The "I'm Darn Important Too!" - 7 Day SELF CARE Challenge
They call it the “new normal” — well, let me tell you — I’m sick and tired of this version of normal. And from what I hear so are all my peers, friends and family. And it’s very likely you are as well.
And why wouldn’t we be - all of a sudden, with almost no time to prepare, we have had to figure out how to work, cook, home school, entertain and sometimes referee our kids all day, every day! It’s draining.
I think It’s fantastic that technology enables us to work from home. It’s just too bad that it couldn’t help any of us working parents deal with competing priorities of parenting and working from home.
With all that’s happening every day It’s easy to allow our well-being to sink to the bottom of our priority list.
So, this week I’ve decided to start a fun challenge that will allow you to focus on you! For once it’ll be about your self-care and well-being.
I’m calling this the “I’m darn important too — 7 day self care challenge.”
Starting Sunday, May 3rd, everyday for 7 days, I’ll send you an action to follow. And to help I have created a simple tracking sheet. Download it, print it, and keep it on the fridge. Use it to track how you feel now, during, and after each daily challenge.
Every day at 5pm EST I will post the challenge for the next day .
So what do you say — are you in?
DAY 1
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!!!
Water makes up about 55-60% of our body. If you are a 150-pound person, you are about 90 pounds of water.
Bone is about 22% water; muscle and brain tissue are about 75% water; blood 83% water; and eyes are 95% water. It is easy to see why proper hydration is crucial for optimal wellbeing.
We need between 2-3 litres of fluid each day. More if you are in a hot climate, physically active, pregnant, breastfeeding (babies will feed between 0.5 and 1 Litre per day!) or sick.
By the time we notice thirst, we’ve lost about 1-2% of our body water. And at that point we might start experiencing dehydration symptoms such as: headaches, fatigue, low blood pressure, flushing, irritability, etc.
Here are the instructions for tomorrow’s challenge:
Start your day drinking a glass of water (8oz), preferably with some lemon juice to kick start your metabolism. Leave it on your night table so you don’t forget to drink it first thing in the morning.
Drink a glass of water with every meal. Don’t like plain water? Add some fresh berries, ginger or cucumber.
Keep a full glass of water, green tea or any herbal tea at your desk and refill it before every meeting.
Keep track of how much water you drink and how you feel now, during, and after each daily challenge.
DAY 2
Go to bed 30 minutes before your regular time.
Poor sleep (or poor sleep habits) do not let your body really rest, discharge tensions and recharge.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, most adults do best with between 7-9 hours of sleep a night, but nearly 30% get less than 6, and this can affect not only your appearance, but also your immune system, focus, even eating patterns/cravings the next day.
Here are the instructions for tomorrow’s challenge (or you could start tonight!):
Set up a bedtime alarm for 30 minutes earlier than your regular time.
Leave your devices in a different room so they don’t disturb your sleep.
Incorporate a breathing exercise in your bedtime routine: Inhale through your nose for a count of 4. Hold your breath for a count of 7. Open your mouth slightly and exhale for a count of 8. Repeat 4 times.
According to Harvard Health Publishing breathing exercises such as this one can help lower blood pressure, increase immune function and lower anxiety and depression.
I encourage you to continue with the hydration challenge.
DAY 3
Eat an extra vegetable at lunch and/or dinner - sorry, french fries do not count!
Notice that I am not asking to switch what you are already eating but instead ADD an extra serving of vegetables.
Vegetables are loaded with vitamins and minerals as well as fibre.
It is recommended that we ingest between 25 to 35 grams of fibre per day. Yet the average North American consumes around 15 grams. Low fibre in the diet translates to constipation, weight gain and dysbiosis — among other issues.
Here are some ideas on how to incorporate more veggies into your meals:
Make a veggie soup that you can add to your meals as a starter
Add a salad to your main course
Snack on baby carrots or celery sticks
Add some greens to your protein smoothie
Continue with hydration and sleep challenges.
You got this!
DAY 4
Practice mindful eating
Mindful eating is eating with INTENTION and ATTENTION.
Almost all of us in industrialized countries eat too fast, and with too many distractions.
Think of all the things demanding our attention: work, electronics, TV, friends/family. We are rushing, jumping between activities, trying to do 10+ things at a time.
But have you noticed how quickly food disappears when we are distracted? Think of the last time you went to the movies - did the bag of popcorn make it past the first 15 minutes? That is a clear example of mindless eating.
***Here are the instructions for today’s challenge***
For a meal (any meal), sit at the dining table - no electronics allowed. If you are alone, turn some music on.
Before you start your meal, let’s do a breathing exercise. Inhale through your nose for a count of 4. Hold your breath for a count of 7. Open your mouth slightly and exhale for a count of 8. Repeat 4 times.
In an ideal world we should be in a relaxed state before eating, this allows the production of adequate digestive enzymes and lets our parasympathetic nervous system – also known as the “rest and digest” system – do its thing. Having feelings of stress and anxiety when we eat is tied to digestive malfunction.
3. Tactics you can use to eat mindfully:
Chew your food 15 times or as many times as possible. This practice will not only allow you to enjoy and savour the food but it will improve digestion and allow you to notice when you are getting full.
Pace the slowest eater in the room. Little kids are usually great pace setters for slow eating.
Put your utensils down between bites
The point here is to slow down, relax and enjoy your meal.
Continue with days 1-3 challenges.
DAY 5
Play music (and dance or sing!) while you are cooking.
Bright, cheerful music can make people of all ages feel happy, energetic, and alert and even lift the moods of people going through stressful situations. Which is most of us right now.
A study from New York examined how music affects surgical patients.(Harvard Health Publishing, 2011) Patients surrounded by silence remained hypertensive throughout the operation, while the blood pressures of those who listened to music came down rapidly and stayed down into the recovery room. The listeners also reported that they felt calmer and better during the operation.
The research also found surgeons showed fewer signs of stress and demonstrated improved performance while listening to self-selected music.
So, go on and put on some music while you are preparing meals, it's not brain surgery but it will still make the process more enjoyable .
And If you are into karaoke, here is one of my favourite playlists - I dare you not to sing along or bust a move! https://spoti.fi/2SHDNsB
Continue with days 1-4 challenges.
I would love to hear how your week is going so far.
DAY 6
Exercise for at least 20 minutes each day.
And by exercise I don’t necessarily mean lifting weights - daily life activities like doing yard work, playing sports with your kids, going for a 20 minute power walk every day - can help you meet the World Heart Federation recommendations: Adults aged 18-64 should do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 of vigorous activity throughout the week.
Exercise not only will help you lose weight and keep it off, it will lower the risk of cancer and stroke, it will give you better cardiovascular health, stronger muscles, and it will slow bone density loss associated with age. Not only that but research shows that working out regularly can boost other aspects of your health, including how well you think, and how well you feel.
And if that’s not enough to get you out there, consider this — children see their parents as their educators, and role models throughout their lives. If parents are sedentary, chances are, their kids will be too. If parents exercise on a regular basis they are teaching their children to do the same.
Remember - you should exercise within your limits. Start slow if exercise or physical activity isn’t part of your daily routine.
Here are some tips to get you started:
Nonexerciser: Start by walking 10 minutes every day. Go at your own pace and increment the time and pace as you feel more energized.
Occasional exerciser: There are a lot of free resources online. Check out this body-weight low impact routine: https://youtu.be/uNrqrk2xcAo
Intermediate/Advanced: Here’s one of my favourite routines: https://youtu.be/siIicrZ4gng
If you need extra motivation, here is my workout playlist: http://tiny.cc/rt1ooz
And don’t forget to stay hydrated!
Continue with days 1-5 challenges.
DAY 7
Spend 20 minutes outdoors - regardless of the weather
These days we are spending more time indoors, in front of a screen, than ever before.
Between zoom meetings, setting up elearning for the kids and catching up on the news and social media — our brain is in constant overload.
Studies show that spending time in nature allows the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s command center, to rest and recover. Researchers from the United Kingdom, Japan, China, and the US have connected parks, gardens, green areas, and forests with lower mortality and found that people who lived within 1 kilometre of a park or a wooded area experienced lower incidence of over 10 diseases—including depression, anxiety, and migraines — than those who lived farther away from green space.
And although moving to a rural area might not be in the cards for you, there are many ways to can get outdoors and enjoy nature:
Go for a walk with a loved one
Dedicate 20 minutes to gardening
Play catch or soccer with your kids
Take your pet for a long walk
Have a picnic (and while you are at it, go barefoot and let your feet touch the ground)
Make the commitment and get outside, regardless of the weather. Breathe the newly found fresh air and get your vitamin D on.
Continue with days 1- 6 challenges.