When I decided that my family should stay put for 14 days, I thought I’d go stir-crazy. My girls are active, busy, and at times, demanding. Not only did I need to watch over them and homeschool my youngest, I needed to watch over my business to support my family and the work I’m doing globally.
In the beginning, I began to feel the weight of all this – and how personal the frustration had become. But as I wrestled with these thoughts one evening, it came to me – how much I have in my life, the many blessings, my beautiful family and friends, my Keto-Green community, and more. This coronavirus situation was not going to last forever, so I decided to take it one moment, one hour, and one day at a time – and go forward with a positive spirit. Here’s what I learned.
Start with food. One of the first things I did during this quarantine was clear out my fridge and freezer – and make Keto-Green dishes with what I had on hand. I whipped up an amazing smoked-salmon-with-shrimp entrée, served homemade cocktail sauce and sautéed beet greens. I also created an immune-boosting smoothie – yummy! Check out my Instagram and Facebook videos of me in action in the kitchen, creating new Keto-Green recipes.
I then had to head to the grocery store to restock Keto-Green foods and was pleasantly surprised to see that most of it was readily available. Gone from the shelves were hot dogs, pastas, and junk foods (and of course toilet paper and hand sanitizers, thanks to people amassing an apocalyptic supply!). I guess a lot of shoppers were hunkering down with the wrong stuff – which left the good, immune-boosting foods for the rest of us!
Going Keto-Green, with its abundance of vegetables and other plant-based foods, is an excellent way to stay alkaline – which is a proven way to fortify your immune system. You can read more about this diet in my new book Keto-Green 16, coming out in May. (You can pre-order it now on my website, drannacabeca.com and get 5 free gifts.)
So be prepared to cook lots of delicious Keto-Green foods. Make them with immune-boosting herbs too – garlic, ginger, turmeric, parsley, and thyme. Now is also a great time to boil up some bone or alkaline broth, too – which is a virus fighter for sure.
Stay active. As with many fitness facilities around the country, my gym is closed indefinitely. But that didn’t excuse me from working out. I logged into online yoga and fitness classes, and performed the workouts right along with the video instructors.
Physical activity is a terrific stress buster – and these times are stressful, especially in the financial arena. A lot of people are out of work, bills are piling up, and banks are closed. When you exercise, it releases feel-good endorphins, lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and helps you process events more clearly. So do what you can to get moving, even around the house!
Step outside. I live in a beach-side community, and sunlight is plentiful. I thus took extra time to be outside – gardening, or just walking around in the sunshine. When you expose your bare skin to just 10 minutes of sunlight a day, a reaction occurs in your skin that produces vitamin D naturally. Vitamin D is a super-immune booster. Your bodily defenses thrive on it – so take advantage of sunlight-producing vitamin D when you can.
Take time to connect online. This virus, in some ways, couldn’t have come at a better time for me, because of the interconnectedness we have with my Keto-Green Community on Facebook. For the first time in a long time, I’ve been able to directly interact online with members of the community and answer their questions personally. If you haven’t yet joined this community, please do! The women’s stories of weight loss, improved health, restored hope, and more are incredibly inspiring. My Facebook community will uplift your spirit and encourage you to live a Keto-Green lifestyle forever.
Sing more songs. I would never make it to American Idol, although I can belt it out pretty good in the shower while covered with suds. That’s good because whether you’re Beyoncé or not, singing is good for your health. When you sing, you work your lungs – which is good protection against respiratory infections like the coronavirus. Singing forces more oxygen into your lungs, which boosts your circulation. And when we sing, we release more of my favorite hormone, oxytocin – the love and bonding chemical that reduces stress and anxiety. A song or two in the shower or elsewhere reduces blood pressure and heart rate as well. Lesson here: Keep singing in the shower!
Hold your family close. My life has been pretty busy – running a business, writing books and blogs, speaking at medical conferences worldwide – and that’s just the short list. Until this quarantine, I probably wouldn’t have given myself the chance to rest, and I wouldn’t have had this precious time with my girls like I’m having now. Every day has something beautiful about it (minus the fights about homework), cooking together, having meals as a family, playing games, binge-watching Netflix, and most of all, just holding my daughters close. They are so beautiful and awesome. I know they won’t be home or close to home forever, so I’m cherishing and loving them so much now. I encourage you to do the same – whether it’s your parents, your spouse, your partner, or your children. See the moments of being with them as gifts. However, if you are feeling more irritable than at peace, I get that. Believe me, I do. Keep following these guidelines and join me in my community to speak about it.
Expand your horizons. Several years ago, a great little book was written called The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson about how God expands our territory if we ask Him to. Your self-quarantine might be a good opportunity to grow your business in new ways, take a free online course , or read a study manual on something new like real estate, watercoloring, or flying a plane. Is there something you’ve always wanted to do? Now is the time to go for it. After all, Sir Isaac Newton discovered calculus during the plague. Shakespeare wrote his greatest works during a pandemic. Try to accept what’s going on and make the best of it no matter what. Somebody once told me: “It came to pass, it didn’t come to stay.”
Here’s a video from my kitchen on what my daughters and I have been up to during this crazy time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh-wz-_9Sjo
With love and prayers, Dr. Anna
