What is one chronic practice (hint: habit) in your life you can be assured leads to weight gain, poor sleep, pesky and serious illness, poor decisions, depression – and unhappiness?
Chronic stress.
Two of your top priorities as we continue this period of stay-at-home should be to A) keep a regular routine (hint: Alexandria Wellness Fitness Groups) and B) adopt practices that calm the nervous system.
These next few weeks, I will be unveiling ten simple hacks I’ve seen and practiced (and that work!) that lead to stress resilience, fat loss, and ultimately increased confidence. Interested? Click here for a free 30 minute consult.
How does stress impact your weight loss?
Below are the first three of ten practices you can start today to get your wellness back on track. They will help you in the moment and also overall lead to greater perspective. I have chosen the simplest ones. You can always get a consult with me to find others that work for you here.
Deliberate breathing takes minimal effort, calms your mind and body in the moment of stress, and prepares you for the unexpected stress later. While we take it for granted, focusing just on your breathing can help you get in tune with your body and “take the edge off” a stressed-out brain. It’s also a very effective method to easily incorporate at any time during your day, lowering your stress through little effort.
Tips:
Learning to meditate, or cultivating a present state of awareness, is a no-brainer because of the many benefits. Some believe it does for the mind what physical exercise does for the body. Yet it also comes with a bunch of fear and anxiety, by many. Benefits like reducing stress, helping our physical health, easing chronic pain, and supporting better sleep, are compelling, yet many of you may feel intimidated.
Author and mega fitness guru Tony Ferris calls it a “meta-skill,” or practicing focus when it doesn’t matter (practicing mindfulness while sitting for 10 minutes) so that you can better focus when it does matter (negotiation, killer workout, difficult conversation, receiving bad news).
In fact, any time you bring your attention to the rising and falling of your breath without conscious interference, you are beginning a quick or longer journey toward mindfulness and meditation.
Tips:
Doing more than one thing at a time is hard on the brain. Your brain is not a supercomputer and is certainly not “wired” to accomplish multiple activities at once, or at least not well. When we multitask, we don’t do anything well because the task at hand is getting less than your full attention.
Talking on the phone and checking email? Spend time the next day fixing the mess you created because you weren’t paying full attention to the call. Eating while working? Say hello to digestive issues which also lead to weight gain.
Tips:
Complete each task then move onto the next to best care for your brain and your stress.
I hope these three strategies and the tips to achieve them help you to gain the confidence in your mind, body, and spirit. Stay tuned for part two next week which will include three more strategies and tips you can use to reduce your stress. If you have any questions about how to achieve them even further, schedule a free consult with me here.
Alexandria Wellness offers achievable answers for anyone who is tired of chasing fitness and health without a clear plan, someone who has struggled and is not satisfied with their fitness and wellness or someone who is open to maximized healthful longevity and fitness along with healthful weight loss. Adrien and her team offer help with food guidance, body acceptance, sleep and stress issues, and insist you have fun along the way.
Schedule your free 30 minute consult here!
Alexandria Wellness
215 North Payne Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.299.9333
contact@alexandriawellness.com