• I’m too busy to workout.
• I don’t have time to eat healthy foods.
• I’m too stressed to take care of me.

Stress! It’s making you fat.

Not only does it impact your ability to make wise wellness choices and often cause you to turn to food for comfort, but it literally destroys your body at the cellular level.

Science shows that the stress reaction releases cortisol, adrenaline, and other chemicals that over time can cause everything from painful trigger points in your shoulders, to inflammation, to heart attacks.

And yes! Chronic stress makes it easier to gain and harder to release weight.

Feelings such as despair, being overwhelmed, fear, distress, distrust, frustration, and anger are signs of stress. Being in a stressed emotional state impacts your mind’s ability to think creatively, generate ideas, or even recognize solutions.

Everyone has stress in their lives, and most people say they want less stress.

But what people really want is to have less of a “stress reaction” to the things that are occurring in their lives and zapping their energy—or causing them to turn to food for comfort.

You may believe that stress is created by the situation you are in and that you are powerless to do anything but get through the stressful situation as best as you can.

But this isn’t true.

“Stress isn’t something that happens to someone. It’s something someone feels about what’s happening. Your capacity to deal with any outer situation is based on your inner perspective. . . How we see ourselves determines everything.”

 

–Bruce D. Schneider

 

How do you see yourself in the stressful situation you are in?

Chances are, you may see yourself as either overworked, limited, tired, overwhelmed, unappreciated, a victim, or unworthy.

What happens to your underlying ability to deal with the stressful situation if you see yourself as capable, confident, energetic, empowered, and engaged?

Hint: You would not have the same stress reaction to a deadline, conflict, or anything else in your life!

So you can’t eliminate stressors in your life. It’s how you cope with them that matters.

Ironically, the number 1 way to release stress and help you cope is often the first thing that goes out the window when people get stressed.

What is this silver bullet?

Moving your body!

Seriously, if the benefits of exercise could be put in a pill, everybody on the planet would want to take it. Even a walk around the block has stress-relieving benefits!

It is your stress response that is clouding your judgment and convincing you to skip the very thing that should be at the top of your stress-relieving priority list.

You have to make the decision before you are stressed that you will use stress as a reason to move your body, rather than an excuse to avoid it.

Start now to practice using physical movement as a stress relieving tool, and you will get hooked!

The stress relief helps you see yourself in a more positive light, which gives you the energy and mental clarity to better handle the situation.

Choosing to eat healthy foods may not have the same immediate stress-relieving impacts as exercise, but it does give you a sense of control, which is often missing in stressful situations.

The long-term benefits of healthy eating do help you handle stress better and boosts your immune system. It is much easier to see yourself as capable of facing a stressful situation feeling physically healthy than being sick.

Finding ways to ease your stress reaction helps shift your self-perception, which helps empower you to positively respond. 

Here are some of the ways to relieve the stress you might feel so you can reach for the feeling of confidence and say “No” to that donut.

• Physical activity—walking, dancing, etc.
• Listening to music
• Yoga
• Meditation
• Talking with friends
• Getting enough sleep
• Reading uplifting materials
• Humor
• Playing a game
• Being out in nature
• Drinking a cup of tea
• Taking a bath
• Snuggling with a pet or loved one
• Looking at beautiful pictures

What are some other non-food ways you can counteract some of the stress in your life? How committed are you to doing one or more of these activities on a regular basis?

Together we can do it!

Discover Why Every Diet You Have Ever Tried Has Failed

I’m offering a FREE tele-seminar to reveal the key strategies you need to go from constant self-criticism to experiencing the joy and freedom of being at your optimal weight and thriving with physical wellness and well-being.

March 4, 8 p.m. USA Eastern

The REAL Weight-Loss Solution: 3 Hidden Truths to Create Your Slim Body

Here’s a taste of what you’ll discover from this call:

• The mindset must-haves that naturally lead to wanting to eat healthy food and enjoy moving your body. (Let go of the dread and struggle!)
• How you have unknowingly been sabotaging your weight-loss efforts.
• The exact steps to take to create the body you want.

Click Here to Register! http://loveyourwayslim.com/real-weight-loss-solution/