Part 2: The Slowdown Syndrome: STRESS

The other day I wrote about what I call the "slowdown syndrome" and it's effect on fat loss and your overall fitness goals.

In the first article I mentioned about outside factors besides exercise and nutrition that can impact your progression in a negative way. I mentioned 3 of these: SLEEP - STRESS - GROUP ENVIRONMENT.

Today we will focus our post on STRESS. If you haven't read how lack of sleep can prevent you from losing weight, burning fat and making gains in the gym, read it here.

I guess the question is can stress make us fat? In my opinion stress alone doesn't makes you fat. But too much of it can force a response on your body that can lead to weight and fat gain. In essence because stress may lead to an increase appetite and hormonal changes which can then affect your blood sugar levels, energy levels, ultimately slowing down your metabolism, etc, etc.... Basically it snowballs out of control and leads you to gaining weight, fat and feeling crappy.

When stress levels are high you may find yourself lacking energy and craving all sorts of unhealthy foods, and/or just an increase appetite that leads you to eat everything in sight. I know of what too many people when stressed out tend to reach for chocolate, alcohol and many other foods... heck I'm even guilty of doing it.

But stress also disrupts your sleep pattern, of which how we learned in part one of this discussion can too lead to weight and fat gain.

Too much stress and your body releases excess cortisol (a stress hormone), which in turn makes you release and store more fat and breaks down your muscles as an energy source. I don't intend to make this a science discussion, so I won't bore you with all the lengthy terminology. However, you must understand that high levels of cortisol have been linked to low levels of testosterone which can be detrimental to your muscles, as it may lead to muscle breakdown, impaired immunity, vitamins, minerals and nutrient depletion, among other things.

Cortisol tends to promote visceral fat storage, A.K.A. your gut. So then not only does cortisol promotes fat storage around your belly, it increases your cravings and the overeating of many unhealthy foods, all while disrupting your sleep and killing your muscles. That leads to weight and fat gain.

The key then is to stay on top of it by feeding your body the proper foods day in and day out, improving your sleep and controlling your stress level. Easier said than done.

I won't go into nutrition on this post, and we already covered how to improve your sleep on our first part of this discussion.

HOW TO CONTROL STRESS?

Start by looking around you and the things that provoke your stress levels to go high. Is it your daily commute, your type of work or the environment at work, are you experiencing problems at home - be it in the relationship, financial or health related? Are your kids struggling at school? Do you have past deep emotional issues that you are dealing with?

Listen life is not a joke, our lives are all crammed up with pressures, obligations and crazy schedules. Sure for some its boils down to bad behavior and being irresponsible; but for many this is deep shit. We are constantly faced with our deepest fears, regrets, disappointments and many other things that brings us down and makes life extremely stressful.

I honestly believe that if you wish to control and reduce stress you must work on your state of mind. Just like physical exercise can help improve your mood, amp the endorphins, improve self esteem, confidence and give you that kick ass feeling; having the proper mindset can have the same effect.

Think about it? How do you feel when you are next to people who suck the life outta you with their negative ways? They bring you down, they make you feel bad and overeat.

Don't let this happen, make the decision to better yourself and stick to it. Get all the negative junk out of your life.

Create a home environment where it is pleasant to go to just "chill and relax". I'm not going Tai Chi on you but this stuff works, there's a connection between how you feel and the things you chose to surround yourself with.

Take time to organized your life, work, family.... 

Eliminate fear and doubts, rather focus on the positive things you can control and the things you can change for better.

Exercise!!! This is such as stress reliever. Its the place where you can toss weights around, kick, grunt, lift, push yourself and beat yourself (as weird as that sounds) but also to meditate in good things and to fight inner demons; it's a time when you connect with others who are just like you, but also a time where you can focus solely on you. Its a time and place where you can let your emotions out, all in a safe and control way that leads to a better body, a better mindset... a better you.

Finally I believe you must laugh more, learn to forgive, and always pray.

Don't let stress get the best of you.

Always be better.

In my next post I will talk about how your GROUP ENVIRONMENT can be a factor that either contributes to your overall fat loss goals or on the contrary one of the factors that leads to weight gain.

Whats better for your health: drugs or exercise?

WE ARE A NATION OF ADDICTION! Why am I saying this? For starters it's no surprise we are addicted to drugs, alcohol,sex, food, violence... you name it. But let me tell you why I'm bringing this up today.

After boot camp this morning; I'm sitting home, eating breakfast and watching the news as I get ready for an very busy afternoon training clients. On the news on CNN they had this segment conducting an interview on a report that came out on the nations addiction to prescription drugs; especially pain killers. In their article (which you can read by clicking here) they mention how "prescription drug overdose is now the fastest-growing drug problem in the country, surpassing the number of people who overdosed during both the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and the black tar heroin epidemic of the 1970s combined" -"Prescriptions for these painkillers have increased dramatically over the past 10 years. In 2000 pharmacies filed 174 million opioid prescriptions. By 2009 that number was 257 million"... If you ask me that's freaking alarming!!!

"Pain killers are necessary and when used properly they help and benefit in the treatment for pain management for certain patients, though they pose serious risks when used improperly", said FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg.

Some facts attributed to the abuse of pain killers was stated as; besides the drug, pain management specialists often indiscriminately prescribe painkillers. Focused on eliminating pain, physicians can overlook the long-term consequences of dependency. These are the same people that went to medical school in hopes to take care of us... Not to mention that the drug industry is a billion dollar industry.

Be a smart consumer and a smart patient, understand that sometimes drugs are prescribe based on what a sales rep does and not what the actual drug claims to do.Have you seen the side effects on many of these drugs? Most will end up killing you in the long run. I still remember when I was teen I had these chest pains (that would come anytime including while playing sports in the middle of a game) and so my mom took me to the Dr. They never figured out what I had, they said I had the heart of an athlete.. I still mentioned I had pains and wasn't making it up. He ended up prescribing me some pain killer for my next episode. I was like WTH!!! You have no idea what's wrong (they actually though I was perfectly fine) yet I was constantly prescribed with pain killers and muscle relaxers. I never took them by the way, and it ends up after years I have higher levels of CRP and a mild heart murmur. Everything under control thankfully... regular exercise and healthy nutrition helps!

But why do we seek these drugs? We've become a society of instant gratification including seeking out quick fixes through drugs to make yourselves feel better. What about your behavior and day to day actions?


On December 2009 I wrote a post about the Health Care Debate And You (click here to read the full post). In it I mention how some of the issues may be out of your hands (and into the hands of Congress) though not your health!!

What we are missing is the real debate on how to get people healthy and help them stay that way (without the use of pain killers which ultimately may end up killing you); or in others words Practice Preventive Medicine not reactive. At the end it’s your responsibility to take action for your health, your life and of those around you.

What can you do then?

Did you know that regular exercise combined with a healthy nutrition program can help you live better, improve the quality of your life, reduce the possibility of contracting a disease, strengthen your muscles and bones, fight aging, help you reduce stress and improve your sleep patterns, improve your sex life and so many other things like regulate your blood pressure, control sugar related health problems such as diabetes, hypoglycemia, lower cholesterol, etc… In a struggling economy imagine all the money you and everyone else would save by just taking care of your body. You clean your house, you maintain your cars and other possessions why not your health? As some other professionals have pointed out: FITNESS IS THE ULTIMATE MEDICINE!!

What if you:
· Stop smoking
· Eat healthier (like more chicken, fish, vegetables, fruits, omega-3, 6)
· Reduce the intake of alcohol or at least drink moderately
· Exercise every day or at least in a consistent and regular basis 3 to 5 times a week
· Smile and be generous
· Have Fun
· Love others

The reality is that this is your Preventive Medicine or "personal health care reform program". Of course it won’t guarantee that you would ever get sick, be pain free, avoid aging or getting into an accident or having the perfect body; but it’s a start and ONLY YOU can control this not an insurance company, not the government not your workplace.

Sure there are great programs developed by the government to help promote fitness and even more so companies are realizing the benefits of starting a Corporate Wellness Program. But at the end it falls on you to follow through a program. You must enroll into the gym, if not decide to exercise at home, join boot camp and once you do that,  THEN YOU MUST GO. You must get started in a fitness and nutrition program.

If you lack motivation, if you are lazy, if you have no idea where to start or what to do… then you must invest in yourself, buy a book, go online, hire a reputable fitness expert at least to help you get started on the right path.

At the end your "personal health care reform program" comes down to this: you either invest your time and effort in your health today or pay the expenses and medical bills tomorrow, it’s your call.

Are your Eggs on the list?

EGG RECALL!!!

It shouldn't shock you by now, since it's been all over the news since last week. However this is the largest egg recall in US history. For us in Florida (at least where I live, at the moment) it hasn't been become a major threat... yet.

But in many places it seems to be one of the only things people talk about. First there's the public safety and health concerns to be worried about; then the hit this slow recovering economy is going to take, and then also a look into the farming industry. You know this isn't the only food source we eat that is contaminated with Salmonella, E.coli or other bacterias, viruses and whatever else they can find in these animals. How did the Salmonella contamination happen?

ABC news reports that the trail leads mainly to two farms in Iowa. You can read the story here.

Many of the blame seems to fall on unsanitary and poor conditions in these factory farms.

Mr. David Kirby, journalist and author of the book Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy and Poultry Farms on Humans and the Environment. His latest article in the Huffington Post is called "Lessons from the Egg Recall: Cheap Food Makes You Sick... is in my opinion a must read.

The bottom line, "cheap food" will cost us dearly in the end. Already we see people and the earth getting poisoned by factory farming all in the name of "cheap food."

If you haven't seen Food, Inc., I recommend it, very informative, I just warn you, that you might rethink what to eat and where to buy food in the future.

As a health and fitness specialist my concern is my health and overall fitness level as well as yours. So whatever you decide to do in the near future, eat eggs or not, buy organic or not. Just remember fruits and vegetables from organic sources are your best bet, if too expensive at least make it fresh produce from a local supplier. That way you know where the food is coming from.

Does the recall changes the way you look at food? Share your thoughts..