Less stress

     Good morning, Fam...  I know it's been a few days since you have heard from me.  I was trying to accept and enjoy one of the best joys in my life.  My daughter graduated from college.  It was an event that was a long time coming, but it came, I relished in the moment, cried at some point in the day for about 3 days and there is a part of me that still cannot believe WE DID IT!!!     I cannot begin to tell you how much stress I feel has been lifted off of my chest.  Yes, new worries come into play--will she find a job? will we live together peacefully until she does? how long will she stay home with me? --but I feel so stress free...So, let's talk stress...


     According to the experts, stress can be a killer.  In many ways I understand that.  Why?  Because stress has a snowball effect on your body.  First of all, let's be real and understand that stress is just a part of life.  Second and most importantly, we need to learn how to handle it.  Stress can effect your happiness, your productivity, your family, your health...You get the picture? 
     There is a hormone in our body, CORTISOL, that is triggered whenever we are under stress.  Cortisol stimulates fat and carb metabolism for quick energy. That, in turn, stimulates insulin release so our body can maintain certain blood sugar levels, which causes our body to think its hungry.  Hence, more food = weight gain.  Unforturnately, dieting is one of the factors that can trigger the cortisol as well because dieting is a stressful moment for our bodies (like I needed an expert to tell me that). 
     It seems most articles I have read suggest that you do several things to decrease your stress level.  They are, eat "right", sleep "right", move "right" and soothe "right".   When you really stop and think about those 4 things, they seem to hinder on EVERYTHING having to do with being healthy. 

• Eating "right", just means making sure that you are getting the proper foods in your system to help fight stress.  Make sure you get your Omega-3's which are found in fish, nuts, flaxseed, and this new thing on the horizon--chia seeds (we will discuss later).  Eat your whole grains, and get that potassium which can be found in potatoes and bananas. 
• Sleep "right", means get your appropriate rest.  If you are like me, you are a very restless sleeper or you stay on the go way too much and do not get enough rest.  You need at least 6 solid hours of SLEEP.  Did you get that last night?
• Move "right".  You already know you need to get up and exercise and burn some calories.  Start making it a part of your daily routine.
• Soothe "right", means you HAVE to find some moments to yourself.  No matter how bad things may seem, take 20 minutes out of your day for you and ONLY YOU.  Sit in the bathroom with some headphones on, go for a walk around your neighborhood park, go sit in your car with some good no commercial music.  Whatever it is, find it and make it your own.  I love candles, so occasionally, I will light some candles in my bedroom, close the door, turn on the fan, and lay across my bed...If 20 minutes is too much, try 15,you deserve that much,don't you???

     We have got to learn to de-stress.  Yes, it is easier said than done, but TRY IT...It could make for a healthier you!!!  Smooches...