Why I Take Collagen Every Day Even Though It Hasn’t Changed My Life…

Collagen seems to be absolutely everywhere at the minute.

Every time I scroll through Instagram or TikTok, someone seems to be adding it to their coffee, stirring it into a drink or talking about what it’s done for their hair, skin, nails or joints. They must have to sell some serious amounts of it to pay for all the celebrity endorsements, mustn’t they?

I take it too but not because I was influenced. 😁

I use Ancient + Brave collagen and I originally started taking it after a nurse mentioned collagen to me when I had quite a lot going on health-wise. I can’t even remember exactly why she mentioned it now, but clearly the idea stuck because after my operation, I looked into it and decided to give it a try.

And I say – ‘the idea stuck’ but it was more like I couldn’t possibly forget about it with it being so in my face on social media. But whatever my reason, I did start taking it and I’ve been pretty consistent with it ever since so I’m on about my fourth month.

I should probably be honest at this point and tell you that I don’t have a dramatic collagen transformation story to share with you. My hair hasn’t suddenly doubled in thickness, my skin doesn’t look ten years younger and I haven’t noticed some huge difference that I can definitely put down to taking collagen.

My nails are ridiculously strong now though so maybe it deserves some credit for that, but who knows?

I’m just choosing to believe that it’s quietly working its magic somewhere inside my body where I didn’t even know I needed it. 😂

Being a bit kinder to my body

I think this is actually the biggest reason I’ve carried on taking it.

My body has had a bit of a rough time over the last year and, for quite a while, I feel like most of my thoughts about it were focused on what was going wrong and how we were going to fix it. There was always something to worry about, something being investigated, something recovering or something that just wasn’t doing what I wanted it to do.

So there’s something really lovely about having a little habit that feels completely different.

Taking my collagen feels like I’m doing something nice for my body rather than worrying about it. I don’t need to be able to see a dramatic difference in the mirror to enjoy the feeling that I’m giving it something that might be doing it some good.

I’m quite happy to imagine it all getting to work somewhere behind the scenes while I sit there feeling very pleased with myself for doing something wholesome. 😁

I had to find a way of taking it that actually worked for me

A lot of the collagen content I see online involves stirring it into tea or coffee, which is no use to me because I don’t like either.

I also discovered pretty quickly that, despite the hype, collagen absolutely does not dissolve beautifully into cold drinks.

My Stanley cup is still recovering from the day I tried to mix it into some orange squash. 😂 It went clumpy, the straw practically blocked and the whole thing was way less glamorous than the internet had led me to believe.

So now I have mine with hot summer fruits cordial instead.

And honestly, I love it.

I even have a pretty little cup that I use for it, which probably tells you just how much I’ve bought into the whole ritual.

There’s something about making it properly, pouring it into my little cup and actually sitting down to drink it that makes it feel like a proper little moment in my day rather than just another supplement I need to remember to take.

It all feels very zen. 😂

I love the routine as much as anything else

The actual routine has become just as important to me as whatever is in the cup.

I make it, sit down and take a few minutes to drink it while it’s warm instead of wandering around the house trying to do five things at once.

It’s only a tiny part of my day, but it feels calm.

For those few minutes I’m slowing down, doing something that feels like it’s just for me and telling myself that I’m doing something good for my body at the same time.

That feeling matters more to me than I expected it to.

I even took it away with me

I packed my collagen when I went away recently because, by that point, it had become such a normal part of my day.

I fully intended to keep taking it every day, but holidays happened. Some days I remembered and other days I didn’t, and the whole routine slipped a bit.

And I really noticed it.

Not because I suddenly woke up with weak nails or felt dramatically different, but because I missed that little part of my day.

I missed making it.

I missed sitting down with it.

And I missed that feeling that I’d done one small, positive thing for myself before getting on with everything else.

That was probably the point where I realised that taking collagen had become about much more than whether I could physically see any results from it and why I decided to share my reasons for taking it with you.

 

What is collagen supposed to do?

Collagen is a protein that naturally forms part of things like our skin, bones, joints and connective tissue, and it’s one of those things our bodies produce less of as we get older.

People take collagen for all sorts of reasons, including skin, nails, joints and general bone and connective tissue support.

I’m not claiming that taking a scoop every day is going to magically fix any of those things, and I’m definitely not going to tell you that everyone should be taking it just because I do.

I just know that I like having it as part of my day.

Maybe my strong nails are proof that it’s doing something. Maybe it really is working its magic inside in ways I can’t see. Or maybe the biggest benefit for me right now is simply having a little ritual that makes me feel like I’m being kind to my body after it’s been through a rough time.

Either way, I’m happy with that.

Will I keep taking it?

Absolutely.

I like the Ancient + Brave collagen I use, I like my hot summer fruits cordial, I like my pretty little cup and I like that little pause it gives me in my day.

I like feeling as though I’m doing something positive for my body rather than only thinking about it when something goes wrong.

And I quite like the idea that, while I’m sitting there feeling all calm and zen, the collagen is quietly getting on with working its magic somewhere inside.

Sometimes looking after yourself really can be as simple as that.

I’d love you to follow me on Twitter and it would be amazing to see you over on my Facebook page and on Instagram. If you’re interested, you can find out more about me here and while I’ve got your attention, if you’re wondering why some of my posts lately are a little bit less frugal then have a read of this post. 😉

Do your future self a favour – Pin this post for later.