The battle of stress vs. your healthy lifestyle

Stress is something that will effect all of us at some point or another in some way shape or form, and something that we all deal with in different ways, be it consciously or subconsciously. 

We will all have to deal with deadlines, frustrations, demands, work, family, ourselves... and at a point thing things can become to much and we become STRESSED!!!

Stress isn't just something that we can make go away with out something changing, we can't just ignore it and hope for the best, more often than not your body will manifest the stress in some other way out of your control.

How do I know? I tried and failed at ignoring my stress. The result? Months of getting small rashes and my arms, hands, knees and feet that itched so bad I wanted to rip my skin off. It wasn't until I did something to change what was stressing me out that the rashes stopped and my body returned to normal.

At 22 I feel that I have already had my fair share of stress and up until now I have let the stress control me and control my life. It was something that was easily pushed to the back of a dark closet and forgotten about.

Stress and your healthy lifestyle

Now when you are trying to change your lifestyle and become more healthy, stress is something that will test you. 

It is easy to fall back into old habits or to tell yourself "I can't do that today I am to stressed" and before we know it all our hard work is undone. Believe me I have been there plenty of times and in the end find myself sitting on the couch asking myself how I ended up back in the same place that I started AGAIN!

I think stressful situations are the time when we need to hold our selves up and continue with our new lifestyle more than ever. It is not the time to give up.

Don't try and tell me "but its to hard" because I am no longer buying it.

Sticking with our routines and habits is going to make a stressful situation easier! It is going to help keep your mind calm and keep you in control of your life and help you to not let the stress envelop you.

I find that a lot of people use stress as an excuse to "fall off the wagon", by telling themselves or others that "its to hard to make healthy choices when you are stressed", "when I am stressed I don't have the energy to work out" etc etc.

My Non-stress free Weekend

Imagine, you have been very good and spent some time on Friday night planning your day on Saturday, what housework you had to do (incidental exercise), what you was going to eat and what exercise you were going to do. FAILING TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL.
Now a stress spanner is thrown in the works and you are pulled away from home and you can't do what you had planned.

Does this stress lead you to doing no exercise and eating whatever is around?

This is exactly what happened to me this weekend.
I spent a large portion of my Saturday this week in the hospital waiting room as on Saturday morning a family member who I love very much was taken to hospital by ambulance after having a seizure at home (and two more at the hospital).

When you are in a hospital there isn't a lot that you can control as far as food and exercise goes.
I made the choice that rather than eating that were available, I would have some fruit. Instead of fizzy drink I would have water or black coffee and when I needed something sweet like some lollies I found some fat free, sugar free lollies in the gift shop and they were just as good if not better than some full sugar lollies and helped with the stress induced sugar cravings.
I also opted to stand and move around as opposed to sitting stagnant in a chair. Going on the errand runs to get others food and drinks from the gift shop or meeting people in the car park to show them where the rest of the family was.

So while it wasn't the food and exercise I had planned, I still did my best to keep on track and looking back I can say that I didn't let stress dictate my diet, exercise or my life in that situation.

Peach Melba slim Fruits - Sugar free, fat free and high fibre

My tips to dealing with stress while maintaining a healthy lifestyle:

1. Have contingencies for eating - have snacks that you enjoy pre-split into travel sized packets so if you are in a rush you can grab a pre-arranged healthy snack. Think crackers, nuts, dry fruit etc.  Also having fresh fruit that you can grab on the run and stick in your bag.
2. Make sure you are eating, while a lot of people are stress eaters and over eat, there are some who under eat in stressful situations, neither of these are a good idea... 
3. Have contingencies for exercise - while you may not be able to get to the gym or go for that long run you had planned, know some exercises you can do without equipment or a lot of space. Think, none weighted squats, lunges, press ups, jump squats, burpees, star jumps etc. Find yourself a small bit of space and go for gold, even if you do one now and then something else in 10 minutes, it all adds up.
4. Deal with the problem in front of you, don't try and mask it or ignore it - if you do it will manifest itself in other ways.
5. Talk about your stress with someone, sometimes voicing the issue is half the battle won and you are able to carry on.
6. BREATH!!
7. Do yoga, the deep breathing and stretching will help you relax and calm your nerves.
8. Drink hot tea - at the moment I am enjoying Nerada Organics Lemon and Ginger - it may help relax you.
9. Keep to your routine as much as possible.
10. Allow yourself the occasional treat, sometimes we need that sweet pick me up in stressful times, but made good choices when picking your treat. Personally I have fallen in love with OOb organic ice cream, it feels like I am indulging but I also know I am offering my body a food that isn't full of chemicals. (and no a treat does not mean the whole carton of ice cream haha)

Deliciously creamy treat of double chocolate OOb organic ice cream

I really hope this helps you guys cope with these stressful situations while maintaining your healthy lifestyle.
If you have any tips for sticking with this healthy lifestyle in a stressful situation please leave a comment below, I would love to hear your tips.

I will try and do a post about the contingency foods and exercises soon for you all to keep in your arsenal for when you need them.

Big hugs and calming vibes :)

Louise Taylor xox