5 Things YOU Do Wrong When Trying to Stay Fit (Stressed?)

Today’s Post was inspired by the current economic crisis…

I know what your thinking…

What the heck does the state of the US economy have to do with the shape my body is in?

In short, It can have alot to do with it. The average person eats worse, exercises less, and sleeps less when times are tough. If you’re like most people, you may have noticed that your diet/workout schedule has gone to crap in the last few weeks. (For example, I was getting up at 5AM and running at least a mile every morning until we had a family tragedy a few years back… I broke my habit and it was extremely tough to get back to doing any sort of workout after that…and we’re not even going to talk about what my diet looked like for a few months.)

A nation wide financial crisis is no small amount of stress. Its a lot of stress on a lot of people. I want to show you a few quick things that most people do wrong when they’re under stress (that create habits, which carry over into the less stressful times).

1) Not Moving Around: I know this sounds small, but when you aren’t getting any good exercise (30 minutes to and hour of focused activity), at least you can be getting some exercise. Get up from your desk for two minutes and walk around your office. The real benefit doesn’t really come from the physical exercise your getting, however. The real benefit comes from the fact that you’re thinking about being active. This will translate to better times when you have the freedom to hit the gym or go run.

• Keypoint: Don’t let you mind get out of the habit of exercising. Where your mind goes…Your body will follow.

2) Eating Fast Food: There is a reason that the McDonalds Corporation isn’t worried right now. Most people I know heard the rumor that McDonald’s couldn’t get a line of credit to start a new product line. Whether that rumor was true or not (and I didn’t think for a second that it was), what the heck is McDonald’s doing trying to expand in a time of global economic crisis. McDonald’s knows that they aren’t going anywhere, especially in stressful times. Fast food, no matter how bad for us it is, can act as a comfort mechanism. “I’m too busy/tired to cook tonight,” is a phrase that McDonald’s (and all fast food chains) love!

• Keypoint: Resist the urge to eat like crap when your stressed! Make a sandwich at home…You’ll hug your skinnier/healthier self later in thanks!

3) Eating More than Normal: We form habits because our body thrives on habits. It’s the bad ones that get us into trouble. Good habits, like eating on a regular schedule, keep us healthy. Modifying our eating schedule can spell disaster for our health and figure. For example, I am what you would call a “stress eater”. Some people eat less when they’re stressed, but I tend to eat more. The bad part about eating more is that when your body is stressed, it stores fat. Putting in more food than your body is used to (or needs) easily translates into extra pounds when your stressed.

4) Eating Less than Normal: As bad as eating more food than your body needs can be, eating less than it needs is worse. When you miss a meal, it throws your body into “conservation mode”. When your body is in “conservation mode”, it stores fat a lot quicker. So basically, your getting the double whammy here. Not only is your body storing fat because your stressed in general, but the skipped meal tells your body that the situation is dire and that it needs to save more energy (by storing fat). So when you do finally eat that next meal…your body is going to store a lot more in the reserves (fat) than it normally would.

• Key Point: Whatever you do!!! Don’t deviate from your eating schedule.

5) Sweating the Small Things: Now the theme of my blog is Small Things = Big Change. I’m not even going to try to pretend that this point is a small thing, however. Getting stressed by things that matter quickly leads to us getting stressed by things that don’t. The thing that we all have to work on (I struggle with this a lot) is getting to the bottom of what the real problem is and not letting the small stuff matter. When we let the “small stuff” matter, we amplify the stress on our body (which tells it to store more fat and work less efficiently in general). I’ve seen weight loss goals (I’d rather focus on health goals) go out the door because a person couldn’t let go of a million little things, when one major thing was the problem. One major problem can be hard enough, but when you let yourself be pulled in a million directions, forget about staying healthy.

• Key Point: Actively think about what the real source of stress in your life is. Talk to a friend/family member about it. Saying what the real problem is can make all the difference. You have to get rid of the “side-shows” in life.

If you follow me on Flickr, you know this blog started out as the Top 10 things (I write too much though), but I had to cut it down or it would have been a book.

Have a great day and just start by focusing on the 5 things above. You’ll find that just thinking about making changes or avoiding bad habits can make a huge difference in you overall success in life.

Dr. Ben