Dry brushing is basically rubbing down your entire body - soles of feet to neck - with a natural bristled brush or loofah. According to this site {and many other sources that I've read}, dry brushing is supposed to "detox your body, lose weight, lose cellulite, feel better." I've also read that all of those claims are bogus... but I'm sticking with it regardless. I've been using a natural bristle brush that I picked up from Target for about $5, and I've been doing it several times a week for about a month now. I LOVE the way my skin feels afterwards - so smooth and glow-y, almost like freshly-shaved legs every time {you know that feeling, right?}. I also have really weird dark spots on my knees {caused by hyperpigmentation - I've had issues with my skin pigment since I was young} as well as a smattering of those annoying bumps {keratosis pilaris}on the back of my arms - the dry brushing seems to be helping these issues. Plus, it really is invigorating - it gets all the blood flowing throughout my body. I think only time will tell if dry brushing really has an impact on cellulite... I'll keep you updated :-)
If you want to do it: Purchase a natural bristle brush. Rub your skin in a circular motion {start with the soles of your feet) and always move towards your heart.
Since my first experience on the 17-Day Diet {last summer}, I've been drinking water with a lemon squeezed into it. Since early this year, I've made it a habit to drink at least one cup of "lemon water" every day at work. Lemon water is supposed to aid in weight loss, encourage pH balancing/make your body more alkaline, and flush out toxins {it is a diruetic}. I've always liked the taste of water w/lemon, so for me, this habit was an easy one to take on. In the 17-Day Diet book {and elsewhere on the web}, it's recommended that you drink a cup of water, as warm as you can tolerate it, with half a lemon squeezed into it, and you should do so first thing in the morning. I've done this before, but nowadays I drink a whole lemon squeezed into a 20-24oz cup of ice water - it tastes really good, and it does seem to act as a diuretic; if nothing else, it's a good substitute for a soda or coffee.
If you want to do it: Buy some fresh lemons from the grocery store {bottled lemon juice is not equivalent!}. Cut one in half and mix it with some water. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!
My last "alternative" health habit that I've adopted is drinking a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar daily. A quick search of ACV on the web, and you'll find that it's touted as a miracle for just about everything - weight loss, lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, balancing pH, and clearing up acne. To me, this is yet another inexpensive "why not?" kind of habit. The ACV costs $3.99/bottle, and it lasts a long time. The taste takes a little getting used to - it's definitely vinegar-y, but I mix it with apple juice and it mostly tastes like apple cider.
If you want to do it: I {as well as everyone else on the web} recommend Bragg's ACV, which can be found at Kroger in the natural foods area {or at Whole
Like I said, I'm not 100% convinced that any of these habits do much for me, but since they don't take much time, effort, or money, I will continue them to see what happens. I'm particularly interested in balancing my body's pH {doing so decreases inflammation and a host of other issues}, which the lemon water and ACV are said to do. {Side note: being more alkaline is supposed to help promote the x "swimmers," if you know what I mean ;-) }
Do you practice any alternative health habits? Have you tried any of those that I mentioned?
The weight loss benefits of ACV was something I remember a group of girls trying in high school to try to lose weight quickly before prom - so random, but your post reminded me of that ; )
ReplyDeleteI don't do anything special (especially not lately being at home with the kiddos), just try to eat in moderation, no dairy, limit refined sugar (I use a lot of honey whenever I need a sweetener - in my coffee, on my waffles, etc... I don't like using the fake stuff) and drink a lot of water and green tea.