Tag Archives: Stress

Fat Burning Monica Cardone Weight Loss Tips

Weight Loss Tip #15: Do You Know Your Fat Burning BLOCKERS?

December 22, 2011 – 5:15 PM

The following hidden barriers will prevent weight loss:

1. Sleeping less than 7 quality hours. Quality means having good deep
sleep and feeling rejuvenated.
2. Not resting enough between exercise sessions.
3. Not resting long enough between the repetitions or intense bouts of exercise.
4. Exercising intensely for too long. Intense anaerobic exercise should be kept between 25 and 40 minutes, and even that should include within the workout a good amount of rest between bouts of exercise.
5. Consuming sugars, starches, juice, sports drinks or alcohol. Most protein bars have tons of sugar.
6. Having pain or inflammation.
7. Lots of stress.

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Diet Diary

Day 78: The best Mother’s Day gift

May 10, 2010 – 7:46 AM

There is nothing like good old fashioned, uninterrupted, restful, childless, comfortable, relaxing, blissful….sleep (yes, I also thought this only existed in fairy tales until recently)! Albeit something that I never get enough of and ironically, the first thing I think of cutting out of my life when things get more (shall I say) “difficult”.

Isn’t it strange that the more stressed out you feel, the less sleep you get, and the more stress (as a result) you end up adding to your life! On the flip side, the days when you don’t have the screaming list of “must dos” (emphasis on “screaming”) are those days when you end up getting actual rest (think weekend boredom). So, the adage is backwards: instead of not realizing how much you need it until it’s gone; you realize how much you (really) need once you actually get some ….sounds like something else I usually say no to (at first anyway :) ). All in all, I have had a happy Mother’s Day and being allowed to sleep last morning was wonderful!! (A million times better than breakfast in bed!)

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Diet Diary

Boredom, a Type of Stress

April 30, 2010 – 2:00 PM

I don’t know one single person who would describe me as a person who would EVER find myself facing “boredom”…but when I really look at it, this really is one of my most hidden, lethal DIET KILLING “stresses” … Stress means having  anxiety, worrying about something, feeling dissatisfied, pretty much feeling anything other than contentment and enjoyment or  doing something  you consider “less than ideal”. For example: Watching a cartoon with my daughter because I’m too tired to do anything else –  but I want some sort of enjoyment after a long day dealing with other stresses, so instead of doing something I really want to do (like taking a nap!), I reach for something to eat to make it seem like what I am doing is enjoyable; i.e. – having fun and NOT feeling any stress. Of course, at this point in the day, I usually don’t feel much of anything because I’m totally BURNED OUT!!!

How messed up is this?!

The worst part is that as I’m eating something guaranteed to NOT be good for me, given the circumstances (I am craving something sweet, salty, loaded with carbs…about as far away from celery sticks as you can get) –I munch haphazardly, planning my next stress-induced event:  how to make-up for this diet doozy.

Next follows anxiety and guilt-filled thoughts of running on the treadmill, skipping dinner, doing 20 push-ups in the next thirty minutes, or taking the kids for walk.  But like a merry-go-round, they quickly spin into…yep, more stress.  I decided to munch to DE-STRESS, and now I have not only NOT de-stressed, I have added a brand new problem to worry about.  Nice diversion.  One thing IS for certain though…it is much easier to worry about what I can do tomorrow to make up for overeating today, than how I am going to solve the financial stress, tiredness, crying fits and “gotta-get-it-done-right-this-minute” deadlines…

That being said, confronting these facts has already seemed to make a difference.  I still have sweets in the house and they have still not been touched by me (hooray!)….and, I am once again running on little-to-no sleep. This time, however, it was thanks to Little baby, not Big Baby. :)

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Diet Diary

Day 70:Three Hidden Diet Killers

April 29, 2010 – 9:41 AM

It has been almost 6 months since resolving to really get (and KEEP) my body healthy and fit. Being the Adrenal Body Type, I know I have a weakness for accumulating unnecessary stress. Dealing with this in a way that doesn’t involve food has proven to be just about the only thing I CONTINUE to struggle with.
Yesterday was a prime example of that…(enough said). As the adage goes, “the first step is denial” – I must be doing pretty well to be acknowledging the fact that my number one weakness is STRESS. And yes, I have been in denial for quite some time. Stress has remained hidden from being a “Diet Killer” because in order for me to admit I have this as a weakness, I’ve had to admit I that I am not as good as I thought I was (kidding!)
These three things are my “Hidden Diet Killers” (and sure enough, they all relate to a type of STRESS!).
1. Financial stress (finishing our taxes, paying too many bills, arguing with the insurance company)
2. Physical stress (too tired, no energy, not eating enough and then getting starved!)
3. Role stress. I’ve worked at least two jobs since I was nine years old (no, child labor laws weren’t enforced where I grew up!). Yet here I find myself a stay-at-home mom part of the time and in the office workplace part of the time. Talk about a constant tug-of-war!! I am totally at home in a professional setting, but put me home alone with two small children and two big dogs & I am totally out of my element! Not that I don’t love my kids – quite the opposite – the problem is that I’ve spent so much of my life running ragged with adults that I’ve never learned to just sit back & enjoy the moment (which is an essential skill with little kids!). Often, this anxiety gets interpreted (by me) as atypical “boredom”. “Fun” and “exciting” to my three-year-old is usually neither “fun” nor “exciting” for me, so while she’s having fun, I stress about my perceived inadequacies and end up with – hand-to-mouth-disease :)
A few things to think about while I go to bed tonight….what do I do about this epiphany now?

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Diet Diary

Day 62: Is Your Body Confused?

April 9, 2010 – 4:05 PM

If you are craving carbs or sweets and you are fat, your liver is confused (remember, your liver controls the bodies fat burning hormones).

When you get stressed, your body uses more energy and needs to replace energy. Fat, to the body, is potential energy. Things that taste good make you feel good. Sugary foods and carbs get burned as quick energy…but your body should be burning fat – NOT keeping excess fat, or worse – storing more fat (if you have any extra pounds laying around)! If our bodies were not confused, Americans would be among the thinnest population on earth…we have lifestyles that typically involve no vacations, lots of work and lots of stress (stress burns calories and ALSO can cause some serious cravings among other things…IF YOUR BODY is not totally healthy, and especially if your hormones are not in balance).

If you think you have a hormone imbalance, you might want to get more information about “body types” – and find out which body type you have. This site offers a free online test www.findyourbodytype.com. The body types are based on the works of Dr. Eric Berg, and are derived from four different hormone imbalances (which basically cause confusion in the body that can be the cause of excess weight gain)…. interesting stuff, huh?! I am the Adrenal type and definitely the cravings part is me 100%!

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Diet Diary

Day 54: The Real Reason French are thin

March 13, 2010 – 6:18 PM

The few extra pounds from my vacation were totally worth it!

I am back on track with my more healthy ways and realize that one of the worst (hidden) diet killers is stress.

It’s taken a few weeks to get back into my hectic, stressful lifestyle – haunted by those lurking cravings (whenever my stress levels begin to surge – lately that is pretty often).  As long as I am armed with some healthy snack foods though, I am pretty safe.  But this brings an interesting question…Is the reason why the French stay thin because they “drink red wine”, or because they have a lot LESS STRESS than any other country in the world?  Think about it – France has something like 13 National Holidays and one of those is 3 weeks long during February (I was just reminded of this because we met a great French couple on the beach – and no, they were not nude!).  The French also have the highest consumption of anti-depressant medication (another interesting statistic).  So maybe zoning out, forgetting your problems and going on a lot of vacations is really, the best way to stay thin? :) lol

(Just kidding)  But I do have to agree with the vacation part.  Now, I just need to find a way to reduce more stress from my everyday life.  For me, stress equals binging…I start thinking it is more important to just get through the day (candy and chips are a way I “zone out”)…and well…we all know the rest of the story.  On to tomorrow!

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