyed the food I was eating more than usual and was more aware that I was actually eating. This resulted in me eating less overall as I listened to my hunger cues and stopped eating when I was satisfied, instead of demolishing everything on my plate

I got more done

I was so incredibly productive this week. I got a lot of work stuff organised and also spent more time doing things that keep me sane and make me happy such as writing in my journal and reading

The biggest thing I took out of this week was that I felt happier, less stressed and more content. I definitely think I am a person who seeks out everyone’s opinion and acceptance of me. So by posting on Facebook, Instagram and other social media channels I spend a great deal of time hoping that someone will like or share my posts.

Moving forward…

Instead of spending time on trying to impress other people and gain acceptance I am going to focus my energy on writing good content that people can use to change their health and improve their relationship with food.

Jess xx

If you like what I do then please like my Facebook and Instagram page.You can also subscribe to the blog via e-mail.