Tip #20: Relieve Your Stress and Live Happier

Growing up, my favorite show was Boy Meets World and my favorite quote from that show was "Life sucks, get a helmet." Today, I'll give you a helmet and I hope you choose to use it.

Every now and again, life does prove to suck. Getting healthy isn't just about being in a healthy weight range; it's also about your mental health, which can be tested sometimes by the things you see, the people you meet, and the day's events. I've been so stressed lately and today was just the icing on the very, very bitter cake. My friend got into a publication that I'd been working for a long time to get into, but never did. The worst part was that she hardly had to work to get it. It's hard sometimes to see your hard work get passed over. It makes me feel like I'm just not good enough and I know I'm not the only one to feel this way.

A few years ago, when something like this would happen, I'd nearly breakdown. I'd cut myself off from human contact, get massive headaches, and spend a few hours in the bathroom crying and feeling sorry for myself. Needless to say, this is not a healthy way to deal with things. More recently, I've found a few tips and tricks to get me through the day and keep me sane.

First, analyze who you surround yourself with a bit. My friend who was published is one of my best friends who I spend a lot of time with, but she's not my only friend. I went out with friends for lunch this afternoon and, after listening and trying to help them with a few of their own problems, I told them about the publication. They reminded me that I'm young yet and I have plenty of time to get published and, although they were very simpathetic, they helped me to laugh it off. When I first got the news, I felt like it was the end of the world, but by the end of lunch, I'd nearly forgotten it.

Second, take some time to let go of stress at the end of the day. In order to get rid of my headaches, a doctor suggested that I try meditation. At the end of every day, I sit on my bed and close my eyes in silent darkness. I picture the most relaxing place that I can think of, with the greatest and happiest people I know. I like to think of sitting in an inner tube, floating down a creek. It works for me because I took the suggestion of something that I read a long time ago: picture all the things you worry about and watch them float away. It's like casting away your problems from your mind, leaving only the things that make you happy.

Third, remember that everyone isn't perfect. Think of the things that you like about yourself, the things that are unique and make you, you. I know it's a bit of a cliche, but try to remember to write down these things. You can do this whenever you want, but just try to remember to do it. Seeing these things in writing will help you remember them and your mind will remind you of them next time you feel low.

Health isn't always physical; it's mental too. Stress can ruin your day and mess with your head, so it's important to try to relieve stress every day. A little stress is a good thing; it keeps you trying to work to your maximum potential. However, if you have too much stress, you'll overwork yourself. Keep yourself balanced and you can live a happier, healthier life.

TIp #19: Take Your Mind Off Food

The newest thing I've learned that has helped me lose weight (down to 146!) is staying busy with something that gets me out of the house. I've joined a writing group that gets me out of the house every Thursday, study at the libery rather than at home, volunteer on weekends, and go out with friends every Friday night. I've noticed that the less time I spend at home, the less calories I'm consuming.

When you are out and you get a little hungry or are overcome with a craving and don't have any food with you, you have to go and buy it, right? Well, that costs money! By the time you realize you have to walk or drive to the shop to get it and fish out money from your wallet (and let's face it, most of us don't have the extra spending money) you've probably overcome that craving or you remembered that you have dinner in an hour and you don't want to ruin your appetite.

So volunteer in your community on your down time, go to that museum exhibit you've been wanting to see, go the movies with your boyfriend (forgo the food of course), do a little extra studying and get that A, go to your school's football game, or even just go out and party with your friends! Go ahead! I give you full permission (if you are over twenty-one) to hit the dance clubs and flaunt it! Just go easy on the booze and you could even call clubbing healthy!

Tip #18: Don't Cross Anything Off

There is an epidode of the television show "How I Met Your Mother" when the main character, Ted, finds a shirt he once hated and realizes he kind of loves it now. This sends him on a tailspin, wondering if he should go back to a girl he once dated to see if he ends up loving her now that he is older and his tastes have changed.

Now, it didn't end so well for him and the girl (he dumps her and she beats the hell out of him) but there is a lesson to learn here (and it not just to never dump a girl on her birthday)! The lesson is that your tastes do change over time and you have to adjust to that! You have to experiment and try something you may not have thought of before. This goes especially for exercise, because your body changes, just like your tastes. A few years ago, I tried yoga. I was bored and dizzy in the first few minutes, quitting almost immediately and crossing it off the list of exercises I wanted to do. Fast forward to a few months ago and I'm reading an article about how great it is to do yoga and stretch out before bed, so I did it. Now, I can't go to sleep without doing at least twenty minutes of downward facing dogs, warrior poses, and chair poses.

There are a lot of reasons why you might not have liked an exercise regime at first. Maybe it was too boring like I thought yoga was. If you find that your workouts are high impact (aka you're sore for days afterwards) and you need to take a break, but you don't want to actually skip exercising entirely, you might want to go back to the workout you originally found to be a little boring. These are often low impact and, if you can learn to relax during them, you'll learn to love them.

Maybe you found it too challanging. I know I found kickboxing hard the first time I tried it! But you have to build up to something so high intensity. If you are doing another workout routine now and you are finding that its getting to easy for you, try the challenging workout again. It might just be exactly what you need!

All exercise has its upsides and downsides. You have to find one that you like, but since you adjust to your routine, you have to try new things, or things you may have tried before but didn't like originally. Your body might just end up thanking you for it!

Workout Playlist of the Week!

Warm-Up: Give Me Hope- New Politics

Queen of the Scene- Hot Chelle Rae

Checkmarks- The Academy Is

Faster Ride- Cartel

Cool Down: Paper Heart- David Cook

Tip #17: Set a Plan and Act on It!

Its so easy to make excuses for why you don't exercise. You're tired! You're too busy! You're bored with your usual workout! I do the same thing. We all do! I know I've talked about Sparkpeople on this blog before but I had to share something new I discovered about it. There is a fitness tracker on it that can give you a set amount of calories to torch in a week! It works like this:

You enter in the amount of days you want to work out and select about how long you plan to exercise (shoot for half an hour to forty minutes four days a week! I exercise Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday because I usually have the most time to work out). Then the tracker calculates the minimum number of calories you should be burning in a week. For me, its about 800. I know it sounds like a lot, but its easy to burn off if you break it down. Try to even go a little over if you can! Think about it like this: 40 minutes of kikboxing is about 400 calories, 40 minutes of Barre is 340. You are at 740 and you only completed two of your workouts! Its a lot easier to met your goal than you think! Plus its a lot easier to force yourself to get your butt off the couch when your workout for the day is put down in writing!

Now, you don't have to use Sparkpeople (even if it is free!) so you can just write down a page of your planned workouts for the week in your food journal! Also, set a reminder on your phone! No excuses that you forgot to or are too busy to workout when you schedule it in! Good luck and have fun with it!

Workout Playlist of the Week!

Warm Up: Edge of Glory- Lady Gaga

Little Lion Man- Mumford and Sons

Lose Yourself- Eminem

Grenade- Bruno Mars

Cool Down: Skyscraper- Demi Lovato

Tip #16: Don't Beat Yourself Up

Since the invention of the scale, it has been a woman's worst enemy. Or at least that is what I've always felt, until recently. The truth is, we really are our own worst enemy. The scale tells you a number, sure, and sometimes, you just hate seeing it written down like that. It never says, "Geez, you're really packing on the pounds, aren't you?" or "Man, you're fat!" It only tells us what our weight is. It doesn't even tell us whether we gained or lost a pound. The panic of seeing the number is all in our heads. The voice that tells us these confidence-shattering phrases is only in our heads.

Don't give that voice the chance to say it. First off, DO NOT WEIGH YOURSELF EVERY DAY! That is such a horrible idea! Just don't do it! Every time you step on a scale when you are trying to lose weight, you want to see the scale move down, but losing a pound (or more) everyday is unhealthy. Aim for between one to two pounds a week. Therefore, weigh yourself every week only. Have a set date and time to do that, as your weight fluxuates through out the day.

Second, when you step on the scale, keep a mantra in your head or written down in front of you, reminding you that the scale doesn't change anything. So what if it went up? You're gorgeous anyway. You aren't trying to become Twiggy 2! You're trying to get healthy and it doesn't matter how long that takes.

Lastly, remember that getting healthy takes time. Don't set rediculous goals for yourself. It will make you do unhealthy things in the end, like skipping meals or cutting calories to the point you can't function properly. The goal isn't to be super-skinny or like a starved girl in a magazine. The goal is to get healthy.