Rainy Days...

Well, if daylight savings isn't dreary enough, now it's raining, and supposed to rain all week! So, the best way to keep your spirits lifted is to avoid stress, but you have to prepare yourself in advance with some ammunition. Of course, coming from me, the best way is to get some exercise - anything cardio, and at least for 30 minutes (45 to 60 even better!) and watch what you eat. As I mentioned yesterday, high stress = weight gain. This is because stress raises your cortisol levels (cortisol is a stress hormone) and causes you to eat more - what you eat more of (usually) are junk-food carbohydrates because you think they calm you down. What THEY really do is raise your blood sugar, slow your metabolism, and increase fat storage in your abdomen - abdominal fat is "heart attack fat" - so pretty much the worst kind. So, it's very important to keep your stress levels low. Keep a variety of healthy snacks around you so when you need something quickly you reach for the best thing for you. In addition to exercise and eating, a couple of other weapons are: increased intake of Vitamin C as it reduces the amount of cortisol released in the body, and consciously avoiding situations that cause stress. Walk away and calm down when you feel yourself becoming upset, take 3-5 deep breaths and slowly let them out, and then YOU decide if the situation is important enough to you to make you stress out over it. Maybe it's just really not. Instead, go find a friend and do something fun, or call them and have a good laugh. It's supposed to rain all week so you'll have plenty of chance to practice! M.