It’s 8 am Monday morning, you don’t hear your alarm go off, but you jump out of bed in a panic, and remember only have 15 minutes to be at work. You by-pass taking a shower (no-time) and grab a candy bar and soda for your breakfast, for lunch you feel like you have so much to catch up on and angry clients who have urgent needs. With another busy day, you skip lunch. Only to come home to your kids and all their demands. You make it through the evening and can’t fall asleep until 1 a.m because of so much you have to do tomorrow.
We’ve probably all experienced this type of scenario at one time or another in our lives, right? You feel rushed, and overwhelmed, and the key word here.. STRESSED, there’s no time in the world for yourself and your constantly on-the-go so of course and making poor nutrition choices which ultimately ends in a downward spiral of constantly feeling tired and sick, and your stress levels constantly draining you and causing you to slowly gain weight week by week.
Sometimes stress can be the enemy to all of our healthcare goals, from losing weight to feeling tired and frustrated, to always feeling sick. We may feel like we are doing all the right things (including eating healthy) and we’re still not reaching our weight/health goals. The reason is that there is a direct effect of stress and weight gain in the body. It’s called cortisol, which is known as the stress hormone. When you're under stress the fight or flight response takes effect in your body, which releases this hormone-cortisol, and the more cortisol we have the more likely we are going to crave foods that are high-carb, high sugar, high in salts that tend to make our waistlines a little bigger. If we are constantly in this mode where we are on the go, overwhelmed, and stressed then this can not only affect our waistline but also our digestion, our appetite, blood flow and even our metabolisms. So the question is, is there an effective way to treat this, and the answer is simply yes.
Solutions to Stress
Sometimes to simplest solutions can be the hardest for us to accomplish and do. I could say eat the right foods, and drink enough water throughout your day but also taking time to slow down during your week could be the single most important thing we do. Spend more time at home, go outside, take a nice walk in nature. Appreciate the good things you have in your life. Make time for meditation, and pondering, spend time with your loved ones. Make some tea that gives you energy and hope.
We can’t avoid every stressful situation we’re put in but we can plan ahead to see what each day might bring. We might have to pencil in when we can go outside or what we’re going to make for dinner or when we’re going to go grocery shopping. Planning ahead helps us to take each day as it comes and overcoming those situations that might make us stressed out. Appreciate the simple things in life and make small changes to your health each week and you will be on the road to a happy healthy life!