My Journey With Weight Loss – Combatting Stress

The weather turned out better than expected today so I headed down to the beach to walk the promenade. The problem was I didn’t expect it to be quite as warm as it was. As I usually do I threw a long sleeved t-shirt over my tank top and about half way through my walk I regretted that decision. Unfortunately I had only put sunscreen on my face and neck so there was no option of taking off the t-shirt. Personally I take sunscreen seriously so exposure of that much bare skin was just not going to happen so I just sweated out the rest of the walk.

But let’s talk about stress. I’ve read many articles that make it clear stress has an impact on both your physical and mental health. As a matter of fact several of those articles talk about how stress can cause weight gain. Realistically it is not possible to eliminate all stress from your life but there are things that can be done to help alleviate your stress level and to cope with it better.

In my family we just always seem to be in crisis mode. The latest has been dealing with some very scary health issues involving my brother. He had to make a difficult choice recently as to whether to have his leg amputated or to have a very risky surgery. He chose the surgery and that took place today. You can just imagine how stressed I was waiting for the doctor to call and update me (he’s an awesome doctor who promised to call me right after the surgery was over which he did). However, that left many hours today just waiting. So, I walked, a lot. I did my running training first thing this morning then it was an hour long walk with the dog. Finally it was the 1 1/2 hour walk to the beach and back. In between I made sure I had some planned projects to take care of so that my mind could be focused on something else. I had just made it home from my last walk when the doctor called to advise my brother had survived the surgery and was starting the road to recovery (still not out of the woods but way closer than he was yesterday).

Exercise can be an amazing way to reduce stress. It doesn’t have to be vigorous exercise, it can be as simple as stretching, lifting some weights or in my case walking. When I walk I always make sure I have a distraction such as watching something on my iPad when I use the treadmill or listening to a book when I am walking outside. I use these distractions so that I don’t let my mind focus on the pressures in my life. My exercise time is about me and I try to keep it that way.

A simple thing I do when I think things are getting overwhelming is some breathing exercises. It is simple, I take a deep breath in, hold it for several seconds then slowly exhale. Each time I do this I focus on relaxing muscles down my body starting with my neck then my shoulders, down my back and abdomen and continuing on down until every muscle all the way to my feet is relaxed. By time I have gone all the way down my body I just feel better like weight has been lifted off me.

And finally is my pets. There is nothing better at helping me to relax and focus than playing with or cuddling with my dog or one of my cats. As a matter of fact as I type this one of my cats is sitting next to me chatting his resentment at me ignoring him. He always makes me smile when he does this as I know he will soon be on my desk rubbing his head against my arm demanding that I stop and give his chin a scratch. Studies have show that simply stroking a pet can help lower both your stress and blood pressure. I like to use that as an excuse to spend time with my animals.

Find what works for you to help reduce your stress. Remember, this journey as as much about your mental health as it is about your physical health.