1. Move It or Lose It
Exercise may be one of the most
perfect stress management tools, yet it’s often the first thing to go
when our schedules get too busy. Because there is no “deadline”
associated with daily exercise, it’s easy to bump exercise to the bottom
of the priority list. Or, is there a deadline? Many researchers
believe that poor health habits—most essentially, lack of exercise,
improper diet, and smoking—are responsible for a significant proportion
of deaths from heart disease and cancer. Maybe it would be wise to move
it so that we don’t lose it.
“Exercise may be one of the most perfect stress management tools.”
2. Regular Fat versus Stress Fat
Americans are
notorious for making less-than-ideal dietary choices, and statistics
reveal that over half the population is overweight. Stress can make you
less likely to keep compulsive eating under control. What’s worse,
stress-related eating may be particularly dangerous to your health. Some
studies have uncovered a distinction between “regular fat” and “stress
fat.” Stress fat is not the lumpy, bumpy stuff you can see jiggling on
your thighs and upper arms. Stress fat is the fat that accumulates deep
inside the body, specifically around the internal organs of your torso.
This “stress fat” is the only fat that is known to contribute to heart
disease, cancer, and diabetes. This dangerous fat may be directly
related to stress (and among other things, including estrogen levels).
3. Educate Yourself
Stress-related
eating is the beginning of a vicious circle. You feel stressed, so you
eat foods that are likely to increase your susceptibility to stress.
Consequently, you feel more stressed and eat more of those same
stress-promoting foods. How do you stop the madness? Knowledge is power,
and although knowledge may not equal willpower, it is the first
step. Certain foods are known to have a disruptive effect on the body’s
equilibrium, while other foods are known to have a more balancing
effect. Many cultures have discovered this food/body connection. Many
contemporary researchers and health promoters emphasize the link between
good health, balance, energy, and the food we eat.
4. Beware of “Miracle” Diets
It’s easy to
find fad diets that promise miraculous results, and it’s equally easy to
find people to proclaim how this or that diet was the only thing that
worked for them. Many of these diets are controversial. Some people
swear by the diet that suggests different blood types should focus on
different foods. Others are devoted to the low-carb diets such as the
Zone Diet, the Atkins Diet, the Protein Power diet, and the Carbohydrate
Addict’s diet. Some people choose a vegetarian or vegan (no animal
products at all including dairy and eggs) diet. There are countless
others. Maybe one of these diets will work for you.
5. Learn the Plus Sides of Diet
The blood-type diets are all low in
calories and high in natural, minimally processed foods. The low-carb
diets make a good point: Refined carbohydrates tend to spike insulin
levels, and in some people, insulin fluctuations seem to cause food
binges and unusual weight gain. We need to get more protein back into
our lives, and for some people, it’s the answer to carbohydrate binges
and can put a stop to massive weight gain. Vegetarian and vegan diets
have merit, too. Animal products have been associated with an increased
risk of certain diseases, and many available animal products, from rich
cheeses to marbled meats, are high in saturated fat, calories, and, in
the case of the cured meats, salt and preservatives, some of which are
known carcinogens. Vegetarians tend to eat more vegetables, fruit, whole
grains, beans, nuts, and seeds, and other healthy, unprocessed foods.
6. Go Natural
Whenever
possible, eat food as close to its natural state as you can. Eat an
orange instead of drinking orange juice, but drink orange juice instead
of orange soda. Eat a broiled, free-range, organic chicken breast
instead of a breaded, fried chicken patty. Choose brown rice over white,
old-fashioned oats over instant flavored oatmeal, instant oatmeal over
a toaster pastry. Eat whole wheat bread or, better yet, sprouted wheat
bread instead of plain white bread, and spread it with natural, organic
peanut or almond butter.
7. Choose Nutrients over Empty Calories
Choose
nutrient-dense foods instead of foods that are mostly empty calories.
For example, dried fruit is more nutrient-dense than candy, broccoli and
carrots with yogurt dip are more nutrient-dense than chips or popcorn,
and freshly squeezed fruit or vegetable juice is more nutrient dense
than soda.
