Soul Connection

One of my goals for 2020 is to de-stress.  While I'm not sure about how exactly one measures the stress or lack thereof in their life, I do have a relatively solid plan.  Or at least I think it's solid.

First, let's talk about the soul to cell connection, wherein your mind and body are connected at a cellular level.

It's Science

Believe it or not, there is a science to it this connection (*sources below).  I will try to keep it basic.

Everyone produces a hormone called "Cortisol" which is best known as the stress hormone.  It is crucial to many body systems, including mood, sleep, blood pressure and blood sugar regulation, as well as your body's use of macro-nutrients (protein, fat and carbs).  When your body is on high alert, cortisol may shut down functions that may interfere, such as digestive, reproductive and immune systems.   Have you ever noticed that when you are stressed you are more likely to get sick, gain weight, and even have out of wack periods?

Too much cortisol wrecks havoc on us.   Prolonged stress causes your cortisol levels to be unmanageable, interfering with your body's ability to function.    Scientists have found that too much stress causes damage to our telomeres, the protective casing at the end of DNA strands.  This impairs the body's ability to fight infection and disease.   Further studies have shown that the effect of stress on our DNA can actually be passed onto future generations.  Let me repeat that.  Stress affects our DNA, which can be genetically passed onto our unborn children.  It's passed onto our children...AND even our grandchildren. 

So What To Do About It?

Learning how to handle and deal with stress is probably one of the most daunting things I have had to personally address.  To say that I have it figured out would be a lie.  I am on a journey to addressing it, and I hope to share with you some of the things that have benefited me.

Exercise

If you've been following me, you would be surprised if I didn't say "Exercise helps to reduce stress."  Exercise helps your body to feel better.  It also reduces fatigue, as well as improves mental acuity.  Exercise helps your body to produce endorphins, which improves your ability to sleep and manage stress.  That said, knowing it helps doesn't necessarily mean you will do it.

So, if you don't exercise regularly, start.  Start small and easy.  Start by walking.  Yes, walking.  Don't count the walking you do at your job as your exercise.  That's work.  Take a walk in the neighborhood, or try 30 minutes on a treadmill.  If 30 minutes seems too long, try 10 minutes three times per day.   It's still 30 minutes.  Try yoga.  I swear by yoga.  I really relaxes me and is good for your joints.  (Yoga With Adriene was recommended to me.   She has a variety of yoga options to try.)

It's been a long time since I took a locker room selfie!

 Be careful!  The addage less is more and more is less is true here.  If you overdo cardio, especially at first, you will not see the results you want.  Not only do you run the risk of burning out and not exercising at all, but too much aerobic exercise at one time causes an increase in your production of cortisol (the stress hormone we are trying to reduce).

Meditation

Yep, I said it.  The "M" word.  Meditation is definitely the new buzz word all about town.   Doctors, therapists and personal trainers tell you to do it.  What is it and why all the fuss about it?

In short, meditation is a practice of centering your mind and eliminating the distractions from your  mind.   Typically, meditation focuses on your breath.   We spend our lives running around, focusing on every detail.  Constantly inundated with one thing after another, our brains are forced to make sense of the chaos.  Meditation helps to quiet your mind.

When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.

Psalm 94:19

When I first started meditation, it was at the encouragement of my doctor because I was not sleeping.  I could fall asleep, but I couldn't stay asleep.  I was waking up at 2:00 a.m., unable to turn the wheels of my brain off.   In addition to cleaning up my sleep habits (e.g.: going to bed at the same time every night, not looking at the clock when I wake up), he recommended a couple of different sleep apps.  

These are the ones I tried:

Meditation Studio is a skill you can enable in Amazon's Alexa.  There are two different sleep meditations that I found helpful to fall asleep at bedtime, but too disruptive to fall back to sleep at 2:000 a.m.

Sleep Sounds is another skill you can enable in Amazon Alexa.  That was useful in both falling asleep and falling back to sleep.  There's no talking with this one, so it was really only the calming sound that lulls you to sleep.

Calm is a meditation app that is available for a free trial.  It provides a unique 10-minute meditation every day, It also has sleep stories you can listen to, in order to lull yourself to sleep.   It's very relaxing, but I wasn't keen on spending money on it after the trial ended.

Relax Melodies was the winner.   You can download this app and use several features for free, with a pay option to add more to your experience.  At first, we used it as an enhancement from the Sleep Sounds from Alexa.  It is available wherever your phone is (meaning even when you travel).  After using the app for a while and actually preferring it over the Sleep Sounds, I discovered there are Meditations, Sleep Stories and "Sleep Moves" included as well.   I tried the meditations included with the free portion of the app and fell in love.  Because my biggest problem with sleep was waking in the middle of the night, I simply moved to the couch, played the meditation and fell back to sleep.  It was magic.  Just about every time.  I started using the meditations when I went to bed and found my sleep was interrupted less frequently.  I was actually sleeping until 4 or 5 a.m. without having to get up.   Once my brain adjusted to the free meditations, I realized I was worth the $5 per month cost of using the full app.  

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.  

Matthew 11:28 - 30

My princess and sleep companion (until Brian goes to bed)

Meditation is more than just for sleep

My new job brought high levels of stress.   I learn new things every day.  I am on my feet all day, working longer hours than ever before.   I am mentally fatigued beyond comparison.   I am totally out of my comfort zone.   I am mentally and physically exhausted.   Every day.

I love to workout, but I am finding on my way home from work, my body shuts down.  By the time I drive to the gym, I want to collapse.  I have no energy to function.  I just keep driving.  Home.  Where I crash.

I lost the endorphin rush of working out.  I wasn't benefiting from the one thing I knew helped me cope.   I tried working out early in the morning once - twice per week.  That worked until it got cold out.  It's awfully hard to get out of bed in the morning and get to the gym.  But I do my best to make sure I get in at least 4 workouts per week.

That said, one day I was driving to work and I felt completely overwhelmed.  I realized that the practice I used for helping me to sleep could be used to help me deal with the stress of work.  But obviously, I couldn't close my eyes and focus on my breathing while I was driving.  So I began my own practice of meditation.  This time, I turned it into a time of worship and prayer, with a closing of  quiet meditation.  No prescription, no external voice telling me to breathe, just time with my Lord.

"Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."  

Joshua 1:9

I play these two songs:  Lord I Need You by Matt Maher and Tremble by Mosaic, followed by listening to Psalms read to me on my Bible app.   After listening to a couple of chapters, I simply pray, quietly to the Lord.   Jesus, Jesus, You make the darkness tremble.  Jesus, Jesus, You silence fear.  Be with me today, Lord.  Help me to be more like you.

Bible app by YouVersion

Meditation is a practice.   You never really perfect it.  But it only works if you practice it.  We can't change our circumstances, but we can control our response to it.  By practicing mediation, I have seen first hand the effect it has on helping me address both sleeplessness AND manage stress.   I am, by no means there.  I still need to "figure it out."

As I do, I will share with you what I learn.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.  For this year, I am focusing on the whole picture.  Not just diet and exercise, but also trying to address the cell to soul connection.

New book I'm starting:
One Breath at a Time: A Skeptic's Guide to Christian Meditation by J. Dana Trent 

"Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; As for me, I shall be glad in the Lord." 

Psalm 104:34

Lord I Need You by Matt Maher

Lord I need you, oh I need you.

Every hour I need you.

*Sources
How stress can change your DNA
How chronic stress is harming our DNA
Stress Hormone Causes Epigenetic Changes
Excess Stress Changes Marks on DNA
Epigenetics:  Can stress really change your genes?

And if you are really interested in this, check out this TEDx Talk, which explains the effect on our DNA.

Epigenetics and the influence of our genes

TEDx Talk with Courtney Griffin

Questions for you:  (Answer in the comment section below.)

What strategies do you implement for managing stress? 

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She's Getting Fit ... AGAIN

It's just about 2020 and almost 16 months since my last post.

Merry Christmas!  and Happy New Year! (and New ME)

A lot has happened.  My son moved out of the house.  New job.  I turned 50.  Those are the major highlights.  To sum up the past year+ would be impractical and would sound like I'm making excuses to why I stopped blogging and why I landed back. in. the. fat. seat. 

Moving forward, that's what it's about....2020 is going to be all about becoming a healthier me.  I've set some goals to work on.  Here's the short list:

1. Lose weight.  AGAIN.  Optimally and realistically I'd like to lose 25 lbs.  If I'm dreaming big, I really think 30 is a better goal, but 25 is more manageable for me.
2. De-Stress.   I'm not sure how to measure that, but I do have a relatively solid game plan in place.   The trick will be seeing if the plan results in actual outcomes.
3. Deadlifts:  10 reps at 200 lbs.
4. Pull-ups:  10 reps (unassisted)

Middle age and stress have wrecked havoc on my hormones.  I've decided to reset my nutrition to help bring balance to my hormones.

I've been reluctant to write, to come back to the blog.  To be honest, having fallen off the wagon, I haven't been able to figure out how to get back on it.  My weight has been on a gradual increase and my efforts to address it have failed.   Stress and age have brought with them more aches and pains.   Already I feel like I'm whining and making excuses for being where I am and that's not what I want to write about.

Slowly working my way back to my goal... Here's 165 lbs. for six reps.

When I first started Tracey's Getting Fit in 2015, it served as a tool for me on my journey towards losing weight and getting fit.  I used it as a way to reflect on what worked and what didn't.  It held me accountable to myself and to my readers.  But somewhere along the line, I think I felt like I couldn't measure up to myself and my expectations and I just let it go.

I'm resurrecting the blog to serve as a way for me to track my successes AND failures as I endeavor to become a healthier, new me.  AGAIN.  I'm okay with putting it out there, although with my new job, I've decided to have my name less in the focus.  So instead of "Tracey's Getting Fit," I've renamed the blog "Getting Fit...AGAIN."

I'll probably write more often, with shorter posts and more frequent check-ins.  I hope you'll share the journey with me.

You better watch out, 2020, I'm coming after you!

Raise Your Glass by P!nk

So raise your glass if you are wrong

In all the right ways, all my underdogs

We will never be, never be anything but loud

And nitty, gritty, dirty little freaks

Won't you come on and come on and 

Raise your glass?

Questions for you:  (Answer in the comment section below.)

Do you have any resolves for the New Year?  What do you hope to accomplish in 2020?

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Raw

Greetings! It's September 2! I didn't even post a small anything in August. Totally let the month get away for me. The truth is I've been finding it hard to find my motivation in general lately. So when you feel like that, you're not really up to writing motivational blog posts to encourage other people. So this post is going to be completely real. This is me. Where I'm at. Raw.  School started Monday. The stress of school starting and being back to work completely consumed me. And I allowed it.  

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. 

Psalm 62:1

Exhaustion cycle: get up, get ready for work, work all day, no breaks, just go, go, go. Come home... and I'm done. It's all I can do to just get through the night.  Cooking? Meal prep? Working out? What's that? I'm just trying to survive.  That's it.  Wake up, exhausted before I even start the day. Repeat. 

Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yolk upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:28-29

I really don't like feeling this way.  I HATE feeling like my circumstances are dictating my path.  The truth is, I know what I need to do. I just need to get myself to stop the cycle. I need to move. Moving my body, working out, lifting weights, sweating! These things make me feel better, so why do I go home and crash on the couch and do nothing? All that does is make me more tired!

Fortunately it's a long weekend and I've already gotten off to a good start. Had an awesome workout yesterday and did a 5K fun run last night.  

It was a fun run, so I didn't have any goal, but to have fun. And I did. 

Was up early today and already out the door to Costco first thing. Costco is my favorite place. ❤️ 

Heading to the gym shortly.  Have to pick my son up from work, so am throwing this up here now.  Tonight we are going to see Fluffy (Gabriel Iglesias) and I'm really looking forward to this.

Finally feel like I'm getting my groove back.  

Did you even know there is a song about that???  It's pretty awesome!

So when you're in a slump. When you feel like everything is running you instead of you running everything else. Don't be so hard on yourself. 

Feeling good!  Got my groove back!

Remember, each day is a new beginning. 

New Day by Alicia Keys

There's a feeling that I got that I can't give up.  Feeling in my heart that I can't get over.  I know it's coming.  Let the sun come up.  Tell me, do you feel the same?

Questions for you:  (Answer in the comment section below.)
How are you feeling today?   Do you have plans for the weekend?

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STRESSED

Do you know?  I'm sure you have heard...

S-T-R-E-S-S-E-D spelled backwards is DESSERTS.

Yep, this is definitely how I became obese in the first place.  

This post is all about how stress affects weight loss efforts and three tips on how to address it.  We all have and deal with stress differently.  Sometimes stress comes in mega doses, like having a baby who won't let you sleep, struggling with relationship problems, caring for an aging parent, coping with health problems, dealing with overwhelming work demands, or being in the middle of any major life change.  How we manage the stress has a direct effect on our health and well being.  

According to the American Psychological Association, chronic stress has a negative effect on most major body systems.  The hypothalamus signals the production of epinephrine and cortisol, which are commonly referred to as "stress hormones."  Too much cortisol causes all kinds of disruptions to your body, including increased hunger and spikes and dips in your blood sugar level.  

It actually becomes a vicious cycle:

This graphic is just the tip of the iceberg.  Excess cortisol causes migraines, affects your mood, and your ability to sleep, just to name a few.  Okay, so now that you know stress is bad for you, what are you supposed to do about it?

Hearing that stress is bad for you and knowing you're stressed does NOT in and of itself help.  I remember how hard it was when my kids were little.  The last thing I wanted to hear was that I needed to reduce the stress in my life.  No kidding!!  

So, what do you do about stress?  If you have small children, you can't just give them away.  If you have a super stressful job, it's probably not likely you will just give that up.  The stress doesn't go away because you wish it. There are things you can do to manage your stress and even alleviate it.

Here are a few tips.  I have TRIED all of these and there are not quick fixes.  In fact, some of them directly contradict what you WANT to do when you are stressed.

One:  Exercise

Exercise daily.  Yes, it may seem counter intuitive to add one more thing to your to do list, but it works.

• Taking 30-60 minutes per day to focus on only you, gives you time to yourself.  Knowing you are doing something to help yourself feel / be healthier eases your stress.  
• Exercise produces endorphins which helps you to sleep and reduces stress.  
• Furthermore, exercise provides all kinds of other benefits, such as reducing fatigue, improving concentration and cognitive functioning.  
• Even on a busy day, I put my headphones in and take a walk.

Two:  Sleep

You need sleep to recover.  It allows both your body and brain to function better.  Most of us who are stressed struggle with being able to sleep.  Insomnia only adds to our ability to handle the stress, so it can become a vicious cycle.

Here is what works for me:

Nap when you can.  If you have a young child, nap when they nap.  It seriously is okay!!!  You can do whatever chores need to be done at another time.  If you are sleep deprived, a nap will help you recover some of the rest you needed.  And for whatever reason, napping does not prevent me from sleeping through the night later.  I LOVE naps!

Have a regular bed time.  Go to bed consistently at the same time.  It helps.  I swear by it.

Unplug.  Put your cell phone down and leave it alone for at least an hour before going to bed.  You seriously do not need to check social media, or play Words With Friends one more time before you go to bed.  My son told me this week that the blue light from my cell phone actually disturbs your sleep.  I checked it out and a study from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston supports that. (Why your cell phone causes sleep problems.)

If you wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back to sleep, try this:

After 30 minutes of sleeplessness, give in and just get up for a little while.  DO NOT go on the computer and try to stay away from your cell phone.  Have a drink of water and lay down in another area of the house.  If you have night sweats or are cold, try to take care of that by changing your clothes or using an extra blanket.  Lay still for a little until your body is able to acclimate and fall back to sleep.

I watch reruns of Law & Order.  After about an hour, I turn it off and fall back to sleep.  Even though my sleep was interrupted, I almost always am able to get through the day.  If I can't fall back to sleep, I am at least resting and have kept my cognitive activity to a minimum, so my brain is able to rest, even if I am awake.  Most people will tell you to not watch TV, but this is what works for me.

Three:  Be Good to Yourself

• Get a massage.
• Get your nails done.
• Meditate and pray.
• Get up a little earlier than you normally do and try stretching with quiet music for 20 - 30 minutes.
• Eat healthy - plan your meals.
• Don't beat yourself up when things go wrong.
• Talk to your friends.  

I am amazed at how many people tell me they don't have friends, or at least not friends they can talk to.  Making friends is so hard and I totally get it.  I lost a best friend last year and the thought of trusting someone else causes me so much anxiety.  But I could not get through life's challenges without having a confidant or two to help me.  

If you struggle with not having friends, you have to make a conscious effort to expand your circle, even if it's only by adding one or two people to your friend list.  Go to church and join a small group.  Have lunch with someone whose company you enjoy and make a point to do it more often.  Pray and ask God to meet your need and to give you courage to branch out and make a new friend.  These ladies are the backbone to my support system.  I can't imagine how I would get through without them.

The Bottom Line

When you are stressed, the most important thing you can do is try to alleviate your stress.  If it's a short term problem, recognize that you will get through it.  It may be hell for a week or a month, but it will eventually pass.  

If you are dealing with a more long term stressful situation, implement some of the things I mentioned above.  Even if it's small measures, a little can go a long way to help you manage whatever is in front of you.

Instrumental music is so soothing.  Some of my favorite artists are Jim Brickman, Kenny G and Yanni.  Just listen to the notes and let them cover you with peace and serenity.

Everyone's needs are uniquely individual, and I know finding time for it is often what interferes with being able to reduce your stress.  Often the feeling of "There's not enough of me to go around" is the one thing that stresses us out.  It is amazing the time you find when you prioritize it.  Knock out some of the things you feel like you absolutely "have to do" and wait until the weekend to do them.  If you have plans every weekend and just can't, then cut out some of the plans.  I'm serious.  Your kids will survive if they don't participate in a season of sports or if you take turns with another parent to bring them to practice.  Some of the things you think are so important probably are not deal breakers.  Housework can wait.  The earth will not end if there are fingerprints on the fridge and a pile of mail on the counter.

Take care of you.  Make yourself a priority so you can better take care of those who need you.  If you are stressed and unhappy, your family feels it.  You end up being someone you don't want to be.

Take care of you first

Tracey's  Getting Fit is celebrating it's two year anniversary!

Happy Birthday to My Little Blog!

Question for you: (answer in the comment section below)

What is one thing you do to help manage your stress?

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