This Is Making You Fat, Unhealthy, and Unhappy
It’s happened to all of us. You’re leisurely walking across the street or a parking lot and suddenly you see a car coming toward you. The car obviously is not paying attention and doesn’t see you crossing ahead. But you see the car and it isn’t slowing down. Your heart races and you quickly jump out of the way before you get hit. The car passes and you’re safe, but you stop and catch your breath while your heart slowly returns to its normal heartbeat. We’ve all had occasional adrenaline rushes or acute stresses like this that serve to help us make quick decisions in order to stay alive.
On the other hand, unlike adrenaline, there’s another kind of stress, but this one doesn’t go away. It stays and it wreaks havoc on our bodies. This is a chronic type of stress that you feel on a daily basis when you think about your long to-do list that never gets shorter no matter how long or hard you work. You may also feel this type of stress if you have a boss who constantly gives you deadlines that you find hard to meet or if a loved one has been in the hospital for months in a coma. This sort of stress releases cortisol into your body that has short- and long-term adverse effects.
Remember last week when I talked about the things we can control and the things we can’t control? The fact of the matter is that there are just going to be some things that you can’t control that will bring on this kind of chronic stress that releases cortisol, which makes us fat, unhealthy, and unhappy. However, what we can control are our daily habits – more specifically sleep and exercise.
Proper sleep (most adults need between 7.5 – 8.5 hours per night) reduces cortisol, making us less irritable and impatient, helps our brain and body function at its highest level, and lessens our cravings for those unhealthy foods that make us look and feel our worst. You can read more about how important sleep is here.
Another positive player in reducing cortisol is exercise, which offers additional benefits such as the decrease of chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and diabetes, as well as increases our immune function so we get sick less often. Not only is exercise good for our bodies, but it’s great for our brain as well. Exercise increases our memory and cognition, which allow us to think at our best, be more productive, and do great work. At the same time, it increases the hormone dopamine, making us feel fantastic, causing the saying to be so very true: “No one has ever regretted a workout.”
As I watch parents and grandparents sending their kids off to school, the reality hits that the summer is officially over and it’s time to get back into a routine. That routine should involve each one of us (including me!) to take an honest look at our sleep, food, mood, and exercise and how they individually and collectively play a huge role in the quality of our lives. If we want to not only live longer, but healthier and happier lives, we mustn’t wait another day to make a change.
Time will continue to pass and each second we get a chance to do something different to improve our bodies and enhance our lives. I hope you join me on September 29 for my “ReINVENT Your Health” 6-week online program – [Early bird offer ends a week from today!]. The time to get healthy is now, before (not when!) the holidays approach. They’re coming fast and will be here before we know it. Will you take care of your health now and proactively enter the holiday season with new healthy habits and behaviors? I’m stepping it up as well! Let’s do this together.
P.S. I know you’re busy and already have so much you need to do and people you need to take care of. I want to assure you that my “ReINVENT Your Health” 6-week course was created by me, just for busy women like you. The goal of this course is to get healthier in order to manage your life much easier. Just like a workout, you won’t regret re-inventing your health! Join us!
Here’s what a previous participant said:
“I really appreciate the positive approach that you’ve kept up throughout the course. The activities have helped me see what I’m already doing well and to focus in on what I can improve, without an overwhelming “must fix it all” attitude. And the fact that working on one area of the compass boosts your performance in the others helps reinforce this positive approach.” T. from Canada
Your health and wellness coach in your 50’s
Kim
