The feedback we have been getting is that this week’s challenges are revolving around SELF-CARE and ISOLATION.
It seems that people are struggling with self-care and good practices have flown out the window. A quick way to know if your self -care and daily routines need some attention may be that you are feeling like this…
“Anxiety about the future, spiraling of negative thoughts…”
“Health habits have flown out the window… You have stopped exercising or eating well”
“Self-medicating with sugary processed foods, and alcohol”
“Defaulting to quick food rather than food being nutritious…”
“Feeling isolated, depressed and frustrated…”
You may feel alone… but you are not alone. Fear is simply doing its best to derail you. Remember that LOVE is letting go of fear. Fear creeps in and tries to make us forget that we are wonderfully made. We live under the law of grace and… you have everything inside of you to overcome this.
The key is to decide in your mind that you HAVE A CHOICE. In every moment, you have a choice.
How will you respond to this situation at hand?
What gifts and unique qualities do you have?
Where can you be in ACTION and serve during this time?
Yes, there is trouble in the world and there are many things we don’t have control over. However, I believe that each one of us has a purpose. Now is the time to look into ourselves to find the unique gifts we have and pull them out and use them to serve ourselves and our communities.
If you are feeling any of the things I mentioned at the top of this post, NOW is the time to build steadiness into your days. How to do this is by focusing on what you can control.
Please check out the webinar I hosted on 4/1. There I list the 5 most important things to be doing for your health and sanity over the next 90 days. Sit down and build a routine for yourself, block it out into segments, build in exercise, sleep, food prep, meal times, media time, hobbies, leisure reading or whatever it is that you do. Roll it out and stick to it.
Every Meal Matters!
For each year we are alive we eat roughly 1000 meals.
I’m 46 so that means, I have already consumed 46,000 meals. Wow, that’s a lot.
Now think back to the house you grew up in. Were you raised on white bread? Or what about when you were in high school, or college, were there weeks you lived off ramen noodles and pizza? Rarely ate a vegetable? Yikes – I cringe to think about it myself.
Earlier this week, I found myself low on fresh produce. A few mornings, I defaulted to instant oatmeal with blueberries, then it was a few homemade breakfast cookies and before I knew it I was WAY behind on my fruit and veggie intake. Then I started to feel tired, my digestion slowed down and I wasn’t feeling my best.
The days had a way of getting away from me because I had shifted my priorities. In baseball the saying goes, “I took my eye off the ball”. In this time, we cannot take our “Eyes off the collective Ball.”
We need to feed ourselves good nutrition and avoid processed grains and sugars more than ever. This is not the time to lose focus.
I made a commitment to myself that I was no longer going to continue compromising my health by making poor choices. Today I’m proud to say I got in 5 servings before 10am.
The real issue here is that there is no time to lose. Every meal from this point on matters, no matter how old you are or what is happening with your health. Now that you know this information you cannot ignore it. Nutrition is the foundation of good health. Hippocrates the father of medicine said, “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.”
For EVERYONE in this community I recommend a minimum of 5 fruits and vegetables each day. I call it 5 to Thrive.
This is the minimum amount recommended to cancer survivors to reduce the re-occurrence of cancer. With this emerging situation, it’s time to UP our fruit and vegetable consumption.
With all the encouragement I’m giving you to eat more veggies, I just set a goal for myself of eat 10 fruits and veggies each day. The best trick is to start early and include two veggies and at least one fruit with breakfast.
Many of us can get trapped in a “breakfast rut” this is where we think that we can only have “breakfast foods” for breakfast.
The key to your success is re-categorizing this in your mind. If you start your day with a green juice and a banana there’s 2 servings right there. Have a smoothie later on in the morning with spinach, blueberries, and a banana and there are 3 more servings all before 10am!
Another option are roasted potatoes, with a green vegetable and a fruit. Salads are another great way to get 3-4 servings at one meal.
My one and only goal is for everyone in our community to be healthy and thrive during this time.
I’m here for you
With Love,
Dr. Purcell
(Catch up on my daily COVID-19 posts HERE)
P.S. Now more than ever it is important to stay connected. Opt-in below to receive my bi-weekly emails. These emails will keep you up to date on the current pandemic. I will continue to share current health updates and tips. We are in this together!
[inf_infusionsoft_inline optin_id=”optin_12″]