The final step of the 3 Part Equation (read the first two parts in the last two issues of Strictly Business) for fitness and weight loss success is stress relief, control and rest.  Simply put, stress is the number 1 killer.  It is a factor in many diseases, many illnesses and many of the things we bring upon ourselves and our health.  It will destroy the positive effects of our exercise, our nutrition and many other efforts.  Stress is also often associated with overeating.  Stress is sometimes the super villain that is holding people back from their fitness and weight loss goals.  So we can either ignore it and deal with the consequences, or we can understand it and do something about it.  Our bodies are designed to handle occasional stress and in fact use it in a good way when we need it.  However, long term stress on the body is nothing short of catastrophic.  So we must recognize it, own it, and CONTROL it! People have developed many different strategies to deal with stress.  Exercise itself is a good form of stress relief.

Another huge factor is sleep.  A lack of sleep causes stress on the body.  We can try to cheat the process and force ourselves to go without sleep, but we PAY a price for doing that.  Sleep deprivation is a major source of stress for Americans.  Some even take pride in their lack of sleep!  In the end, they are hurting their bodies.  And just a quick note to the guys out there:  One of the #1 ways to lower your testosterone is to sleep less! Since I’m not guessing that’s one of your goals, you might want to think on that a bit.

So what are other ways we can control our stress levels?  A few ideas (and there are many more) include:

1. Yoga:  it’s great exercise and does wonders for our mental state and stress levels.

2. Simple relaxation breathing:  Nothing fancy here.  Just sit down, shut up and breathe and try not to think of all the junk bothering you.  Seriously it’s that simple….and it works.

3. Disconnecting:  ie. turn off the TV, the computer, your cell phone, all the gadgets that have you “on call” to respond to the world and just take a a break for a day (or at least a few hours).

4. Ensuring that we balance our work life with time for ourselves, our family and other things in life.  Life balance is critical to our overall physical and mental wellbeing.  When we are out of balance too long we feel stress from not
doing what we really need to do in life to have fulfillment.  Skip enough times when you should have been there for your family and you will pay the price in more ways than one.

5. Sometimes giving yourself permission to do things “just for you.”  Too often, we get into a pattern where we are doing everything for everyone else.  Sometimes it’s ok to be a little selfish and do something simply because it’s what we want….it’s kind of a refreshing indulgence at times and that helps lower our stress and stay balanced!

So there it is, a very simple 3 Part Equation for Fitness and Weight Loss Success:  Training+Nutrition+Stress Relief= A HAPPIER HEALTHIER YOU!

Please email Jeff at jdousharm@windstream.com or visit our website