Stress and Weight Gain Part 2

Tips For Staying Fit When Stressed

When stressed, many people tend to put on more weight for the various reasons stated in Part 1. Fortunately, there’s something you can do to curtail weight gain and even get more fit while reducing stress at the same time. For staying fit when stressed, I recommend the following:

Relaxation Techniques:
You can stop the damage caused by chronic stress with the regular practice of relaxation techniques. These can trigger the relaxation response, which stops the cascade of changes that can occur when you’re stressed, including changes that contribute to weight gain. Some of my favorite relaxation techniques include stretching, progressive muscle relaxation, exercise, massages, and playing word/number games.
But, perhaps you may find more enjoyment from the following ideas instead:

Guided imagery ...Put on Music and Clean the House...
Self Hypnosis... Watch Aquarium Fish ...
Autogenics ...Take a Walk with a Friend ...
Journaling ...Sing Along with Music ...
Meditation ...Set up a Home Spa ...
Yoga ...Cut down on some of your commitments ...
Deep Breathing ...Recite Positive Affirmations ...
Playing Games ...Write a letter or email an old friend ...
Sex ...Walk your Dog ...
Laughter ...Draw a Picture ...
Biofeedback ...Dance to your Favorite Music ...
Work on Becoming an Optimist ...
Take a Walk ...Do a puzzle ...
Plant a Garden ...Take a Mini-Vacation...
Time Management ...Pray...
Eating a Balanced Diet ...Keep a Gratitude Journal ...
Learn Assertive Communication Skills ...Cook something Wonderful ...
Enjoy Aromatherapy ...Surround Yourself with Positive Energy...
Reduce Caffiene Intake ...Learn to say No to Demands on your Time ...
Drink in Moderation ...Take a Nap ...
Don't Procratinate ...Learn a new Language ...

Healthy Munchies:
When stressed, many people tend to eat more, and crave foods that are high in salt, sugar and fat. If you find yourself prone to the munchies when you’re feeling stressed, it is hard to control your cravings. You can really help yourself by tossing out all the high salt, sugar, and fatty foods in your kitchen. And lets not kid ourselves, the children do not need to be putting that junk in thier bodies either, so do not hang on to anything for their sake. That way, when you are stressed you have no choice but to pick from a more healthy fare for snacking. The following have worked for many.
If you crave crunchy and salty try:
- Carrot sticks dipped in low-fat ranch
- Pickles
- Air popped pop corn flavored with Pam Butter Spray and a little salt
- Postachioa nuts or Sunflower seeds (try low-salt or unsalted varieties for better health) have protein and nutrients, and are pretty yummy. If you get them in the shell, they give your hands something to do, and it’s hard to eat too many when you have to shell each one.
If You crave Sweet try:
- Fruit or Frozen grapes
- Frozen Hershy Kisses...but only take 1!
- Low Fat/Sugar Free Hot Chocolate
- Gum
If you would rather run to the liqour cabinet try:
- Sparkling water
- Make a fake drink, pour diet soda in a tub with ice and even add a cherry so it feels like the real deal
- Mix wine with diet tonic to reduce the amout of calories you would normally get from a glass of wine alone
- Try making tea instead

Eat At Home:
Another reason busy, stressed people tend to gain weight is that they more often eat fast food. After a busy day running around, you may not have time to come home and cook something from scratch. But meals you make are usually much better for you. And cooking at home can save you money, too, which may indirectly decrease your stress level by putting you under less financial strain. It’s easier than you think. Purchase a cook book that contains meals to make in less than 15 min. Or pick a day to do massive cooking and freeze the leftovers. Then all you have to do his pull it out of the freezer when you want it.

Work Activity Into Your Life:
Do you want to work out, but find yourself short the extra hours a week it would take to go to the gym? You may be able to remedy this with time management techniques, or you can work exercise into your life by finding simple ways to move more. Taking the stairs rather than the elevator, for example, or going for a walk during your lunch break are easy ways to do this. You can also park further away from wherever it is you go, forcing yourself to walk a little more before you get to your destination. You can even stop, drop, and do a few sets of push-ups every hour or two to keep your blood moving and slowly build muscle. You can get more exercise at home by doing active housework, playing active games with your kids.

Turn Off The T.V.:
Or at least be selective. Rather than chilling in front of the tube because you’re too exhausted to do anything else, only to look up hours later and realize you’ve wasted most of your evening and didn’t get much lasting benefit from the experience, see if you can unwind with some soothing music. Chances are, you won’t spend as much time listening to music as you would flipping from show to show, and you might end up doing something more creative or productive with your time, like journaling, calling a friend, or spending quality time with your kids or spouse. (Next time you think about things you wish you had time to do, remember the time you could free up with less television!) If there are shows you really don’t want to miss, at least record them ahead of time, so you can watch them at your convenience, fast-forward through commercials, and then turn the T.V. off.

Once you incorporate some or all of these simple strategies into your life, staying fit when stressed should be much less of a challenge. And, best of all, you can experience less stress and better health in the process!

Stress and Weight Gain Part 1

Stress and Weight Gain: How Stress Can Affect Your Weight
By Elizabeth Scott, M.S.

There are several ways in which stress can contribute to weight gain. One has to do with cortisol, a stress hormone. When we’re under stress, the fight or flight or fight rsponse is triggered in our bodies, leading to the release of various hormones.

Whether we're stressed because of constant, crazy demands at work or we're really in danger, our bodies respond like we're about to be harmed and need to fight for our lives (or run like heck). To answer this need, we experience a burst of energy, shifts in metabolism and blood flow, and other changes.

If you remain in this state for a prolonged amount of time due to chronic stress, your health becomes at risk. Aside from a host of other dangers, chronic stress can also cause weight gain.

Chronic stress and cortisol can contribute to weight gain in the following ways:
Metabolism -- Do you feel like you're prone to putting on more weight when you're stressed, even if you're eating the same amount of food as you always have? Too much cortisol can slow your metabolism. This is the body's way of saving energy to flight or fight. The body is not aware that you do not need to run away from work stress (even though at time you may wish you could) therefor slowing the metabolism causes more weight gain than you would normally experience. This also makes dieting more difficult.
Cravings -- OK, you're stressed. Do you reach for a nice salad or a pint of Ben & Jerry's? I'll bet on the latter. People experiencing chronic stress tend to crave more high energy foods (fatty, salty, and sugary foods) so that the body has the energy it needs to flight or fight. This includes sweets, processed food and other things that aren’t as good for you. These foods are typically less healthy and lead to increased weight gain.
Blood Sugar -- Prolonged stress can alter your blood sugar levels, causing mood swings, fatigue, and conditions like hyperglycemia. Too much stress has even been linked to metabolic syndrome, a cluster of health concerns that can lead to greater health problems, like heart attacks and diabetes.
Fat Storage -- Excessive stress even affects where we tend to store fat. Higher levels of stress are linked to greater levels of abdominal fat. This is the body's way of protecting all your main organs,which are located in the abdominal area, in case you need to flight or fight. Unfortunately, abdominal fat is not only aesthetically undesirable, it’s linked with greater health risks than fat stored in other areas of the body.

Stress and weight gain are connected in other ways:
Emotional Eating -- Increased levels of cortisol can not only make you crave unhealthy food, but excess nervous energy can often cause you to eat more than you normally would. How many times have you found yourself scouring the kitchen for a snack, or absently munching on junk food when you’re stressed, but not really hungry?
Fast Food -- Experts believe that one of the big reasons we’re seeing more obesity in our society these days is that people are too stressed and busy to make healthy dinners at home, often opting to get fast food a the nearest drive-thru instead.
Too Busy to Exercise -- With all the demands on your schedule, exercise may be one of the last things on your to-do list. If so, you’re not alone. Americans live a more sedentary lifestyle than we have in past generations, yet our minds seem to be racing from everything we have to do. Unfortunately, from sitting in traffic, clocking hours at our desks, and plopping in front of the TV in exhaustion at the end of the day, exercise often goes by the wayside.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to reverse the pattern of weight gain and actually reduce your stress level and waistline at the same time.
Read about these tips in next month's blog article Stress and Weigth Gain Part 2.