If you had a month to “Glow Up” what would you do?

[AmIjustgrumpy]

I’ve come out of the summer feeling heavy, lethargic and generally crap! Over indulgence, crappy sleep cos of heat and said over indulgence, bloated, tired and general “meh”. Work has been stressful, I rarely find the time to do things for myself, or I think I don’t have the time but I probably do, I would just rather have a glass of wine and a bar of chocolate in the evenings, followed by thick doughy white bread toast in the mornings…you get the picture!

I had the week off work last week and decided not to spend £££ going away or to use the week as another excuse to overindulge because I’m “on holiday”. I gave myself the week to have a bit of a reset and I feel better but want to continue for the month of October.

I’ve cut out alcohol and bread mainly, I’ve had a nice sweet treat everyday but generally tried to eat a lot healthier, I’ve had a hair cut and dye, had my nails and toes painted, eyebrow wax, been to the hygienist, have introduced more exercise daily, got to bed at a reasonable time. Introduced some daily vitamins/supplements.

Interested to get ideas of what you would do if you had a month to reset and feel great?

Thanks

Oooh I love a glow up thread! Your ideas sound pretty much where I would start too. Colour my hair, use my tooth whitening, cut out alcohol (knock on effect is better sleep which is probably the biggest glow up for me) , plan some nice meals and stick to my diet. All basic stuff. Advanced glow up might be do something like a 30 day workout video (Caroline Girvan does a variety on YouTube) or aim to get 10k steps a day. This time of year I like to get my autumn things down and try on a few outfits.

If I had the time/ money I would make sure to do 3-4 pilates classes a week, get my teeth whitened, book in to get my hair/nails/eyebrows done.

Also depending on budget, I would try and grt some in office lasers like Halo or even a CO2 laser done on my skin - they can give great results, but the down time is a little brutal and not very work friendly.

Following as I will poo back later.
no caffeine after 12pm has helped my sleep no end. That and a huge sugar reduction. No tea ever!! Fancy memory foam pillow

Sleep! Prioritise unwinding at the end of the night, going to bed at a decent time and getting quality sleep.

Lock in new habits esp exercise, food changes and drink much more water.

Spend the month investing in yourself. I don’t mean money but spend time doing things that make you happy, go at a slower pace, prioritise rest and time to carve out your new way of living.

The advice I would have is to not make lots of huge changes. Make a few important ones and stick with them.

Giving up alcohol is a key one. You’ll look better and feel better after a month (take a selfie! You’ll be astonished the comparison), but it won’t last if you go back to drinking.

Movement is also important. But you have to be able to sustain it. Same with sleep and going to bed on time.

I wouldn’t change anything more than that because if you want lasting sustainable change, there’s no way you can sustain 20 changes. But you can do 2 or 3.

If it was me, I’d give up alcohol and start moving more in some way.

I love this thread. OP it sounds like you want to not just look better but feel better.

What about massage, new high thread count bedding and PJs?

I’d love to join.

I had 2 glasses of wine last night, and feel utterly horrendous this morning, on a beautiful autumn morning. I’m really questioning why I do this to myself. It’s really not worth that 20 minutes of feeling relaxed on a Friday night.
So I will happily cut that out for October.

I have my nails and brows booked for Thursday. I usually only get my nails done in December, but want a nice autumnal colour for October.

Daily walks (have a dog, so a regular walker anyway)

Lift weights. I do it a couple of times a day, count to 100. You’d be really surprised at how toned your arms will become.

Skincare every night,
SPF every morning, hair conditioner mask once a week.

Exercise in the fresh air every day - swim in the sea if possible.
No alcohol.
Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Plenty of sleep.
Drink lots of water, cut down on caffeine and sugar.
Splash of olive oil on a salad every day - makes such a difference to my skin.
Body brush skin every day.
Body lotion every day.
Manicure, pedicure, deep condition hair.
Do something lovely for myself every day e.g. a soak in the bath with my book.

Thanks all - some good things to add and think about.

I exercise quite a bit outdoors anyway but have been hindered a bit on my daily walking so going to increase that, have also got back into some cycling and strength classes.

I have been alcohol free a few times, sometimes up to 2 years so know how much better I feel when I ditch it altogether. It’s usually because of how much it affects my sleep now I’m a bit older that I decide to cut it out completely, but with a bit of life/work stress and “ooh wouldn’t a rose be nice in the sunshine” I’ve noticed I’ve drank more in the last three months - already a week off and my sleep has improved 👏

Going to try the body brushing and definitely increase water intake.

Drink lots of water
a deep cleanse facial always make my skin a bit glowy
maybe go through your wardrobe and put some outfits together you feel good in

I think you are doing well with the variety of changes you have suggested. Please don't be tempted to go to a store type place where you get a makeover in an hour type thing (60 minute makeover etc.) because my neighbour did this and she came out looking like Freddie Starr and I have a photo of the 2 of them next to each other and you can't tell them apart

bed at 9pm so lovely and rested in morning
buy a really great book every week and start the day with an hour of reading
clear out anything from clothes that you don’t wear or feel great in - than put together some things in a new way
massage once a week
walk in nature somewhere beautiful once a week
keratin treatment for hair
sit in a beautiful church once a week in quiet

hilarious !
yes i think only ever worth doing those things if you see someone on a counter who looks makeup wise exactly how you want to and collar them to tell you what they use !

Food/drinks: less fizzy drinks and more water (I don’t really drink anything else, apart from occasionally fruit juice). When my new freezer arrives, I’m filling it with homemade meals so that I just have to defrost and throw it in the oven after work.

Appearance: hygienist appointment, laser hair removal, laser for rosacea, permanent hair straightening… anything to make self-care more low maintenance!

Relaxation: A monthly deep tissue massage, an Indian head massage and reflexology.

More variety of exercise… I am a farm worker, so get plenty of exercise at work. However, if I had more time and energy (and things didn’t clash), I’d like to do more swimming, ice skating and aerial silks.

More sleep, although if I wanted 8-9 hours of sleep a night, I’d have to go to bed as soon as I got home from work!

This ❤️

Get a good lash serum and use it every night then after 4-6 weeks or so get a lash tint and lift to open up your eyes.

why no tea? even decaff tea?

When I do a slow up I get a pen and paper and draw an out line of a body.
This helps me to focus. Ill have a line going to each part that I want to address. Eg like to hair and then write cut and colour, then to my 11 lines , Botox, eyeslashes tint, eyebrows threaded and waxed and tint. And so on working down to my feet for pedicure, line to shins for extra body oil, arms for dry brushing and so on.

If I've got an event coming up I put a date when to start or get things booked in.

This may not be for everyone but having a visual helps me to see what needs doing and when.

Ha ha ha this takes me back to when I had a few hours free in London after some meetings and before an evening event to went to
Selfridges and did the very same thing. I came out into the harsh daylight and people were staring at me, I looked like a drag queen and had to run to Boots to get some make up remover!

I did this too! I went to meet my friend afterwards and she said 'Why did they do that to you?!?!?!'