stress management

I’m sure nearly everyone trying to manage their weight feels guilty when they overeat. There’s a reason they call it “stuffed.” It doesn’t feel good being bloated, especially after some time of eating reasonable portions and re-training the stomach to understand what a comfortable, full feels like.

My mom had a magnet on our refrigerator that said “a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips!” Of course, there was a picture of a pig eating a piece of coconut cream pie on it. (Lest you think I come from a family of skinny-minnies, quite the contrary. Most adult women in my family weigh in the 200-300 pound range).

As a nutrition expert who works with emotional eating, eating disorders, and weight management I honestly think that magnet should say “a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the mind.” While it doesn’t rhyme as well, I do think it is the true damage of overeating. The guilt people can carry can overwhelmingly sabotage any progress toward mindful, healthy eating.

Stress is the essence of growth (eustress), but constant stress is dangerous to your health (distress). Balancing growth, health and stress is both the definition of stress management and how we achieve our goals.

Stress management can be defined as avoiding unnecessary stressors, dealing with situations as they arise, and recovering from the adrenaline response. In training for a marathon, one would run a little each day, slowly building endurance and speed. Each day one would also recover and rest after the run. It is in recovery from spending energy that our body gains a greater capacity. If you ran until you fell over your first time out, you would not be able to do much of anything for days. If you never run, then your ability to run will remain low. If each day you push yourself just beyond your comfort zone and allow yourself to recover, you will stress yourself to high achievements. It is the same whether you are running, weight lifting, or creating a new habit; a change is a stressor.