How to eradicate STRESS from your life

Stress. 

     "I'm so stressed out!"
     "My life is SO stressful right now!"
     "Oh, I can't get xyz done, I'm too stressed."
I can teach you, in one sentence, how to completely eradicate stress from your life.

Want to know how?

Get a more descriptive vocabulary.

     No, really.
     "Stress" can be almost anything, and "having stress" is synonymous with BREATHING. Your body is under stress every day: pulled muscles, aches, pains, illnesses, constantly fighting germs and even the effect of gravity can cause physical stress. You give yourself physical stress by exertion, whether willfully exercising, or inadvertently having to dash for the bus you're about to miss.

     Stress can be emotional. Your dad could be diagnosed with cancer. You may have just had a spat with your significant other. Your time of the month may be pending, and you're late, or don't have access to chocolate you crave. You may have just started a diet, compounding physical stress with mental deprivation of foods you want, double stress!

     Stress can be mental. Overloaded with projects at work. Starting a new job. Keeping a difficult job! Hating your boss. Loving (bow chicka bow wow) your boss. Stress. Stress. Stress.

     Now here's the secret: EVERYONE has stress. It's a constant in everyone's life, all the time. From the aboriginal tribesman to the modern day white-collar Wall Street exec, everyone has some kind of stress. Now that we're all on equal footing, let's get over it.

     No, really.
     Saying, "I'm stressed," as an excuse for any kind of non-capable, non-adult behavior is just that. An excuse. Not a valid reason.
     "I just can't handle this, I'm too stressed." How many of us have heard that as an excuse for why something didn't get done, and now WE have to handle it? I bet everyone has heard that. Doesn't make it acceptable. Ten times out of ten, I'd rather someone took responsibility for their failing and ask for help, rather than blame their failing on the ever-present scapegoat, Stress.
     Don't tell me you're "stressed." Tell me the STRESSOR. I'm much more likely to be sympathetic to,
"Sarah, I couldn't meet you at the gym like we'd arranged because I over scheduled my day. I was late waking up because my boyfriend snored all night, I was late getting my kid to their doctor's appointment, and as I rushed to get home I accidentally tapped the car in front of me, so I had to deal with that."
     Specifics. Not just "I've had a stressful day." I care very much about your individual trials. I don't give a crap that it "stressed you out."

     Adults have standards of behavior that should be met. Don't let "Stress" be your excuse for rudeness, laziness, or making other people deal with your problems. If you have to get help, be specific as to why, and frankly, it doesn't hurt to apologize for your own shortcomings to those who will then be helping you. Let's ALL eradicate "Stress" from our vocabularies.

Tips on how to handle your day-to-day "Stress":

• Exercise. (Of course I advise this!) A quick 20 minute workout reintroduces endorphins to your system, and can decrease the effects of cortisol, which is the "stress hormone." Exercise more.
• Sleep. Get adequate sleep. The average adult needs approximately 7 - 9 hours of sleep per night. Find your ideal sleep pattern by going to bed at the same time every night, and allowing yourself to wake up naturally the next morning without an alarm. (Some may have to start this process on the weekend, as a body operating on a sleep deficit may oversleep at first, causing us to miss work!)
• Eat healthy foods, avoid processed foods. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins help the body function, which in turn allows the body to handle more of the day-to-day issues that arise in a healthy manner. Avoid processed foods and sugar.
• Avoid alcohol. A glass of red wine in a bath can be a fine de-stressing wind-down to a day, but getting home after fighting traffic and immediately mixing yourself a double vodka martini is only going to compound your stress problems down the line.
• Talk. It's okay to vent to friends, humans bond over shared problems. 
• Physical touch. Engage in more touch. Whether cuddles with kids, pets, a significant other, or booking a massage, humans respond with relaxation to increased physical touch.
• My personal favorite: Immerse yourself in water. Whether it be taking a bath, hopping in a hot tub, a hot shower, or a quick swim in the pool, somehow the feel of water on our body helps to relax us. 

     If you have any additional unique and healthy ways to combat "Stress," please feel free to email me or add them in a comment below. I always welcome new techniques!

Magazines

     Well, after reading the latest Women's Health, to which I've had a subscription for years, I got off my butt and cancelled this worthless subscription this morning. I got irritated last night as I flipped through the Katherine McPhee featured mag, seeing NO muscle tone on any of the models, including the featured McPhee. So many articles about beauty, makeup, hairstyles, and only scant mentions of fitness.
     What really sealed the deal was reading the workout which advised using 8-12lb dumbbells 3 times a week to work out various parts of the body. Head, meet wall. Repeat. This stupid magazine seemingly perpetuates the myth that if women lift anything heavier than their own boobs, they'll turn into this:

(And hey, if you DO want to look that way, more power to you! It's not everyone's aesthetic of choice, but mad props to the women who put forth that kind of effort and determination to build the kind of body that takes that much hard work. No body deserves ridicule.)

     But let's be real: the average female who lifts weights, even (gasp) HEAVY weights (like, your own bodyweight! More than that! ERMAGERD!) won't look like that woman featured above without actually intending to get there. Magazines and articles that perpetuate this myth are detrimental to women, and fitness. Here's a woman who lifts heavy weights, and competes in fitness competitions:

See the difference? I'm not saying one kind of body is better/preferable to the other, but I want to point out the serious visual differences between what perception of weightlifters is versus the reality. For the record, this particular writer and fitness enthusiast would prefer to look like the strong and beautiful Jamie Eason (pic 2), but that body also takes hard work and relentless dedication to eating habits.

     Now, maybe other bodies can achieve the kind of results they want with 8 pound dumbbells, but my body didn't change until I picked up the heavy weights, and put down the processed foods. If you're looking to be genuinely strong, and want a magazine to help you carve away the fat while leaving you fit and healthy, and able to maintain a newly de-fatted body, please check out Oxygen over Women's Health. Doing so has made a huge difference in how I view myself, my goals, and how I've gone about losing 30 pounds of fat while increasing my muscle mass and lowering my BMI. I'm still a work in progress, but that below is 180 to 150lbs. If I can do it, ANYONE can.