Everyone experiences stress at some point. We feel stress on many levels, whether it be emotional strain, physical tension or financial distress. Stress affects us in negative and positive ways. When it comes to gaining muscle, we want some stress on our muscles in order for them to tear, grown and change. This is a positive type of stress, unless we over train our muscles and fatigue them to a point we end up injured. Mentally, if we are under too much stress, the side effect is a lack of focus and it causes our minds to go haywire. In turn, our bodies are also directly affected in negative ways, by how we cope with stress in our life. This is the whole foundation to "mind body" thinking and workouts.
The trick is learning to not let stress eat at you, but for you to learn how to eat in a way that supports your energy levels and ensures you have the nutrients to cope with stress. Stress has a direct impact on all of our vital systems; however, food can directly affect our endocrine system, which regulates our hormones and blind side us because we can't even see how many toxins unless on a label, are sneaking in. These toxins, effect our endocrine systems quickly and they directly affect our metabolism; energy levels and our ability to operate at peak performance.
Behavior wise, we are a society now riddled with our impulsivities. We want instant gratification and feel a sense of urgency and panic around our schedules, personal and financial lives. We are used to rushing through EVERYTHING and lack coping skills when patience is required. We do not take the time to regroup and connect with our body or mind to feel into where we are at in the moment. We barely are able to spend time with the people we want or do the things we love. All because of our nose to the grindstone mentality. We wonder why we constantly come up empty? How many of us want to scream ERASE, UNWIND or WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? We become numb and disassociate from ourselves. There are times I have definately woken up going who the HELL WAS THAT? That wasn't me. We do so many ineffective, destructive and nutty things when stress roars its ugly head in our face. We run, yell, meltdown, drink, smoke, eat crappy, cheat, lie, steal...when we really need to STOP, LOOK, LISTEN and DEAL with the unpleasant sensations it gives us. We need perspective. Stress paralyzes me. I take time out to just lie immediately down on my bed in a zone, I light insense and just let it all happen with some deep breaths for 15mins - yes, at times, I just fall asleep for 2 hours. All depends on what my body needs that day. If I can't do this, then I just sit where I am settle into my body, reconnect and breath. It is like magic how quickly this makes a difference. I especially do this on days, I have NO ENERGY TO WORKOUT. This little bit of downtown makes all the difference.
Like a car, if we are running on empty, we will break down. We must take moments to refuel mentally, physically and emotionally. We have to feed our bodies vital nutrients to ensure we have energy and stamina to deal with the stressors that this day and age automatically has put on us. We have more responsibility and bills to pay than ever. We must have health insurance, car insurance, a car, a home, electric, groceries, gas, clothing and much more. Many of us feel the need to keep up a presentation that we are always on top of our game, when we are really struggling on the inside with exhaustion, feeling overwhelmed, in debt, anxiety, fear, weight gain or loss. All this is in order to keep up with "the Jone's" so to speak. We put so much pressure on ourselves on top of the pressure we feel with the economy due to society’s expectations.
I see my daughter daily going through her own dose of it. Wake up early, school, soccer practice, games, more soccer practice, and homework, keeping up with friends and trying to go to bed at a decent time. We already have our children pressured to get to the best schools requiring them to study, study, study, do chores, prepare for and take tests, write college essays, eat well, exercise and be pleasant. Most kids can barely find time to eat themselves or have access to quick healthy foods. We wonder why so many kids are moody, obese and diagnosed with ADD. So much of that can be linked directly to eating and the lifestyle of the parents. We are feeding our kids garbage. READ THE LABELS. How can they cope with life, manage their bodies, deal with stress without sleep, proper nutrition and breaks throughout the day. I can't imagine that with our example and these schedules kids are burdened with now a days, do not give our kids the feeling of inadequacy and their systems are on overload. This is how people are set up for coping with addictions, anger, depression, suicidal thoughts, exhaustion, crankiness from fatigue and over/under eating. Is this what we want our kids to experience in life? Not to have a life and that we have to work, work, work!!!
No one can effectively and safely go on and on with these daily ruts. We are seeing how yoga, meditation and the healing arts are making a comeback and are widely spreading. This new wave is a direct result of people having meltdowns and trying to avoid taking every pill or supplement under the sun to cope. We are looking for natural and simple ways to purify our bodies and our lives so we can comeback to self. We are learning the negative effects of inorganic food. We know now that everything we put in or on our bodies, breath in and experience in life can cause inflammation and storage of toxins that will begin to deteriorate our system. This is no longer considered "new age" stuff, but the wave of our future. We know if we continue to live this way, we will not live life as fully or as long.
Here are ways you can safeguard yourself against a drop in serotonin (mood elevating hormones) so that you stay feeling good and balance your lifestyle in a way that supports your energy systems. Think about the game of domino’s. A drop in serotonin can cause you to crave certain foods and can throw all of your bodies systems off balance. We can manipulate our energy systems for when we need it and when we need to take our energy down in order to recover, get perspective, refuel, unwind, escape.
1. Eat every 2.5-3 Hours to ensure your insulin levels stay balanced.
2. The less sugar you consume the better. Don't be fooled by what has sugar, even colorful veggies have sugar. Learn about fibrous carbs that have a lower glycemic level. Only eat high glycemic index sugars after an activity or when your sugar levels feel low.
3. Drink lots of water. Water nourishes the cells and keeps nutrients moving through the body fluidly. Limit caffeine.
4. Get lots of antioxidants and phytogens found in colorful fruit and veggies, but earlier in the day so that the sugars in those can be utilized for energy and not stored to fat.
5. Stay active and do exercise. Try not to overtrain or exercise, that puts stress on the body and impacts it negatively. Limit your exercise time to one hour. High intensity workouts should last 20-30 mins only. Workouts should energize, not fatigue you to a point of struggling through the your daily routine.
6. Do Yoga and Meditation, take naps for 20-30 mins to refuel, relax in a bathtub, do some uneducational reading. Get massages regularly or learn how to self massage your neck, head, hands and feet.
7. Get out of the habit of overloading your schedule. At what point is being super busy, super bad for your body and super overcompensating for a lack of something else. Learn to schedule in time for yourself first and work your appointments in around that, you will be surprised at how this really is possible.
8. Eat foods that have tryptophan, such as turkey and dairy products. This hormone is linked directly to serotonin. This will help your body relax naturally.
9. Lower your calories. Never go under your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), but do not overeat at meals or special occasions. This stresses the digestive system. Lowering calories will give you more energy.
10. Get 8 hours of quality sleep. If you have trouble sleeping for more than a few weeks. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Go see a doctor or get an herbal supplement. Losing sleep is detrimental to you on every level.
11. BE AUTHENTIC – do you! Be honest about where you are at and push yourself just enough that you make progress. You can not cheat your body or your mind. It will let you know it!
By learning how to balance our lives, we are supporting our overall health and well being. We will not only gain a sense of equilibrium and the ability to focus better, but we will also feel a profound sense of freedom that we lacked when stressed and anxious. When we eliminate the negative stress, we become more present in the things we strive to achieve, our daily activities, for friends and family. We in turn perform better and are more effective in all areas of our lives. Simple modifications to our eating and exercise habits can set the tone for a more organized, in control, less chaotic existence. When we run around like gooses with our heads chopped off, competing with the world around us, we are most likely going to fail or possibly achieve our dreams only for them to be short lived by our own demise. Eat to unwind and you will find your true calling, live peacefully and fall in love with life! Eliminating the negative stressors, that begin in your own mind is like a rebirth full of new perspective!
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