Working out the stress during the workday

by Sheila | Mar 10, 2010 | Stress and Weight Loss

In my post, Is Weight Gain Stressing You Out?, I talked about how stress can trigger reactions in your body that lead to weight increases.

Scientifically, we can point to the obvious fact that stress is a big factor in weight loss resistance.  That’s the easy part.  The tough part is what you can do about it particularly during one of the times of greatest stress:  The workday.

If you’re always feeling stressed at the office, you can try a few tips designed to help you cope with work.  Give these a shot:

Eat breakfast, avoid coffee.  What?  Am I suggesting you forego the time-honored tradition of skipping breakfast and instead grabbing an extra-large cup of coffee at Starbucks for your morning energy burst?

I most certainly am.  Starting off the day with the right nutrition can make a huge difference.  And switching to herbal or decaffeinated tea can reduce those caffeine-causing jitters.

The early bird avoids the road rage.  Instead of frantically scrambling out the door and driving like a lunatic to get to work on time, leave ten minutes early.  That way you avoid the rush, and you can handle the inevitable traffic jams without stress.

Of course, this means you might have to set the alarm clock ten minutes earlier, which means you go to bed ten minutes earlier.  But it’s a great way to stem the road rage.

Break for lunch, relax the mind.  Yes, the work is piling up.  But doesn’t it always?  Don’t forget that you’re not a machine, and that you need to take a break and unwind.

Eat a healthy, nutritious lunch, and then get out of the office space.  If possible, go for a walk.  Or find some place quiet to meditate and relax.  Don’t forget to try some of the stretching exercises I mentioned in “Stretching to Lose Weight Naturally.”

Even better, go on a nice walk with a co-worker and share some laughs.

Deep breathing (but not loud enough to scare the person in the cubicle next to you).  It’s been proven that your breathing affects your stress level, so we recommend you become more aware of your breathing.

Now don’t pull a Darth Vader and start freaking out your co-workers.  But pause and take a deep, cleansing breath – perhaps every time the phone rings.  Just don’t do any deep breathing over the phone.

In Part 2 of Working Out the Stress During the Workday, I’ll give you some more tips for relaxing while on the clock.

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Stretching to Lose Weight Naturally

by Sheila | Mar 4, 2010 | Stress and Weight Loss

I tend to stress people out when I write about how much stress can affect your weight.

It’s not a scare tactic, really.  Call it more of an awareness tactic.

And if I am stressing you out, then I feel obligated to tell you about some surefire ways you can reduce stress.  One of them may surprise you:  It’s stretching.

Stretching?  Like what you do before you exercise? 

Exactly.  Stretching can help move toxins out of the muscles, including lactic acid.  Combined with deep breathing, it can help you unwind and relax.

And I can’t over-emphasize the importance of relaxation enough.  If you’re relaxed, your body won’t kick out overloads of cortisol, or limit your supply of the all-important hormone DHEA, responsible for anti-aging, libido stimulating and fat burning.

So let’s start stretching, shall we?

I’ve attached a few pictures of some great stretches you can do around the office.  Give them a shot.  Now you may get a few funny looks as you begin loosening hamstrings while making photocopies, but you may just inspire some co-workers to join in.

When you stretch, hold these poses 10-20 seconds, until you feel slight tension.  Then relax for 10 seconds, stretch slightly further, and hold again for another 10-20 seconds.

Relax during the stretch, and don’t bounce or jerk. If it hurts, STOP!  Pain can mean that your muscle is about to get tighter than when you started.

Be sure to incorporate deep breathing exercises into the mix.  It enhances the stretch and gives your body the oxygen it needs.

When should you stretch?

When should you sneak these stretches in?  Pace yourself throughout the day.  Whenever you’re feeling a little tight, push back the chair and stretch out.

If you exercise during the day, be sure to stretch before and after the workout.  Those post-workout stretches help move toxins out of the muscles, helping reduce soreness.  It also brings oxygen-rich blood into the muscles.

Deep breathing is critical throughout, as it increases your flexibility.

Stretching has so many positive benefits beyond relaxing your body and helping work out toxins in the muscles.  It also prepares your joints for activity, and helps extend the range of motion of your muscles.  It can prevent injuries, too.

So don’t stretch for that bag of potato chips – stretch to relieve stress and lose weight the natural way!

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It’s not too late!

by Sheila | Feb 26, 2010 | Stress and Weight Loss

If you didn’t listen in to last night’s Natural Beach Body teleseminar, don’t worry:  You can still tune in!

http://attendthisevent.com/?eventid=11111718  to listen to a replay of the teleseminar, and discover a special limited time offer

Sheila “The Weight Loss Comedian” Robertson introduced to our listeners!

First, let’s recount what happened in last night’s teleseminar:

Sheila and Dr. Chad Oler of the Natural Path Health Center discussed how to achieve a Natural Beach Body, getting into the science of weight loss resistance.

Informative, funny, and fascinating, the seminar touched on a wide range of topics.

• You’ll learn why so many people struggle to lose weight, even when they do all the right things.
• You’ll hear both Sheila and Dr. Chad’s own personal struggles with weight, and how they righted their own personal ships.
• You’ll discover 10 tips for looking great in just 10 days.

And best of all, you’ll discover a special offer Sheila made last night to all our listeners.  From now until noon on March 5, anyone who signs up for a Getting Started visit will enjoy a 50% discount off the price.

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Is Weight Gain Stressing You Out?

by Sheila | Feb 24, 2010 | Stress and Weight Loss

Putting on weight may cause stress, but the opposite is also true:  Stress is a big contributor to weight gain.

Why?  It comes to down science and weight loss resistance.

Stress is one of the key factors in weight loss resistance.  Consider it from a scientific perspective:

Stress causes an increase in cortisol, the catabolic (breakdown) hormone. If this level remains high, it will break down muscle, dump sugar into your bloodstream and result in insulin resistance.

Ugh.  Not good.  Unfortunately, I’m just getting started.

Chronic stress lowers serotonin and can make you hypoglycemic.  Those two factors will make you crave sugar – which despite what your kids might tell you – is not good for you, especially in the weight loss department.

Over time, chronic stress will lower the anti-aging, libido stimulating, fat burning hormone DHEA.  It will affect your body’s ability to build muscle – let’s call that your “metabolic girdle.”  (Doesn’t that sound sexy?)

Okay, so how do you know if you’re stressed out?  Sounds like that should be an obvious answer, but most people don’t stop and take a good look at some of the signs that stress is affecting their health.

Behavior Symptoms:  Think about how you’ve been acting lately.  Have you noticed added anger or hostility?  Are you exceptionally moody, or indecisive?

Also think about your eating and drinking habits.  Are you eating quickly, often, and in great quantities?  And are you finding that one glass of wine or beer is often turning to 3, 4, 5 or more?

These are all behavioral indicators that you’re feeling stress.

Intellectual Symptoms:  You may notice you’re more forgetful (if you can remember to notice), and that you’re losing focus on details.  That’s more than just misplacing your keys once or twice – you’ll know it when the forgetfulness incidents start to add up.

You may also notice a lack of concentration, as in you may not be able to finish this article.  (I seriously hope that’s not the case!)

Physical Symptoms:  Stress manifests itself physically in a whole slew of not-so-pleasant ways, such as chronic fatigue, constipation, diarrhea, headaches, indigestion, hypertension, insomnia, nausea, sweaty palms, tight muscles.  Ugh, part 2.

Is all this talk about stress stressing you out?  If so, you’ll want to check out some of my upcoming posts on coping with stress.

And for Pete’s sake, wherever Pete is, watch the video of me doing my Weight Loss Comedian schtick.  Start laughing, and start losing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZYD17iJGbs