If you’re a parent, you probably can appreciate this time of year. As much as most of us dreaded the end of summer as kids, it’s the opposite as adults.
With the kids back in school, you’ve got a little more time to focus on taking care of yourself, getting into a healthy routine, and regaining some of the balance that we may have lost when the kids are home all the time (as much as we love them and miss them!).
Even if you don’t have kids, you can take the next few months to spend a little more time focusing on yourself. Keep reading – these ideas are for you too!
So today, I’ve got 7 ideas for the best kind of self-care…alkaline self-care, so you’ll not only feel more pampered and renewed, you’ll also have more energy, less illness, and better overall health.
Let’s jump right in…
- Reclaim your morning.
One thing that often happens at the start of the school year is that mornings get hectic and rushed. That just leads to unnecessary stress and making poor nutrition choices for you and everyone in your family.
As parents of a 3-year-old who JUST started pre-k, and a 5-month-old baby, we are learning about these new-found stresses first hand.
Slow down, wake up earlier if you need to, and try to make intentional choices. Here’s what I recommend…
Upon waking up: 10 minutes of meditation and deep breathing while you’re still in bed. Breathing is the single most important step you can do to calm your body and your mind, and alkalize your blood.
Next, drink a full glass of water with your dose of Alkamind Daily Greens. This is the way we beging EVERY morning, as it is going to give you energy, rehydrate you (because after a night’s sleep you’re always dehydrated), and get your head in the game for a good morning.
Then take 10 minutes to jump on the rebounder, or mini-trampoline, to get your blood pumping, your body awake, and your lymphatic system moving. This is my favorite of all exercises, as it aerobically alkalizes and detoxifies your body. Better yet, it takes no time to gain big results, and can be done in the comfort of your own home.
After that, start your regular routine with everything you need to get done. You’ll be in a much better frame of mind after taking just about 20 extra minutes for yourself.
- Get in the cooking routine.
Honestly, one of the best things you can do for your health and that of your loved ones is to cook at home instead of ordering take out or dining out.
It’s really hard to stay alkaline in restaurants (although it is possible), and you have much more control over what you consume when you’re the one cooking it. You’d be shocked at the different processed ingredients that go into restaurant food!
Make it easy to cook more on weeknights by always keeping alkaline staples on hand that you can turn into a meal:
- Adzuki beans, chickpeas, lentils, and/or any beans/legume you enjoy
- Leafy Green Rainbow Salad: With watercress, romaine, spinach, or kale
- Healthy Oils: Coconut oil, avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, black cumin oil, macadamia nut oil, MCT oil
- Zucchini you can spiralize to turn into a quick pasta
- Homemade salad dressing
- Quinoa
- Seeds like pumpkin, hemp, flax and chia
- Alkaline Low-Sugar Fruits: Lemons, limes, grapefruit, tomatoes, coconut, pomegranate, and avocados (use for so many different recipes)
Those foods could turn into a hundred tasty combinations, and when you add in whatever other fruits and veggies you have in your kitchen, weeknight dinners every night of the week are a snap.
- Switch to water.
Maybe you’ve gotten in the habit of a glass of wine each night. Or maybe it’s a cold sparkling water with dinner. Or maybe it’s fruit juice with the kids. All of those drinks are acidic.
They might taste good, but they aren’t doing your body any favors. (Yes, there are better ways to get the antioxidants in the wine and vitamins in the juice.)
This is a great time to switch up your routine and start drinking alkaline water throughout your day instead. Aim for half your body weight in ounces every day. So, if you weigh 150 pounds, you need to drink 75 ounces in order to be fully hydrated.
I think it helps to carry alkaline water around with you, and drink it strategically at certain points during your day, like first thing in the morning, after brushing your teeth, after working out, etc.
What makes water alkaline?
- Filtered – all tap water contains toxic trash
- A pH of 8.0-9.5
- Room temperature ideally
- Add a slice of lemon
- Focus on sleep.
An earlier bedtime for the kids plus everyone waking up earlier means you should probably start going to bed earlier too.
Find how much sleep you need, whether it’s 7.5, 8, or even 8.5 hours, and start going to bed early enough to make it happen. If that’s tough for you, or you find yourself waking during the night, here are a few ideas to help:
- Aim to eat dinner 3 hours before bedtime (never less). Any closer and you’re still digesting, which makes it harder to sleep.
- Eat extra servings of dark, leafy greens during the day. They help keep the digestive track clean while you sleep.
- IF you are going to eat animal proteins, do so at lunch, not dinner. Heavy proteins in the evening take longer to digest and will affect sleep
- Try dry skin brushing followed by a hot bath before bed. This ‘pops open the pores’ and will allow your body to detox better. Remember, your body is most acidic between 1am and 3am, peaking at 3am, so anything we can do to assist the detox process will allow better sleep. This does so because your body will detoxify itself no matter what, and if we can prevent it from having to do all of the regulating on its own, it won’t have to work so hard (equals better energy for you!)
- Drink Alkamind Daily Minerals half an hour before bedtime. It will ease you into sleep and help your body detoxify, which is often what causes middle of the night wakings. Again, the body needs minerals to bind to the acids and toxins, so that it can be safely eliminated from your body.
If you are not getting in minerals during the period when your body needs them the most (evening and middle of the night), then the body will find another way. It will, in essence, ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’. In other words, it will rob calcium from your bones and magnesium from your muscles all in an effort to keep your blood pH stable at 7.4.
Toxins drive the pH of the blood DOWN, and if that numbers deviates by more than 1 point, you will die. So your body would rather sacrifice its bones and muscles, preventing your blood pH from veering off course. WHY? So you don’t die!
This is why it is critical to take your Daily Minerals before bed. THEY will do all of the neutralizing of acid, so that your body doesn’t have to!
- It’s about progress, not perfection.
Remember, it’s moderation not deprivation. Instead of focusing on what you’re not eating, focus on all of the delicious, nutritious foods you get to eat more of!
Adding just 1 or 2 raw, alkaline foods into your diet every day will make a huge difference for your health without feeling like sacrifice or deprivation.
When you use my ‘add, not takeaway’ approach, the good will soon outweigh the bad.
To start, try to eat one alkalizing food every single day, and then later you can add on as you go.
Great alkalizing foods to start with include:
- Avocados
- Red bell pepper
- Cucumbers
- Celery
- Cabbage
- Ginger
- Lemons, grapefruit, and limes
- Tomatoes
- Broccoli
- Raw almonds
Another option is to focus just on eliminating the 3 P’s from what you eat – processed, preservatives, and packaged. Even if you just do that and nothing else, you’re making progress toward getting off your acid.
- Up-level your workout routine.
If there’s one thing you can do for your self-care that will benefit you for decades to come, it’s exercise. I always say if you want to keep moving until well into old age, you’ve got to get moving today.
Just like preventing deprivation by eating plenty of delicious alkaline foods, prevent hating your workout by choosing exercise you love. Whether it’s walking, biking, yoga, weight-training, the rebounder, or the elliptical, find what you like to do and make it part of your daily routine.
This is a great time to join a gym, try a new fitness class, or start swimming at an indoor pool.
Accountability is key when it comes to exercise. And if you are looking to take your health to the next level, exercise is the way to start. You start moving your body, and I guarantee you, EVERYTHING in your life will improve – especially your diet!
How many people go for a run or a spinning class then take a trip to Dunkin Donuts!
- Get the nutrients your body needs.
Taking care of yourself starts with what you put into your body, or at least it should. This is an often-overlooked aspect of self-care though.
If you’re striving for the 80/20 alkaline lifestyle, you’re likely getting a good amount of vitamins and minerals in the foods you eat. You’re eating lots of fiber, minerals, chlorophyll, and antioxidants in all of those fresh veggies and fruits too.
So, you want to take a look at what you might be missing and make sure your supplements are meeting your needs. Here are the most common nutrients that you should supplement:
- Magnesium – 90% of American adults are deficient in this mineral that’s so important to how we feel, how we sleep, and how our bodies (including our hearts) work! Alkamind Daily Minerals is the perfect source for this mineral because it’s delivered in balance with potassium, calcium, and sodium bicarbonate.
- A good quality fish oil supplement to ensure you get enough Omega 3 fatty acids (3,000 mg. daily for adults – but always check with your health care practitioner)
- A high dose Vitamin D3 supplement (5,000 IU daily).
- A high-quality, refrigerated probiotic.
- So try Alkamind Organic Daily Protein today!If you’re concerned about how much protein you need, you can add a vegan protein powder like Alkamind Organic Daily Protein. It not only supplies a full serving of organic plant-based protein from the best possible sources, it also includes coconut oil which helps your body become a fat-burning machine. Try it in both delicious flavors – creamy chocolate and vanilla coconut.
So try Alkamind Organic Daily Protein today!