STRESS: The Weightiest Problem For Busy Women
Did you know that the amount of stress you feel, and how you deal with it, can totally determine whether you lose or gain weight?
My clients are busy women - they work hard, run their own businesses, take care of their family, travel, cook, clean, go to school, volunteer, write, create, take on huge amounts of responsibility and rarely have quiet time for themselves. They are stressed to the max!The frustrating thing is that many women still find time to exercise on a regular basis and even revamp their diets so that they're eating better than ever before - and they STILL can't lose weight.Here's the thing: it's not the amount of exercise (or maybe it IS), or the diet that's the main problem.It's the amount of stress women feel on a daily basis that keeps the weight on.The amount of constant, low-level stress humans experience on a daily basis is unnatural and new. By "new" I mean recent in human history. Never before have we been bombarded with stimuli like texts, voice mail, cell phones, emails, streaming video, 24-hour news channels, reality television, radio, schedules, alarm clocks, deadlines, and advertising. Up until a few generations ago, we didn't even have electric lights! We got up with the sun and went to bed with the sun. Ponder that for a moment.When I work with busy, stressed-out women who constantly focus on how they can't lose weight, I often put them on a media diet:- turn off the tv after 6pm- no tv in the bedroom EVER- go computer free on the weekendsBesides lowering the amount of tiny stressors like texts and email alerts, learning how to incorporate daily, even hourly, stress relievers will help the body and mind calm down and stop producing the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. These two lovelies set the body up to hold on to fat in anticipation of fight or flight - which was useful when we were living in mud huts and gathering our food in the wild.My favorite ways to relax during the day are:- look up a relaxtion meditation video on Youtube- drink a glass of water every hour- walk around outside for 5 minutes every 2-3 hours- stretch in the sunlight or while looking out a window every 2-3 hours- ride my bike while doing my errands (yes, my 3 year old comes too: I have a bike trailer that can fit one kid and 3-4 bags of groceries)Bi-weekly or monthly stress reduction techniques include:- massage- food rub and pedicure- sitting in the steam room at my YMCATake time out for relaxation on a regular basis for easier weight management. In coming newsletters and blog posts, I'll be writing more about adrenal fatigue, stress and ways to relax into weight loss.Are you ready for total body transformation and weight loss? Join me for my upcoming 4 Week Detox Tele-Course starting April 26th!Here's to your health!Alexandra