My New Year's Eczema Resolutions

I’ll be honest, I haven’t really been the best at taking care of my eczema this year. I’ve been forgetful and haven’t been sticking to my diet as much as I’d like. I have been lax about using my balms as much as I should. All and all, I’ve just been downright negligent towards it. But I want to change that and with the new year just around the corner, this is a great time to start fresh and make some new year’s resolutions.

Pay more attention to my diet

This last year I’ve been horrible about what food I eat. I’ve been constantly eating fast food, drinking more soda, consuming more bread and dairy products than I should. Fast food has been hard for me to avoid the most lately. Whenever I’m out with friends or family, it's always the easiest thing to pick up or eat at. Instead of saying no, I want to eat somewhere else or grabbing my food from another more health-friendly place, I just go along and eat wherever they decide sounds good. I don’t mind eating fast food occasionally, but to have it every time I’m out with friends and family is just a killer on my eczema and body.

Eating fast food with eczema

My eczema flares up and gets incredibly red and itchy and if that wasn’t enough fun, my stomach bloats and feels like it's being ripped to shreds. It’s not fun and I shouldn’t put myself through the pain just because eating out is the easier option.

Exercise more

Honestly, I haven’t really exercised much this year. I’ll occasionally go on small walks, or do some weights before bed, but nothing to the extent I was last year. With my constantly eating junk food and slacking off on exercise, I haven’t been feeling my physical best. My energy has been lower, I’ve gained a little bit of weight, and I haven’t been able to focus as much as I used to. I’m a different person when I work out and that’s a good thing. When I slack off on exercise, I start slacking off on everything else, so every night before bed I plan on exercising, even if its just 2 minutes of stretches at first.

Being more proactive

Lastly, I want to be more proactive with my eczema. I’ve been too lenient with flares and caring for my skin. I need to start using my balm every morning and night, even when I’m not flaring. I also need to start moisturizing my hands more, if I don’t my hands start getting dry and flaky, and the skin between my fingers becomes raw and starts to peel. It’s extremely uncomfortable and I hate when I let it get that point. It’s something I really need to take more action on and make sure I do it daily, instead of a couple of times a week.

Starting my resolutions

I can’t wait for the new year and I can’t wait to start improving how I take care of myself. Admittedly I’ll be starting my new year’s resolutions a little early, but it’s better to be early than late.