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Every meeting, party, or social gathering I go to this time of year, and I mean EVERY ONE has a “Holiday Spread” of cakes, cookies, and assorted edible things – all designed to add inches to my waist.  How do you ever survive the Holidays and still lose weight?

Portion Control is the Key

The answer to that question is portion control, portion control, portion control.  Yes, I know that’s easy to say but hard to do.  Yes, I know.  I’ve gone through buffet lines and holiday lunches where even though I only took about a teaspoon-ful of several different dishes, there was simply SO MUCH FOOD that I still ended up with an overfilled plate.

You’ve got to fight that.  Here are two things that I do that seem to work for me:

1. Start with a smaller plate.  Grab a dessert plate or a salad plate instead of the over-sized dinner plate.  The smaller your plate, the less likely you’ll feel compelled to fill it to the brim.
2. Second, get a salad and make sure that it fills 1/3 to 1/2 of your plate.  The good part about a salad is that it’s bulky and will automatically fill a big portion of your plate.  Let your salad be your main course.
3. Next, focus on getting some veggies BUT try to say away from casseroles or veggies that are swimming in cream sauce or gravy.  Steamed vegetables are best but may be hard to find on a traditional holiday spread where everything seems to be drowning in some form of thick cheese or butter sauce.
4. Skip the bread.  Period.
5. Last, get a small sliver of meat or fish.  Let this be no more than 1/4 of your total meal AND only stick to one kind of meat.  Many Christmas dinners include several kinds of meats to choose from.  Choose only one kind.

The key to making through a Christmas or Holiday dinner with your waistline intact is to not allow yourself to be overwhelmed by all the choices that are available to you.  There will probably be 5 kinds of vegetables in all kinds of sauces, casseroles of all kinds, 3 kinds of meats, several kinds of breads, biscuits, or rolls, and 10 different kinds of cookies, cakes, and frosted desserts.  It’s so easy for your good judgement to get overwhelmed.

Remember that you DO NOT have to try everything.  If you do, even if you only take just a “little taste,” there’s simply so much food that you’re going to overeat.  Don’t fall victim to this.  Be very selective in your choices – and try to make those choices good ones.

Another thing to remember is not to be bullied.  Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE is going to be shoving food in your face and saying something like, “You’ve just got to try this.”  You DO NOT have to put up with this!  Yes, I know it’s really hard (really, really hard) to turn down your Aunt Bertha’s chili-cheese-fri-casserole that she spent all day cooking but you’ve got to be strong.  It’s perfectly OK to say, “Thank you so much but I’m totally full.”  Take home a foil-wrapped serving that you can dispose of later if you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.  We’re talking about YOUR HEALTH here so don’t allow yourself be bullied.

Increased Activity

In order to balance the increased calories that the Holidays just naturally seem to bring, you’ve got to increase your activity levels.  Go to the gym, take a walk, go shopping, do ANYTHING that will keep you moving.  Increased activity is not something for a New Year’s Resolution.  It’s something that you should build into your Holiday plans and be doing as you enjoy the season.

Watch Your Stress Levels

Lastly, don’t stress.  Yes, I know you have no idea what kind of gift to get that special someone but believe me, anything you get them will be fine.  What’s important is that it’s from you.  So quit stressing about finding the “perfect” gift.

Remember that most stress is self-imposed.  You have control so turn down the dial.  One way to do this is to remember all those less fortunate than you and to try to do something for someone else.  Give to a charity, volunteer, visit, drop off a gift – there are numerous ways to help those who would otherwise not have any Christmas at all.  Keeping things in perspective is a great way to relieve holiday stress.

Keeping all of these thoughts in mind should help you “survive” the holidays with your diet, and your sanity, intact.

I hope you all have a great Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!  Remember the “Reason for the Season” and take the time to give thanks at the house of worship of your choosing.

Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach andPersonal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)

P.S.  Be sure to get my latest Fitness Blueprint called “Little Things That Improve Your Health.”  This ebook is packed with loads of helpful information on how to build a better body and you can get it FREE – no email, no cookies, no catch.  Download and enjoy!

Email Me:  Hiram Perez   

Technorati Tags: Christmas, weight loss, diet, nutrition, holidays, eating, dinner, stress, sanity, exercise, New Year

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We’ve all been taught that exercise is a great way to reduce stress and for most of us, it really works.  But what affect does all this exercise have on our productivity at work the next day?

A recent study in the October issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine looked at the relationship between exercise, workplace stress, and productivity.  The results were not what you might imagine.

The study looked at a sample of 2,823 workers in Minnesota who were surveyed on their levels of workplace stress and amount of exercise as well as their productivity on the job.  The researchers found a couple of interesting things including (quoting directly from the JOEM Press Release):

1. “In general, higher stress levels at work were linked to greater productivity loss.  Workers with a higher body mass index were less productive, regardless of other factors.”
2. “After adjusting for body mass index, there was a significant interaction between physical activity and stress level. For highly stressed workers, a high level of physical activity was linked to significant productivity loss. In contrast, for workers with relatively low stress levels, physical activity had less effect on productivity.”

What this study appears to show is that the recommendation that you “exercise your stress off” should only apply to low stress levels.  The study found that for overweight employees who exercised 7 hours per week, the ones that felt highly stressed at work suffered an estimated productivity loss of 11% while those that felt lightly stressed at work only suffered a productivity decline of 2%.  Apparently, trying to “exercise off” a high level of stress leaves you so tired the next day that your productivity suffers, which probably leads to more stress.

The study concluded that when stress levels are high, increased physical activity tends to decrease productivity.  If that’s so, then what’s the best way to cope with high stress levels?  The study suggests that “stress management is at least as economically relevant to promoting worker health and productivity, compared to more traditional lifestyle factors…”

OK, so what are the takeaways from this?  Here are some of the things I found valuable (NOTE:  these are totally my opinions – read the study for yourself and come to your own conclusions):

• Workers who are overweight (high BMI) seemed to be more susceptible to stress and productivity loss than workers who were not overweight.  The study did not specifically say this but to me, it seemed implied in a number of places.  The key takeaway from this observation is to lose the weight.  Reduce your BMI and you’ll be in much better shape to handle whatever your workplace dishes out.
• If you face high stress levels as work, you’re much better off learning effective stress management techniques, such as meditation, than you are trying to “work off” the stress with exercise.  Heading to the gym after a stressful day only leaves you tired – and the stress is still there.
• What works for me, even after a stressful day, is exercise that requires my complete attention.  For example, I head to karate class or practice kickboxing with a partner.  It’s hard to worry about how much stress I have when you’re in the ring with someone trying to rearrange your face.  You’re forced to focus on the activity, not on the stress.  As a result, the stress tends to melt away.  On the other hand, if you do an exercise routine that doesn’t require any thought or concentration (weights, stair-master, treadmill etc), then the stress is going to stay front and center.

Stress is a killer, and not just of productivity.  It’s effects on blood pressure and heart disease are pretty well documented.  However, stress is also a part of everyday life.  As a result, you need to learn how to deal with it in a way that reduces it’s effects and doesn’t create more of it.

Certified Fitness Nutrition Coach andPersonal Fitness Trainer (NESTA)

P.S.  Be sure to get my latest Fitness Blueprint called “Little Things That Improve Your Health.”  This ebook is packed with loads of helpful information on how to build a better body and you can get it FREE – no email, no cookies, no catch.  Download and enjoy!

Technorati Tags: productivity, fitness, stress, exercise, balanced health, meditation, journal of occupation and environmental medicine, joem

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Now you and I don’t normally have to worry about the “demands of battle” but we do have to deal with the demands and stress of modern life – work responsibilities, family needs, church or social obligations, and of course, bills, bills, bills.  It wears you down and just like a soldier, you occasionally need a little R&R time in order to de-stress and recharge.

So here are a couple of tips to keep in mind when planning your next R&R time:

1. R&R is Different From a Vacation. A vacation is usually only taken during the summer, when the kids are off from school.  Vacations also tend to be big dramatic events with set schedules, planned events, and specific timetables.  That’s not what I mean by R&R.  In many cases, people experience way more stress trying to plan and take the perfect vacation than they ever experience at work.  R&R time is true rest and relaxation time when you let all the stress and worries slip away.  It’s time spent reading a good book or simply engaging in conversation with your significant other (remember the last time you both really talked?).  R&R time is not about doing activities or seeing the sights.  It’s about letting your soul take a deep breath.
2. R&R Time can be as Short or as Long as You Need. Take a week or take a day.  If you spend it properly and with the right mindset, no matter how much time you have, it’s enough.
3. When You Need It, You Need It. I know I’m writing this post at the end of the summer vacation season but once again, R&R time is not the same as a scheduled vacation.  If you find yourself suffering from modern-day “battle fatigue,” it’s time for a little R&R.
4. Get Out of Your Foxhole. Make sure to change your scenery.  Get out of the office, get out of the house, or if necessary, get out of town.  The key for soldiers on the battlefield was to get out of the “foxhole.”  You need to do the same.
5. Don’t Plan Too Much. Teri and I just got back from a trip to the Grand Canyon (hence the picture).  No schedule.  No itinerary.  No tours.  No plans.  No rush to get here or there or requests to “please stay with the group.”  We were just there – and it was great!  Without having to worry about what time it was or without having to be at a certain place at a certain time, we were completely free to simply enjoy being there – which leads me to the next tip:
6. Wherever You Are, Be There. The only way R&R time works is if you truly leave all your cares and worries (and stress) behind.  Better stated, this tip should be “Wherever You Are, Be THERE,” not mentally back at home or at work worrying about how you’re going to get through the pile of work, bills, assignments, or whatever, that you left sitting on your desk or counter top.
7. Come Back Recharged. No, taking some R&R time does not make all your problems disappear.  But it does make you better able to tackle them.  With a recharged mind and spirit, you’ve got a much better chance of finding a solution.

So the next time you’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, take a little R&R time away from the “battlefield.”   Give yourself some time to recharge and you’ll tackle those problems with a clear mind and a renewed spirit.

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Medical practitioners usually classify headaches into two categories.  The first category,  primary headaches, are those headaches that are not caused by some sort of underlying disease.  These include the more common headaches like migraines, tension headaches, and cluster headaches.  Secondary headaches, the second category of headaches, are usually caused by some sort of associated disease such as strokes, brain tumors, meningitis, or by a chemical dependency, such as caffeine withdrawal.

This article will cover the top 5 causes of primary headaches, since these tend to be the most common, and will discuss simple things you can do to prevent these triggers from ruining your day.

It’s estimated that Americans spend more than $4 billion a year on various types of headache treatments.  Everything from over-the-counter drugs and pain relievers to more exotic treatments like magnetic headbands and robotic scalp massagers.  Believe me, once you’ve got a pounding headache, you’ll try anything to make it to go away.

But rather than trying to “cure” a headache once it’s taken control of you, doesn’t it make more sense to try to prevent it from occurring in the first place?  One way of doing that is to become aware of the common things that trigger most headaches – and then take a couple of simple steps to prevent them from growing into a major problem.

Here’s a list of the 5 things that trigger most headaches and what you can do to reduce their effect:

1.  The Stress in Your Life.

You’re probably saying “duh” to this one.  When your nerves are on edge due to stress, it can trigger migraines as well as “tension” headaches.  Unfortunately, stress seems to be a routine part of daily life and can be caused by everything from your kids fighting with each other to rush hour traffic.  Please take note of the first part of the last statement:  “stress seems to be a routine part of daily life.”  In other words, stress is always there and even though you can try to “de-stress” by doing something you enjoy, in the back of your mind, you’re probably still stressing over all the problems that are going to be waiting for you when you get back home.

So what’s the answer?  The answer isn’t in constantly trying to de-stress, although it definitely helps to do that every once in a while.  But let’s face it, you can’t spend all day “hiding” from the world in whatever “stress-free” zone you’ve built for yourself.   For example, I love to meditate but it’s unrealistic to spend the entire day in meditation.  If you do, you’ll miss all the wonderful things life has to offer.  You’ll miss out on life itself.

The best solution, in my opinion, is to learn how to become better at handling stress. I’ve found two things that have helped me beat stress over the years.  The first is physical exercise. Every one or two hours, take 5 minutes and do something physical.  It can be as simple as getting up and walking around the office to the copy machine and back.  My favorite is to climb up a flight of stairs and then come back down.  Anything that gets your heart beating a little faster will help to melt stress away.

The second is your mental attitude. I’ve learned to live with the attitude that no matter happens, “this too shall pass.”  And believe me, with the business I’m in, I’ve been in some serious positions (IRS problems, for one) that should have driven me to drink.  But I’ve trained myself to have faith, to believe that somehow, we’d get through it, and we always have.  A good mental attitude will prevent stress from taking over your life.

Stress is the number one trigger of most headaches.  Because it’s a part of our routine lives, you need to have a strategy in place ahead of time in order to reduce its damaging effects.

2.  Eyestrain While Reading or Watching.

Most of us nowadays spend some portion of our day staring at a computer screen.  Emails, instant messaging, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, all seem to be part of the modern workplace.  When you spend several hours hunched over a computer, something that’s easy to do when you’re surfing the Net, your eyes can get strained and trigger a headache.

You can easily prevent that from happening by taking frequent breaks to change your eye’s range of focus.  If you’ve spent the past hour starting at your computer screen (close or short-distance focus), spend a minute or two looking at something on the opposite wall (mid to long distance focus).  Give your eyes a “workout” by switching from focusing on something close, to something distant, then to something in between.  Doing this a couple of times only takes a minute and will go a long ways towards reducing eyestrain.

If you find that you’re still getting headaches after reading or working at a computer, consider having your eyes checked to determine whether or not you may need reading glasses.  If you already use reading glasses, an eye exam will determine whether or not your prescription needs to be adjusted.  By the way, even if you don’t wear glasses (or contacts), having your eyes checked every two years should be a routine part of your health maintenance plan anyway.

Oh, I mentioned that you might be “hunched” over a computer screen so don’t forget to add a couple of slow neck turns and shoulder shrugs in order to reduce any muscle tension in those areas (see number 4 below).

3.  What you Eat and Drink.

A lot of foods contain chemicals (either naturally or through additives) that can trigger headaches so it’s important to be aware of the effects of what you eat and drink on your body. Items like coffee, tea, sodas, cocoa, and most chocolates contain caffeine, a natural chemical that is pretty addictive.  If you’re a 2-3 cup a day coffee drinker, or if you drink 2-3 sodas a day like I did, try going a day without drinking coffee or sodas and see what happens.  Instant headache.

Other foods may contain additives that can trigger headaches.  Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and some artificial sweeteners (aspartame) are just two examples.

Lastly, missing or skipping a meal, either because you’re trying to diet or because you’re just too busy to eat, can trigger a “hunger” headache.

The best way to prevent headaches caused by your diet is to try to eat a balanced one that’s high in fiber and nutrition and low in fats, sugars, and additives.  Here’s another tip:  make sure you drink plenty of water during the day.

4.  Sitting for Long Periods.

If you work in an office, sitting for long periods is probably part of your job.  But sitting hunched over a computer screen or talking on the phone can quickly lead to tension headaches caused by tight shoulder, neck, and back muscles that are spending too much time in one position.  The best way to prevent these types of headaches is to take frequent short breaks to loosen these muscle groups.

It’s easy to loosen these muscles and you don’t even need to leave your office or cubicle.  Simply sit back in your chair and relax your shoulders.  Bring them down as low as they’ll go.  Now move them forward as far as they’ll go.  Now back.  You get the idea.  Slowly work them back and forth, then up and down until they feel lose and relaxed.

Now do the same with your neck muscles.  Relax your neck and slowly let it drop forward so you chin is on your chest.  Now slowly move it as far back as you can until you’re looking up at the ceiling.  Now try to put your left ear on your left shoulder, followed by moving your neck in the other direction.  Lastly, look forward and then slowly move your neck all the way to the left, and then all the way to right as if you’re trying to see someone over your shoulder.  The key is to move your head slowly and to focus on staying relaxed.

Your back is just as easy to stretch and loosen.  Push your chair back and then just lean as far forward as you can.  Try to touch your toes.  You can also do this standing up.  Just feel your back muscles stretch and begin to relax and loosen.  Now stand up, put your hands on your waist, and slowly rotate your hips in a big, wide circle feeling your lower back stretch as you do so.  Now, slowly rotate your hips in the other direction.

These exercises shouldn’t take more than a minute or two and can be done right at your desk.  They’ll prevent your neck, shoulder, and back muscles from triggering a tension headache.

5.  The Quality and Amount of Sleep.

Not getting enough sleep, not getting good quality sleep, or in some cases, getting too much sleep, can all trigger headaches.  In all of these cases, your brain just isn’t getting enough down time (or REM sleep).  All of us go through a natural sleep cycle when we sleep.  If that cycle is disturbed, either because the alarm goes off too soon (or too late) or because of some sort of physical problem (like sleep apnea or restless legs syndrome), it can lead to waking up tired, listless, and with a headache.

To prevent this headache trigger from ruining your day, try to plan your activities so that you get a full night’s sleep.  Try to make sure your sleep is restful by not eating a heavy meal or drinking alcohol too close to bedtime.  Also make sure your sleeping “gear” (your bed and mattress, your bedroom, your pajamas, the temperature in your bedroom, etc) is in good shape and is not preventing you from getting a good night’s sleep.

Conclusion.

There are other headache triggers but these 5 cover the ones that cause the majority of headaches.  Fortunately, these are also the easiest to defend against.  Although I’ve given you a variety of ways to prevent these triggers from creating headaches, most of them boil down to a few basic steps that should be part of your health plan anyway:

• Exercise where and when you can, even if its stretching for a minute or two at your desk;
• Have a positive mental attitude;
• Eat a balanced diet and drink plenty of water;
• Get a good night’s sleep.

Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy

Technorati Tags: headache, diet, stress, tension, head, pain, sleep, mental attitude, eyestrain, relaxation, meditation, stress relief, destress, de-stress

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Turn on the TV to any news channel and what do you see?  Lay offs.  Economic downturn.  Bankruptcies.  You don’t need me to tell you that these are stressful times.

Stress is a natural response to unexpected things that happen in our lives.  Designed to help keep us safe from dangerous situations, stress can also damage your health if not channeled and/or controlled properly.

When we encounter a stressful situation, or when a stressful situation is thrust upon us, the body responds by releasing a number of hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol.  These hormones put your body on “high alert,” ready to face whatever the problem is.  However, spending too much time in this heightened state puts a significant strain on the body that can eventually damage your overall health including your heart.

Learning how stress works and how it affects your health are the first steps in learning how to manage stress in your life.

What Causes Stress?

Most stress is caused by those unexpected or unplanned for events that happen in all of our lives.  For example, taking the kids to school is a pretty straightforward task.  All of us have a mental picture of how things should go in order to perform this task.  So we go through our mental checklist that includes homework, lunches, coats, books, etc when suddenly, one of the kids mentions that they forgot a major part of their homework assignment.  This wasn’t part of the plan.  Our reality doesn’t match the mental picture we had of how things should be going.  We therefore begin to experience stress.

Stress occurs when things don’t go as planned, or how you imagined they would go.  You picture a leisurely drive into work and someone cuts you off.  You planned a nice quiet afternoon but the kids won’t stop fighting.  You didn’t picture things going this way so you get stressed.

Is Stress a Bad Thing?

Stress in and of itself is not a bad thing.  In fact, stress is designed to help get us out of dangerous or harmful situations, our “fight or flight” response in other words.

Small amounts of stress can actually be a good thing.  For example, working against the stress of a deadline can actually help focus your mind and allow you to get more done than you otherwise would.  When you lift weights or use resistance bands, you’re working your muscles against a controlled level of stress in order to make them stronger.

So what is it that causes stress to flip over to the “bad side?”

It’s All About Control.

Psychologists have found that “bad” stress is usually caused by events where we feel we have no control over the situation.  Let’s assume that you’re late for work and there’s a traffic jam up ahead.  If you’re on a highway and you just passed the last exit, you’re essentially stuck and will probably start feeling stressed about not getting to work on time.  On the other hand, if you  take the last exit before the traffic jam and know the neighborhood enough to be able to get around the traffic, you probably won’t feel stressed, even though you might still be late.  What’s the difference?  In the first case, you didn’t have much control over the situation while in the second, you did.

This belief of being in control (even if we’re actually not), tends to make the difference between feeling stress and being stress-free.

If you’ve read any self improvement or motivational books, you’ll find this same theme:  it’s all about believing that you’re in control.  The people that are the most successful tend to be those that believe that they are in control of their lives, no matter what actually happens to them.  These people also have the least amount of stress.

Putting This to Use.

So how do you put this to use in your life?  How do you use this to get through some of the worst economic times this country has seen since the Great Depression (according to many news sources)?  Here are a few tips:

1.  Add some flexibility to your life. Knowing that unexpected or unplanned events are what help to create stress, plan on the unexpected.  Add in some flex time or unscheduled time to your plans to take into account the twists and turns that life tends to throw at you at the last minute.  That way you don’t have to stress and say “I don’t have time for this” because in fact, you do.

2.  Believe that you are in control. Yes, I know that you can’t control the weather, or the traffic, or the economy.  However, the one thing you have absolute control over is your attitude.  Victor Frankl, a Jewish psychologist imprisoned in a German concentration camp during World World II observed that the biggest difference between the prisoners that lived through their ordeal and those that simply gave up and died was their attitude – the one thing that could not be taken away from them, the one thing they could control.  Believing that no matter what happens to you, you will find a way to deal with it will go the longest way towards replacing stress with determination and purpose.

3.  Keep your sense of humor. Humor is a great stress-buster.  As one of my partners said as we were waiting to meet with the IRS to discuss the $800,000 in back taxes our company owed, “Well, at least they can’t eat us.”  It lightened the mood and we were able to go in and brainstorm ways to get our company out of hot water (which we eventually did).  So no matter how stressful the issue in front of you seems, remember the Joker in the latest Batman movie and ask yourself, “Why so serious?”

4.  Organize the little things. It’s the little things that tend to stress us the most – or at least trigger stress.    Organize your bills so they don’t get  past due.  Put your car keys in the same place so you’re not running around looking for them all the time.  Pick out what you’re going to wear to work tomorrow the night before so you don’t stress in the morning because you’re running late.  Set an alarm so you don’t run late in the first place.   All of these are little things but they’ll drive you nuts if you let them.

5.  Work off your stress. When stress builds, find a way to work it off.  This can mean different things to different people.  For some, vigorous exercise will help to “blow off” some of the stress.  For others, going outside and yelling at the top of lungs will do it.  Some people need some sort of physical activity, some need a mental outlet like working on a crossword puzzle, others need an emotional release like a good cry.  Do whatever works for you.  The worst thing you can do is to let stress build inside.

Keeping Stress in Check.

Stress is a natural part of life.  Use these tips to help keep it in check and to help keep your health in balance.

Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy

Technorati Tags: stress, stressful, nerves, nervious, self control, attitude, health, heart, adrenoline, cortisol

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The following post is not one of mine and you can probably find it on other sites.  But the advice it gives is still pretty good and may help you and your spouse find some time for each other.  I hope you enjoy it.  — Hiram

The first thing to do is consider all the distractions of daily life. With children, time commitments can be significant and can be all encompassing. There are car pools, school meetings, sports, birthday parties, homework, shopping trips, and it seems never ending sometimes. These things all help a child to develop social skills and are very important; however, so is your time alone with your spouse and you must try to find a balance.

Spreading the Load

Maybe you can figure a way to lighten the burden on both of you with regards to all the children’s activities by involving others, such as grandparents or aunts and uncles, to take on some of the picking up and dropping off chores. Most grandparents would love to have more time with their grandkids and would find the drive time a good opportunity to communicate more with the kids. What seems like a chore to you could be very enjoyable for the grandparents. Today kids are so busy that they often have little time to spend hours with grandparents so these encounters can be a special time.

Maybe you can have a party away from your home at a pizza place or at a sporting event so you do not have to spend hours cleaning and preparing foods, etc. There are bird spotting tours and leaf identification tours that are lead by a Park Ranger which kids will love and will teach them the joys of being outside and nature. The time they are on the supervised hike can be a good time for you and your husband to take a short walk together and discuss some important issues or just relax and spend the time together.

Finding Time for the Two of You

The idea is to look at the week activities and see what time you can carve out for you and your husband alone. To have that time to speak to your spouse uninterrupted and to show care and concern are vital to a good marriage. It will make the time you do spend with the children much more productive for them and you as well.

A child senses when the parents are in sync in their marriage. The old saying, “The best gift you can give a child is happy parents” holds true in this modern day and age when everyone is so rushed and so intent on doing everything quickly. Take some time to preserve your love and concern for your husband or wife and it will pay off in happier children and more loving and nurturing for the family as a whole.

Plan your life and do not just let the world set up all the pressures that need to be met. Make your own goals for your family, your marriage, and your peace of mind.

Technorati Tags: family, relationships, marriage, romance, time management, grandparents, stress, children

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I had just posted an article on how to handle stressful situations – like hurricanes, for example – right after Hurricane Gustav brushed by 2 weeks ago.  Now Hurricane Ike looks like it’s going to hit Houston this weekend.

What to do?  What to do? What to do? First, take a deep breath.  (you might also ask yourself why you choose to live in the Gulf Coast – but that’s a different story! <grin>)

Like I said, first take a deep breath.  Understand that you control how you will respond to stressful situations. If you feel that little twinge of panic deep in the pit of your stomach, take a deep breath and regain control.  No matter what happens out in the world, you control how you will react.  You control how you will feel.  You control what you will think.

It’s a proven fact that during any kind of disaster or emergency situation, more people die or get hurt because of panic than do from the actual disaster.  Look at any fire in a crowded theater, for example.  Usually, 3 or 4 people burn to death or die from smoke inhalation but 30 or 40 people get hurt or crushed to death in the wild panic to get out the door.

Most people living in the Houston area are familiar with the concept of “shelter in place.”  This means that many times, during a natural disaster like a hurricane or tornado, you are actually safer staying where you are than getting out in the open on the highway.  Witness the city-wide evacuation for Hurricane Rita three years ago.  Traffic was tied up for a day and a half as everyone panicked and tried to get on the road all at the same time (it took one person I know more than 20 hours to make what is normally a 5 hour trip to Dallas).  More than 20 people died on the highway as a result of the evacuation.  However, no one died as an actual result of the storm (which ended up turning north and bypassing Houston anyway).

What’s my point? It’s this:  during any kind of dangerous situation when fear begins to swell up inside of you and you get the natural inclination to panic, pause for a moment.  Take a deep breath and regain control.  Only then will you be able to make a clear and rational decision on how to best respond. It could make the difference between surviving the situation or making the situation worse.

Keep me in mind as I “hunker down” this weekend and ride out the storm!

Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy

Technorati Tags: hurricane, survival, panic, stress, ike, storm, control

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1. Coping with Stress

What Stress Is

What we call “stress” is the body’s response to a change in your comfort level.  That change could be something physical like an upcoming storm, it could be something emotional like being asked to give a speech in front of a group of strangers, or it could be something mental like worrying about how to get your bills paid.  In either case, your level of comfort changes and you feel stress.

Some stress can be a positive thing, such as when you get an unexpected pay raise.  It can also help make you stronger, such as when you stress a muscle by lifting weights.  However, too much stress or stress caused by negative news or events can create some pretty serious health effects.

It’s important to understand that negative stress can affect your health in a variety of ways including anxiety, mood swings, and depression as well as a number of physical ways such as sleeplessness, fatigue, sweating, and nausea.

Coping with Stress

So how do you deal with negative stress?  How do you cope with its effects?  Here are a couple of ideas:

1. Trust Your Faith.  Whatever your religious beliefs, research shows that people with a strong spirituality are more positive and hopeful towards the future.  They also tend to see stressful situations as part of life that help make us spiritually stronger.  Their belief that there is a greater power in the universe that they can access through prayer and meditation provides the strength and encouragement to handle any kind of stress.

2.  Trust Yourself. Adopt a “survivor mentality” that says, “No matter what, I will get through this.”  This attitude immediately begins to put a positive spin on things and makes them appear more manageable.  Knowing that you’ll survive no matter what happens gets you focused on moving past the problem.  This is obviously better than spending all of your time picturing the many ways that things can go wrong.

3.  Trust the Power of Action. Do something.  It doesn’t really matter what you do, just that you stay active.  Exercise, ride a bike, take a walk, anything to get your heart rate up and your mind off of your troubles.  If there’s a storm coming, throw yourself into the preparations.  Taking action, any kind of action, builds momentum towards a solution.  You’ll be surprised that some of your best ideas on how to cope will come during your bike ride or walk.

4.  Take a News Break. Turn off the 24-hour news coverage of whatever impending disaster they happen to be reporting on.  The news media is great at making it sound like the world is coming to an end – complete with film at 11.  Take a news break and turn off the TV or radio.  Put down the newspaper with the “Doom Doom Doom” headlines.  Walk away from the neighbor who only wants to talk about how the world is going to pot.  This suggestion alone will make some of your stress immediately slip away.

5.  Stay Healthy. During stressful times, it’s critical that you maintain good health.  Make sure that you continue to eat healthy meals, exercise regularly, meditate, and get plenty of rest.  Stress tends to lower your immune system making it easy to get sick – which adds even more stress.

Stress is Part of Life

The only sure thing in life is that things will change – and when they do, many of us experience stress.  Stress is a part of life and learning how to deal with it is part of balanced health.  I hope this short article has given you some ideas on how to cope with the next problem that comes your way.

Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy

Technorati Tags: stress, meditation, meditate, stressor, anxiety, balanced health, exercise, hurricane, cope, coping, Gustav

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Here’s a quick exercise routine I found on YouTube. Although they make it look easy, there are a couple of points to keep in mind:

1. Don’t use weights that are too heavy.  When it comes to fat burning, it’s better to use lighter weights and do more repetitions.
2. Make sure to “baby” your joints.  This exercise places a lot of stress on your shoulders and knees (as do most of the “old school” exercises).  All the more reason to use light weights to begin with.
3. As with any weight lifting exercise routine, make sure you warm up first.  This reduces the risk of injury.

Once you’ve got these points covered, go work up a sweat and burn off some fat!

Enjoy the video.

Hiram
The Balanced Health Guy

Technorati Tags: fat burning, weight loss, exercise, weights

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But how much is all this connectivity costing us in terms of health?

One effect of living in an Internet society that’s available and active 24/7 is a significant increase in the amount of caffeinated drinks the average American is drinking. Everything from Starbucks to Red Bull, Americans are now drinking significantly more caffeinated drinks than they did in before the Internet. In fact, caffeinated drinks like Red Bull are now the biggest sellers for their manufacturers and is the third largest source of beverage profits for convenience stores. There’s so much information to absorb and so little time that we’re using caffeine to try to stay alert just a little longer.

A second effect is an increase in Attention Deficient Disorder (ADD) like behavior in most Americans. We’re so bombarded with information on a daily basis that it’s become necessary for us to become very selective in what we pay attention to. We focus on what interests us at the moment and simply ignore all the rest before going on to the next item of interest. However, this behavior tends to create and re-enforces short attention spans. Unfortunately, this also means that we can miss important information from friends, coworkers, and family.

Third, Americans are also sleeping 25% less than the average American did 100 years ago. Since we can shop, surf, IM, or be on discussion boards 24 hours a day, it’s no wonder that many of us don’t make it to bed until the early hours of the morning (especially after downing several cups of coffee and/or caffeinated energy drinks). As a result, many of us are trying to balance our work, social, and family lives while suffering from constant sleep deprivation.

All of this creates a significant amount of stress, a feeling like you have to know what’s going on, you have to remain connected. Otherwise you feel lost, out of touch, like you’re falling behind. And still, you fight this constant fear that there’s more information than you have time to absorb – creating even more stress.

It’s ironic. The more we try to “connect” electronically – Internet, email, Blackberry, MySpace, and so on – the more we actually disconnect from friends and family that might be right in front of us.

So how do you stop this cycle? First, commit to taking some time to “unplug” from your electronic network and reconnect with those around you. Log off from your Internet account. Turn off your Blackberry. Turn on your full attention to your spouse, your kids, your friends.

Second, if you’re going to be there, then be there. Practice being in the moment. If you’re spending time with friends or family, don’t be planning what you’re going to do as soon as you log back into your email account. Give your friends and family your full attention.

Last, don’t worry about the information you’re missing. First of all, the Internet will not crash and the servers melt down just because you aren’t signed in. Second, most of the information you miss will not make that much difference anyway.

So give it try. The benefits you get from giving your friends and family your full attention are significant. Your stress level will go down as you rediscover the world – and the people – around you.

Hiram

The Balanced Health Guy

Technorati Tags: mental health, stress, balanced health

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