18 Ways to Thrive and have Healthy Happy Holiday Season

    Happy Holiday's 

1.    Keep up you renewal routines.

Take the time to nourish yourself with exercise, whether it is walking, running, yoga, meditation, biking etc?  It is as important if not more important during the busy holiday season.  Exercise provides fresh oxygen, blood and nutrients to all the joints, organs and the brain.  It also stabilizes blood sugar and is a big stress reliever.  Time strapped do the 7 minute workout.

2.   Make breakfast high energy

Make a high Protein shake or smoothie. It must have clean high quality protein powder, good fat, (flax seed oil, nuts and seeds) leafy greens and a small amount of fruit.

3.  Cut the Carbs on Turkey Day.

Stuff your turkey with celery, onions, herbs and spices instead of the high fat high carb loaded version.  Switch high carb pumpkin pie for pumpkin soup with a dollop of yogurt and skip the bread roll.

4.   Make new Traditions

Most holiday dinners are upwards of 2500/3000 calories and that does not include alcohol or eggnog.  Old Traditions have made us fat and put a huge load on the digestive system and the heart.  It is time for new healthier traditions.

5.   Give the Gift of Love

One of the best gifts one can give a loved one is the gift of positive and loving behavior and words.  If you see all the wonderful things in your spouse, kids family members, friends etc. just imagine how great that would be and it is guaranteed to improve your relationships. The photo is my best friend Graeme and his family in 2012.

   6.    Use a minimalistic approach to Decorations and the Table.

We do not need more stuff and we all have tons of Holiday décor and the thing is that most of your guests don’t notice as much as we think they do.  What they notice is the energy and feeling of your home.  So skip the extra running around and stress and light candles.

 7.  Do a Digital Detox

Make a pact with your friends and family to put phones and iPads etc. away during dinners and outings. Spend some quality time together really listening and engaging with each other.

     8.  Connect with Community and Give Back

Giving to others during the holidays helps us help others and in turn helps us. We like to do a turkey trot and move our feet before we eat. It is something that whole family can do that is fun and good for you.  The proceeds go to charities.  We also collect bears for the local children’s hospital. Pick a couple of community events that match you giving philosophy.

      9.   Go Grain Free, Gluten Free and Zero Refined Sugar

If you need tasty ideas go to www.hemsleyandhemsley.com. These two sisters also have a great cookbook called The Art of Eating Well. Perhaps a good holiday gift for someone you know.

   10. Listen to your Body

Are you aware of your stress levels?  How often do you pretend to be fine? Pay attention to the clues your body gives and nurture yourself.

   11. Keep your Immune system strong

Sugar and stress depresses you immune system leading to colds, flu, coughs, allergies and stuffy nose. Load up on antioxidants and decrease your sugar intake.

   12. Preserve Sleep

The body rests and repairs during quality sleep.  It makes no rational sense to pull an all-nighter just to get a couple of dollars off on Black Friday. A better idea is to go to bed at 10pm and get up at 5am if you have to have those door busters.  Aim for at least 7 hours

   13. Choose a different response

How you respond to stress is what matters. Step out of the situation and view it from the outside.  Take a few breaths before you respond or don’t react at all.

   14.  Eat your Veggies

This is a great time to enjoy all those fabulous root vegetables.  They are high in fiber and loaded with nutrients.  Chew them well.

   15. Drink your Veggies

If you don’t get your adequate servings of veggies per day, drink them.  Enjoy a green drink.

   16. Hydrate

Aim to drink a minimum of 64 ounces of water a day.  Not only will your digestive system thank you but your skin will too.  If you are flying during the holiday season drink more… I know it is a hassle to go to the bathroom when you fly, however the benefits outweigh the discomfort of dehydration.

   17. Take it Easy on the High Calorie Beverages

Alcohol, Eggnog and a Pumpkin Spice Latte count as non-nutrient dense calories.  We have a mind set that what we drink does not count as part of our consumption however it has a huge impact on weight gain, sleep quality and depresses the immune system.

   18. Beware of the Buffett

Be consciously selective when it comes to the buffet table. If you know that the choices available will not be healthy then try to eat good for you food before go to your event.

Bonus Tips

   19. Stress can be good for us

Our bodies are designed to handle stress in appropriate amounts.  Some stress can kick us into gear to get things done, provide focus, clear thinking and take action.

It is when stress is too much for too long that problems arise.

   20. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Put on bright red lipstick and a sparkly top and you are good to go…. When you look good you feel good. When you feel good you look good!

"Step into your own personal power" How To: Listen To Your Body

A wonderful Article from Louise Androliahttp://livetheprocess.com
We are in a glorious, openhearted world for wellness. Around every corner, there is a juice bar and a yoga center. There are endless classes, podcasts and therapies to experience; bookshelves and blogs are filled with recipes and plans to follow.

The time really is now, but it’s also, for a lot of people, totally overwhelming. My clients often arrive in a state of total disconnect from their mind, body and spirit, especially when it comes to their own physical health. In regards to eating habits, they are either in a state of confusion about what the “correct” way to eat is or they perceive themselves as failing if they have trouble sticking to a diet that was chosen, for example, because it’s on trend.

In order to make the most of the incredible time in which we live, we all need to take a few steps back and reconnect to ourselves.

It doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing; it doesn’t matter how great the latest health trend may be. If it doesn’t align with you, then it’s not for you. So, before you get confused by the holistic banquet, here’s how to reel yourself back in. After all, feeling good is more important than fitting in.

1. Be Positively Selfish

This is a term I use often to teach clients to put their own wellness at the top of their list. When you value your health, everything else can function a lot better underneath that one golden rule. To be selfish about your wellbeing means to remember that your experience is unique. Yes, our body systems are alike, but it makes no sense to try to copy and paste someone else’s individual body code onto your different make-up. For instance, I look after myself with my autoimmune condition in mind. That’s of course going to be different for someone who has a different set of symptoms.

Step into your own personal power and choose to conduct your life with one goal: that you feel good. With this in mind, you can start to work with your body.

2. Tune into your body

A great first step is to acknowledge all your physical, mental and emotional conditions and symptoms, both longterm and those that are new. When you choose to tune into your physical body, it’s amazing how powerfully it speaks to you. You can ask yourself all sorts of questions, such as:

1. How do I feel right now?

2. What aches and pains have become regular to me?

3. How do I sleep and how do I feel when I wake up?

4. How do my energy levels and mood change throughout the day?

5. Am I aware of my own stress levels?

6. How often do I pretend to be fine?

You can also practice a moving meditation with eating. When you have breakfast, sit without electrics or distractions and only the meal in front of you. As you take each mouthful, feel the food, its temperature, its texture and how it feels going into your body. This connects you not only to your body, but also to the present moment.

3. Listen to your body

You may now be more present and aware of the ways in which you feel off-balance. To combine these steps together, start a wellness diary for a few weeks. Write down everything you eat, the exercise you do and a brief description of your day. Alongside, note down your stressors and your physical, mental and emotional symptoms, including hormonal cycles.

4. Take Action and Nurture Your Journey

Now you can make the most of this bright time we are in! Armed with the knowledge of what it feels like to be you, it’s much easier to see which books, therapists and blogs you relate to and also to know whether they work for you or not. You also have a diary that you can take to a doctor or nutritionist. Instead of just feeling “unwell” or “tired,” you might be able to pinpoint what lead to that specific feeling.

Finally, be compassionate to yourself and your journey. A common block I see is when we devalue what we are feeling or experiencing. It’s so easy to say that we are “fine” or tell ourselves that we are probably just being silly. If you are having a feeling in your mind, body or spirit, then it is valid and it is yours to nurture.

Learn about your own body, then embrace the empowerment that comes from utilizing the wealth of tools and information that surrounds you.

6 Exercises to Reverse Bad Posture

Did you know that for every inch the head moves forward in posture, its weight on your neck and upper back muscles increases by 10 pounds?

For example, a human head weighing 12 pounds held forward only 3 inches from the shoulders results in 42 pounds of pressure on the neck and upper back muscles. That's the equivalent of almost three watermelons resting on your neck and back!

When you neglect your posture, you invite chronic back pain. Rounding your low back while sitting for extended periods of time in front of a computer, standing for hours stooped over, sleeping improperly and lifting poorly can all lead to debilitating aches.

Maintaining the natural lumbar curve in your low back is essential to preventing posture-related back pain. This natural curve works as a shock absorber, helping to distribute weight along the length of your spine. Adjusting postural distortions can help stop back pain.

A basic remedy to sitting all day is to simply get up! Frequently getting up from a seated position and doing these six quick and easy realignment exercises can help you reeducate your muscles from getting stuck in a hunched over cave man position.

1. Chin Tuck

The Chin Tuck can help reverse forward-head posture by strengthening the neck muscles.

This exercise can be done sitting or standing. Start with your shoulders rolled back and down. While looking straight ahead, place two fingers on your chin, slightly tuck your chin and move your head back (image at left). Hold for 3-5 seconds and then release. Repeat 10 times.

Tip: The more of a double chin you create, the better the results. If you’re in a parked car, try doing the Chin Tuck pressing

the back of your head into the headrest for 3-5 seconds. Do 15-20 repetitions.

2. Wall Angel

Stand with your back against a flat wall with your feet about four inches from the base. Maintain a slight bend in your knees. Your glutes, spine and head should all be against the wall. Bring your arms up with elbows bent so your upper arms are parallel to the floor and squeeze your shoulder blades together, forming a letter "W" (image at left). Hold for 3 seconds.

Next, straighten your elbows to raise your arms up to form the letter “Y.” Make sure not to shrug your shoulders to your ears. Repeat this 10 times, starting at “W,” holding for 3 seconds and then raising your arms into a “Y.” Do 2-3 sets.

3. Doorway Stretch

This exercise loosens those tight chest muscles!

Standing in a doorway, lift your arm so it's parallel to the floor and bend at the elbow so your fingers point toward the ceiling. Place your hand on the doorjamb.

Slowly lean into your raised arm and push against the doorjamb for 7-10 seconds. Relax the pressure and then press your arm against the doorjamb again, this time coming into a slight lunge with your legs so your chest moves forward past the doorjamb for 7-10 seconds (image at left). Repeat this stretch two to three times on each side.

4. Hip Flexor Stretch

Kneel onto your right knee with toes down, and place your left foot flat on the floor in front of you.

Place both hands on your left thigh and press your hips forward until you feel a good stretch in the hip flexors.

Contract your abdominals and slightly tilt your pelvis back while keeping your chin parallel to the floor (image at left). Hold this pose for 20-30 seconds, and then switch sides.

The next two exercises require a resistance band:

5. The X-Move

This exercise helps strengthen your upper back muscles, especially the ones between your shoulder blades (the rhomboids).

Sit on the floor with your legs extended forward. Place the middle of the resistance band around the bottom of your feet and cross one side over the other to form an "X".

Grasp the ends of the band with your arms extended in front of you.

Pull the ends of the band toward your hips, bending your elbows so they point backward (image at left). Hold and slowly return. Do 8-12 repetitions for three sets.

6. The V-Move

According to a 2013 study by the Scandinavian Society of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, performing this simple resistance band exercise 2 minutes a day, five times a week, will significantly decrease your neck and shoulder pain and improve your posture.

While standing, stagger your feet so one is slightly behind the other. Grasp the handles, or the ends, of the resistance band and lift your arms upward and slightly outward away from your body about 30 degrees.

Keep a slight bend in your elbows. Stop at shoulder level; hold and return.

Make sure to keep your shoulder blades down and back straight. Repeat this exercise for 2 minutes each day, five days a week.

Good work!

WHAT IS VITALISM?

Please enjoy this wonderful and important article By Jeanne Ohm.

There is a growing awareness that all health care falls into two paradigms or perspectives: vitalism and mechanism.  Vitalism is based on the premise that an organized intelligence is present in matter. This energetic force is responsible for the creation and maintenance of life. Mechanism claims that existence is merely limited to material causes and mechanical properties.

The vitalistic practitioner is concerned with the whole person and discovering the underlying causes of malfunction or dis-ease in the body. Identifying these causes, the person can choose supportive modes of care that will enhance normal, natural function. Uncovering the causes of dis-ease empowers the individual to make lifestyle choices conducive to healthy body function and overall wellness.

The mechanistic practitioner is concerned with conditions as an identifiable entity that can be overcome or eliminated with the use of drugs and or surgery. These invasive methods force the body to undergo immediate changes. Although the quick symptomatic changes may seem appealing, neglecting the cause of the problem leads to continued malfunction. Furthermore, treating symptoms without addressing cause often disrupts the normal healing processes of the body.

Today's parents are more concerned than ever about the adverse effects drugs have on their children. Parents are increasingly asking, when handed a prescription for a child's recurrent problem, "Is this really the best for my child? Is there a safer alternative?"
Parents are hesitant to merely mask symptoms with drugs and are worried about side effects. Their desire to achieve a state of true health has led parents to seek health care options which support their children’s own natural ability to be healthy.

Chiropractic care enhances normal body function. Based on the major premise that respects the natural process of healing, the purpose of chiropractic care is to identify cause, make corrections and support our inherent ability to be well. Chiropractic was founded on principles congruent with the vitalistc paradigm.

The chiropractic family wellness lifestyle is defined as a lifestyle of health based in vitalistic principles. In other words, with the understanding and trust in the body’s ability to heal, we as parents can choose types of care that are supportive not suppressive. We can choose types of care that will get to the cause of dis-ease, rather than treatments that simply cover up symptoms. We can make lifestyle choices that enhance normal body function.

Our purpose in Pathways is to offer you the types of care consistent with the vitalistic perspective and a most importantly give you a greater insight and respect for the body’s inherent wisdom to be well. In this and every issue, we are pleased to share the principles of chiropractic that have made it the largest natural healing profession available today.

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Dr. Jeanne Ohm is also the Executive Editor of Pathways magazine, a quarterly publication offering resources for parents to make informed health care choices. Find out more about Pathways magazine.

5 Ways to Utilize the Power of the Breath at Work

If you feel like work is taking the wind out of you, you're not alone. Two in five people say that they experience  chronic stress at work. 

We are working long hours --  shoulders hunched over our computers and checking email at lightening speed -- it's no wonder many don't take the time to breathe. Deep breathing is no longer just relegated to the practice or yoga or mindful meditation. It's become an essential tool of the modern day work-life merge.

The Breath as Fuel

The breath is the sustaining force that keeps us in human form. It's the fundamental transaction of life, the fuel to help us manage stress and the ignition switch for the creative impulse. Thinking of breath as fuel or energy helps us understand that long deep breaths serve us and provide us with resources to handle pressures.

Harnessing the Breath at Work

Harnessing the breath, and channeling it more precisely, trains us to be mindfully aware of where we focus our attention and how we interact with our coworkers. Awareness is fostered when the breath is nurtured. Deepening and slowing your breath helps trigger the parasympathetic nervous system  and tells the brain to release calming hormones. It creates the atmosphere from which to make better decisions.

The breath is the gateway to the silent space within. Not an easy place to get to in a 24/7 high-tech global marketplace where connectivity is the law of the land in "real time." Here are five tips to using the breath to break work stress.

1. Morning Breath: Set your alarm for 10 minutes before you need to get out of bed. Upon awakening, sit up in bed in a comfortable position and keep your eyes closed. Open your mouth. With sound, breathe in and out three times into the pit of your belly, as if fogging a mirror. You'll sound like Darth Vader. Then close your mouth and continue to inhale and exhale for a few minutes. Open your eyes and continue to breath in silence.

2. Commuter Breath: When traveling, or if working from home as you prepare to sit at your desk, just notice your breath. If you are driving in traffic or getting the kids off to school, as stress increases your breath gets shallow. Inhale to a count of three through your nose, hold for a moment, and exhale to a count of three or longer. As you breathe, think to yourself, "Breathing in, I am peace, breathing out, I am peace."

3. Anchor Grounding Breath: Before you begin your work, set the tone for your day. Sit comfortably in your chair with an erect spine, shoulders relaxed, your head in alignment with your spine and your chin parallel to the floor. Place your right hand on your belly. Take a deep breath into the pit of your belly, deep into your diaphragm, and feel your breath push your hand out into a Buddha like belly. Breath in and out and feel your breath expand into your side body and back.

4. Mid-day Energizing Breath: By mid-day there's plenty of stale air to dispose of. Sit up straight in your chair with your spine erect. Eyes closed begin to breathe forcefully out of your nose.  Try for 10 seconds, pause and repeat. If you get dizzy, stop.

5. Workday Closure Breath: To end your workday, sit in your chair with a straight spine. Close your eyes. Bring your attention to the base of your spine. Imagine that the breath has color.  Start breathing in from your belly and draw the breath up to your lungs.  Hold it for a few seconds the slowly breathe out lungs to your belly (diaphragmatic breathing). You can close with a personal mantra.  for example
  "I did a great job today" 

Squeezing in Exercise 5 Minutes @ a Time

Squeezing in Fitness Into a Busy Schedule, Five Minutes at a Time

Consistency is the key to healthy lifestyle habits: Some great tips below to help keep you on track.  Five minutes every day is better than no minutes!!

"Thirty uninterrupted minutes seems elusive for most people in our crazy day-to-day lives," says Jim White, a personal trainer and owner of Jim White Fitness and Nutrition Studios in Virginia Beach, Va. "But everyone can find five minutes throughout the day if they really try."

Mini workouts can be more creative than taking the stairs or parking farther away. Mr. White points to Herschel Walker, the former Dallas Cowboys running back, who was known to do more than 1,000 push-ups and sit-ups by the end of every day. He suggests making a game of a similar goal by having a partner leave notes around the house with exercise instructions. A note in a kitchen cupboard could say to do 50 sit-ups and one in the bathroom could say do 50 push-ups.

Mr. White also suggests using commercial breaks to do push-ups, sit-ups, or burpees (also known as thrust squats). With a 30-minute program, "that adds up to seven to 10 minutes of exercise."

At the office, Mr. White says static squats, where you hover over your seat, is a great way to work the leg and gluteal muscles. "Try to hover while you check your morning email or every time you take a phone call," he says.

Felicia Stoler, an exercise physiologist in Holmdel, N.J., tells her clients to sneak in an ab workout while they're driving. "Every time you stop at a red light, contract your abs for a count of five and then let go and repeat," she says.

She suggests carrying a resistance band with you to do strength exercises such as bicep curls or tricep extensions while waiting in a doctor's office. She also says to get in the habit of taking a brisk five-minute walk every hour at the office. "That adds up to 40 or more minutes a day," she says

THE 7 BEST PRACTICES FOR A HEALTHY LIFE

START THE NEW YEAR WITH A RENEWED SENSE OF PURPOSE AND ADD THESE SEVEN SIMPLE PRINCIPLES TO YOUR DAILY LIFE

1.  SLEEP : GOOD QUALITY

2. SUPPLEMENT TO FILL IN THE GAPS AND LIMIT CHEMICAL SUBSTANCES

3. SWEAT DAILY

4. SUSTAIN AN ANTI INFLAMMATORY  DIET.  LIMIT PROCESSED FOODS

5. SELF TALK: POSITIVE AND CONSTANT

6. STILLNESS: MEDITATION

7, SOCIAL: GIVE AND RECEIVE SUPPORT

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! 

Great teachings from Lao Tzu

PAIN IN THE NECK!

How to Avoid the “Dreaded Tech Neck” 

 Look younger, feel more vital and increase your energy!

The human body craves alignment. The big payoff with proper posture is that we feel healthier, have more energy, and move gracefully. So while the word "posture" may conjure up images of book-balancing charm-school girls, it is not just about standing up straight. It’s about being aware of and connected to every part of your self.

Posture ranks right up at the top of the list when you are talking about good health and vitality.

Ideally, our bones stack up one upon the other: the head rests directly on top of the spine, which sits directly over the pelvis, which sits directly over the knees and ankles. But if you spend hours every day sitting in a chair, if you hunch forward it can affect you not only physically, but emotionally, too, -- from the predictable shoulder and back pain to headaches, short attention span, and depression.

For example in today’s environment a lot of us spend a good amount of time sitting in front of a computer.  If the core muscles of the back are not strong, most of us after a period of time tend to slump forward.  First the head followed by the hunched and rounded shoulders then as a consequence we tilt the low spine backwards.  These mechanical changes to the spine put undue stress on the discs, and joints. The ligaments and muscles are lengthened anteriorly in the neck and posterierly in the upper back.  They are subsequently shortened in the back of the neck and the front of the chest.  This is called Upper Crossed Syndrome, or Tech Neck! The action of the head positioned forwards of the shoulder girdle even by one-inch puts 10X the stress on the anatomical structures of the neck.  The result is muscle contraction of the neck muscles followed by impaired blood flow and decreased oxygen.  The body tries hard to compensate but gets overwhelmed and we experience headaches, neck pain, back pain, fatigue and a variety of other ailments such as sinus problems etc.  The nerves in the neck are also compromised and adequate nerve supply to the structure of head and neck is also compromised.

 What can we do to combat this problem?

First make sure you have a good chair and your desk and computer are at the correct height for your body frame.  Your legs should be at right angles the back straight and your arms at right angles to your keyboard. The chest open, your shoulders soft and away from your ears and the computer screen high enough so that your eyes hit the middle of the screen.

Now that you are sitting in a proper position, it is important to get out of your chair every hour to get the blood moving.  A good rule of thumb is to get up and get a drink water, so not only do you get the body moving but you also stay well hydrated.  Fatigue is often caused by dehydration. 

Second, a strong core is needed when it comes to good posture. You need to work on a strength and flexibility routine. It does not need to be long but it does need to be consistent!!  Pilates or Yoga are wonderful disciplines when it comes to increasing core strength and putting the spine through it's full range of motion.    

Third,make an appointment to with a good chiropractor in your area.  

In summary poor posture distorts the alignment of bones, chronically tenses muscles, and contributes to stressful conditions such as loss of vital lung capacity, increased fatigue, reduced blood and oxygen to the brain, limited range of motion, stiffness of joints, pain syndromes, reduced mental alertness, and decreased productivity at work. According to the Nobel Laureate Dr. Roger Sperry, "the more mechanically distorted a person is, the less energy is available for thinking, metabolism, and healing."

A healthy spine that’s in align, makes the whole body feel divine!

The New Energy Crisis

Exxon and BP have nothing on your body when it comes to producing crucial energy. But what happens when the tank is low and you need a lift-- and there's nothing in your reserves?

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Low energy. Foggy thinking. Sleeplessness when you’re supposed to be asleep, and drowsiness when you need to be alert. Going down the list of symptoms attributed to adrenal fatigue is like reading a diary of how I’ve been feeling lately. Irritable. Check. Anxious. Check. Sluggish. Check. Until now, I just thought these were side effects of several months of heavy deadlines and personal obligations that were wearing me out and stretching me thin.

And maybe they are.

Then again, maybe I’m suffering from adrenal fatigue, a little-known, highly controversial, nonclinical diagnosis of all the above symptoms and then some, blamed on malfunctioning adrenal glands due to prolonged periods of stress. For more click this link : http://www.success.com/articles/1767-the-new-energy-crisis

Why we get HOOKED!

A very compelling story that everyone should watch.  The comment that struck me the most is that you have to have more and more ..... not to get high or feel good but to just feel normal. This is not only about drugs but about alcohol and other substances like nicotine or dare I say food additives, preservatives and our old friend sugar.
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7406968n&tag=api&fb_ref=belowVideo&fb_source=home_multiline

Stress can make us Fat

Healthy Wellness Wednesday,

Most of the time I operate in a zone that is good for me however this week my meditation and mindfulness techniques have been in over drive. Re- framing and stepping back from a situation also helps me look at what is really happening versus what I think is happening as does staying fit and eating well. The combination keeps my monkey mind from getting the better of me. It is fascinating just how quickly our body responds to a stressor. If you recognize it and realizes what is happening you can just as quickly calm the response down. Most of the stress we incur today is emotional and mental as we are not busy running away from tigers to survive. I hope that you find this week's article useful. Cherish your loved ones this valentine's day and skip the chocolate :)

Dr Pia

Stress can make us Fat!

It’s been another hectic day. On impulse, you grab an extra-large candy bar during your afternoon break. You plan to take just a few bites. But before you know it, you’ve polished off the whole thing — and, at least temporarily, you may feel better.

Rest assured you’re not alone. Stress, the hormones it unleashes, and the effects of high-fat, sugary “comfort foods” push people toward overeating.

How Stress affects appetite

In the short term, stress usually shuts down appetite. A gland in the brain called the hypothalamus releases corticotrophin-releasing hormone, which suppresses appetite. The brain also sends messages to the adrenal glands atop the kidneys to pump out the hormone epinephrine (also known as adrenaline). Epinephrine helps trigger the body’s fight-or-flight response, a revved-up physiological state that temporarily puts eating on hold.

However, if stress persists, or is perceived as persisting, the adrenal glands release another hormone called cortisol, and cortisol increases appetite and may also ramp up motivation in general, including the motivation to eat. Once a stressful episode is over, cortisol levels should fall, but if the stress doesn’t go away — or if a person’s stress response gets stuck in the “on” position — cortisol may stay high

Fat and sugar cravings

Stress also seems to trigger the intake of food high in fat, sugar, or both. High cortisol levels, in combination with high insulin levels, may be responsible. A leafy green salad does not seem to come to our mind!

Once ingested, fat- and sugar-filled foods seem to have a feedback effect. This is the notion of comfort food. As we all know the effects are temporary. Overeating isn’t the only stress-related behavior that can add pounds. Stressed people lose sleep, exercise less, and drink more alcohol, all of which can contribute to becoming overweight.

How to take the edge off:

• Meditation and Mindfulness: Countless studies show that meditation reduces stress, although much of the research has focused on high blood pressure and heart disease. Meditation may also help you be more mindful of food choices. With practice, a person may be able to pay better attention to what triggers the stress response and resist the impulse to grab a fat- and sugar-loaded comfort food.

• Exercise: It is important to have the right balance. Too little is not good and too much is not good either. Find a good balance that is right for you. Choose exercise that helps you rebuild and repair. You want what we call Flow. The optimal performance zone. Enough to be stimulating and challenging but without taking a physical toll. You should feel great after your workout.

• Food: If you know that you have a tendency to grab sugary treats or reach for a cookie /ice cream, decide to not have those foods readily available. Good nutrition is key to a healthy body and mind.

• Spend time with friends: Social support seems to have a buffering effect on the stress people experience.