So I feel like it’s not honest to post anything about finishing a workout, or sharing a healthy recipe, without talking about another important, currently very relevant factor that can impact our health and well-being.
I’m sure you’ve all heard of coronavirus or COVID-19 by now. Top health officials have stated that this virus will cause “severe disruption to daily lives” and have encouraged people to prepare. If you want more information directly from the source, I recommend that you check out any of these sites for more information: The Center for Disease Control (CDC), The World Health Organization (WHO), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Another site that's helpful for checking out quick stats on the situation (not official but run by "an international team of developers, researchers, and volunteers with the goal of making world statistics available in a thought-provoking and time relevant format"); Worldometer.
We've been watching this with heavy hearts since it hit the people of Wuhan China, and now it's spreading quickly, and very near us in our home state of Washington (even with limited testing). I'm not going to lie; we are worried.
Hundreds of millions of people were unexpectedly quarantined in their homes for weeks (many still are). Others felt unsafe leaving their homes in areas of outbreak, for fear of exposure. Many people were not prepared for the unexpected event and did not have emergency food, water and other necessities on hand. It has been a very scary situation and my heart breaks for the people impacted.
Generally in life, I think the best thing that you can do when you’re worried, is stay calm, and put together a plan that makes you feel prepared.
And the truth is, we should always be prepared for an unexpected event. It is ALWAYS a good idea to have a stash of shelf stable food, water, and back up necessities (meds, supplements, pet food, toiletries & other things that you can’t or don’t want to live without).
Depending on where you are in the world, you may be familiar with earthquakes, storms, flooding, or snow that closes down roadways or make it generally advisable to stay home. Whatever the instance, it’s nice to know that in a worst case scenario, if for some reason you suddenly couldn’t leave your home or access to supplies was limited, you had basic supplies to keep yourself covered for a little while.
I thought that maybe I could be helpful by sharing a couple of tips on how we built a disaster preparedness food and necessities supply. The truth is, if I eat poorly, my health starts to suffer, so I wanted a stash of food that wasn't going to make me feel lousy. Also, I didn’t want to waste money on food that I wouldn’t ultimately eat anyways. This way, buying emergency supplies really is not so much an extra expense for something that you’re never going to use, as much as it is a sort of “investment” of sorts, for things you will eat in the future. With that said, I know that money is definitely an issue for many people and even covering basic groceries can be a stretch sometimes. So it’s important that any disaster preparedness also takes into account what kind of budget you’re working with. Here are a few of the things that I found that made for an easy, healthy, inexpensive food supply for a rainy day.
➡️ Canned veggies & fruits - you can get these for as low as 50 cents a piece if you buy a few at a time (don’t worry about organic in case of budget concerns)
➡️ Dry grains (healthy/hearty cereals, oatmeal, quinoa, barley, freekeh, teff & any flours that you like)
➡️ Dry beans or canned beans (+a slow cooker if you choose dry goods - dry goods are much cheaper)
➡️ Rice (bulk is best, and less expensive per pound)
➡️ Hearty canned soups (keep in mind, you are aiming for high calorie options)
➡️ Others: shelf stable milk and eggs, jams, breads - freeze them to prolong shelf life or, flour and yeast - it’s so much cheaper overall & tasty to make your own breads!)
➡️ Spices
➡️ Any foods that you enjoy, any snacks that you don't want to be without
Extra tips for staying healthy, avoiding the flu, colds and viruses & boosting your immune system:
✅ Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly, with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (here's a video on proper hand washing - this simple, oh-so important step is often done incorrectly)
✅ Stop touching your face, especially eyes, nose and mouth (thank you for adding this tamck 🙂)
✅ Clean & sanitize your most frequented surfaces; your cellphone, door handles, the steering wheel of your car, countertops, light switches, remotes, laptop keyboards, countertops, etc
✅ Drop stress levels as much as possible, and implement healthy coping strategies to keep your immune system strong
✅ Eat healthily; eat in a way that makes you feel great, and that supports your body’s health.
✅ Drink lots of water; follow your body’s cues in order to ensure ideal hydration.
✅ Exercise moderately. Working out can help boost the immune system, but do not work out strenuously if you don’t feel well or if you’re feeling very stressed. This is not the time for gains; focus on feeling good and just getting in some enjoyable movement. Remember exercise can be a great way to reduce stress & improve immune function (both mental & physical stress can negatively impact your immune system).
✅ If you feel sick, please stay home! Even if you feel well enough to go to work and carry on with your regular routine, there are people out there who may be severely impacted by the same bug that’s a breeze for you to get through. In fact, thousands of people die from the flu each year. Even if you feel like you can “power through”, think of those who are immunocompromised, babies who are still building their immune systems, and the older population.
✅ Try to keep a positive outlook on your body and your health. Tell yourself “my immune system is strong, and my body is healthy!”. We all know that mindset can go a long ways in impacting the way you feel. Even if it just made a fraction of a difference, why not give yourself that slight advantage & generally optimistic outlook?
My intention is definitely not to scare anyone & I think ultimately people panicking can be just as damaging as any virus or natural disaster. At the end of the day, you are all people that I care about. And I think it’s smart to be prepared.
What’s happening in your corner of the world? Have you been impacted by this? Do you have any helpful tips to add to our ideas so far? Stay safe, stay healthy everyone!
Affordable, Healthy Emergency Readiness (Coronavirus)
So I feel like it’s not honest to post anything about finishing a workout, or sharing a healthy recipe, without talking about another important, currently very relevant factor that can impact our health and well-being.
I’m sure you’ve all heard of coronavirus or COVID-19 by now. Top health officials have stated that this virus will cause “severe disruption to daily lives” and have encouraged people to prepare. If you want more information directly from the source, I recommend that you check out any of these sites for more information: The Center for Disease Control (CDC), The World Health Organization (WHO), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Another site that's helpful for checking out quick stats on the situation (not official but run by "an international team of developers, researchers, and volunteers with the goal of making world statistics available in a thought-provoking and time relevant format"); Worldometer.
We've been watching this with heavy hearts since it hit the people of Wuhan China, and now it's spreading quickly, and very near us in our home state of Washington (even with limited testing). I'm not going to lie; we are worried.
Hundreds of millions of people were unexpectedly quarantined in their homes for weeks (many still are). Others felt unsafe leaving their homes in areas of outbreak, for fear of exposure. Many people were not prepared for the unexpected event and did not have emergency food, water and other necessities on hand. It has been a very scary situation and my heart breaks for the people impacted.
Generally in life, I think the best thing that you can do when you’re worried, is stay calm, and put together a plan that makes you feel prepared.
And the truth is, we should always be prepared for an unexpected event. It is ALWAYS a good idea to have a stash of shelf stable food, water, and back up necessities (meds, supplements, pet food, toiletries & other things that you can’t or don’t want to live without).
Depending on where you are in the world, you may be familiar with earthquakes, storms, flooding, or snow that closes down roadways or make it generally advisable to stay home. Whatever the instance, it’s nice to know that in a worst case scenario, if for some reason you suddenly couldn’t leave your home or access to supplies was limited, you had basic supplies to keep yourself covered for a little while.
I thought that maybe I could be helpful by sharing a couple of tips on how we built a disaster preparedness food and necessities supply. The truth is, if I eat poorly, my health starts to suffer, so I wanted a stash of food that wasn't going to make me feel lousy. Also, I didn’t want to waste money on food that I wouldn’t ultimately eat anyways. This way, buying emergency supplies really is not so much an extra expense for something that you’re never going to use, as much as it is a sort of “investment” of sorts, for things you will eat in the future. With that said, I know that money is definitely an issue for many people and even covering basic groceries can be a stretch sometimes. So it’s important that any disaster preparedness also takes into account what kind of budget you’re working with. Here are a few of the things that I found that made for an easy, healthy, inexpensive food supply for a rainy day.
➡️ Canned veggies & fruits - you can get these for as low as 50 cents a piece if you buy a few at a time (don’t worry about organic in case of budget concerns)
➡️ Dry grains (healthy/hearty cereals, oatmeal, quinoa, barley, freekeh, teff & any flours that you like)
➡️ Dry beans or canned beans (+a slow cooker if you choose dry goods - dry goods are much cheaper)
➡️ Rice (bulk is best, and less expensive per pound)
➡️ Nuts & legumes (cashew, almond, pistachio, peanut, etc & lentils)
➡️ Hearty canned soups (keep in mind, you are aiming for high calorie options)
➡️ Others: shelf stable milk and eggs, jams, breads - freeze them to prolong shelf life or, flour and yeast - it’s so much cheaper overall & tasty to make your own breads!)
➡️ Spices
➡️ Any foods that you enjoy, any snacks that you don't want to be without
Extra tips for staying healthy, avoiding the flu, colds and viruses & boosting your immune system:
✅ Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly, with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (here's a video on proper hand washing - this simple, oh-so important step is often done incorrectly)
✅ Stop touching your face, especially eyes, nose and mouth (thank you for adding this tamck 🙂)
✅ Clean & sanitize your most frequented surfaces; your cellphone, door handles, the steering wheel of your car, countertops, light switches, remotes, laptop keyboards, countertops, etc
✅ Drop stress levels as much as possible, and implement healthy coping strategies to keep your immune system strong
✅ Eat healthily; eat in a way that makes you feel great, and that supports your body’s health.
✅ Drink lots of water; follow your body’s cues in order to ensure ideal hydration.
✅ Exercise moderately. Working out can help boost the immune system, but do not work out strenuously if you don’t feel well or if you’re feeling very stressed. This is not the time for gains; focus on feeling good and just getting in some enjoyable movement. Remember exercise can be a great way to reduce stress & improve immune function (both mental & physical stress can negatively impact your immune system).
✅ If you feel sick, please stay home! Even if you feel well enough to go to work and carry on with your regular routine, there are people out there who may be severely impacted by the same bug that’s a breeze for you to get through. In fact, thousands of people die from the flu each year. Even if you feel like you can “power through”, think of those who are immunocompromised, babies who are still building their immune systems, and the older population.
✅ Try to keep a positive outlook on your body and your health. Tell yourself “my immune system is strong, and my body is healthy!”. We all know that mindset can go a long ways in impacting the way you feel. Even if it just made a fraction of a difference, why not give yourself that slight advantage & generally optimistic outlook?
My intention is definitely not to scare anyone & I think ultimately people panicking can be just as damaging as any virus or natural disaster. At the end of the day, you are all people that I care about. And I think it’s smart to be prepared.
What’s happening in your corner of the world? Have you been impacted by this? Do you have any helpful tips to add to our ideas so far? Stay safe, stay healthy everyone!