It's Not
About
the Scale

By Karen Preston

Karen lives, plays, and works
in Portland. A member of TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), she also founded Pounders, a weight-loss support group focusing on being fit through exercise and healthly lifestyle changes. Her story
was recently featured in Self magazine (September 2003).

I still find each
day too short for
all the thoughts
I want to think,
all the walks I want
to take, all the books
I want to read and
all the friends
I want to see. 

— John Burroughs

Stress Relief

Most of us have lives filled with family, friends, and ample activities. No matter how grateful we are for the blessings in our lives, we all experience stress from time to time. No one is totally immune in this bustling day and age. Even positive milestones like getting that promotion or moving into a new home can feel stressful.

It’s at those times that emotional eaters are tempted to turn to food for solace. But eating when we’re not hungry eventually results in weight gain and leaves us feeling out of control. In an ironic twist this only adds to our stress level.

Personally, this last year has been the most difficult I’ve ever encountered. A pending divorce, job changes, and a car accident often left me feeling tense and on edge. What a perfect time to consider a range of stress relief techniques.

Two common techniques that experts suggest are: affirmations and visualizations. For an in-depth explanation of affirmations I suggest you read Ronda Gates’s, column in the January/February 2005 issue of Walk About. But I must say that I’m a firm believer in the power of both, especially when it comes to adopting healthy habits that help reduce weight.

For example, I used to be a night owl when I started training for marathons. I soon learned that morning was the best time for me to exercise. Otherwise my evening filled up with errands, meetings, and activities. It was so easy to keep putting off working out until later. After reviewing my schedule I realized that I needed to meet my friends at 5:45am in order to put in my miles and get to work on time. Unfortunately I had trouble dragging myself out of bed at such an early hour.

That’s when I adopted thinking the affirmation: “When the alarm goes off in the morning, I get right out of bed.” At the same time, I pictured myself getting up as soon as my alarm rang. It’s amazing how quickly I shifted from being a night owl to a morning lark.

Visualization has been a powerful ally during both my weight loss journey and in my present attempts to deal with multiple transitions in my life. My favorite weight loss visualization was one of me swimming at the local community center. In my mind I pictured myself doing the backstroke so I could better see my slim body churning through the water in a red swimsuit. I added as many senses as possible, the smell of the chlorine and the sound of water splashing as my arms pulled me through the water. The more details you add, the more powerful the visualization becomes.

It’s not something you may think of but music can be a big key to stress reduction. I enjoy listening to flute music and old jazz tunes while I eat dinner. Of course everyone has their own idea of what’s calming and what sets their teeth on edge. Listening to the radio while I’m driving to work makes me feel tense so instead I pop in a cassette tape and sing my way through the traffic jams.

Recently I purchased a reproduction of an old wooden radio with a phonograph on top. I’ve been having a blast listening to my old records from high school and college. There’s something immensely reassuring about listening to the music you grew up with, especially when you not feeling well. In a related thought, one of my dentists picked up on my high dental anxiety and gave me headphones and a radio to listen to during my appointments. What a great way to help patients relax.

I’ve also found that taking mini vacations are great for a change of pace. We’re blessed in the Pacific Northwest to have lots of options for quick trips, but even if you can’t get away to the beach or the mountains for a few days you can still get away from it all right in your very own home.
Perhaps you long to fly to Hawaii, but simply can’t afford to at the moment. You can still crack open a cookbook and whip up a healthy menu. Then check out some Hawaiian music from the library like the one by artist Manny K. Fernandez and dress in tropical clothing. Even fresh pineapple and a flower lei can go a long way to creating a vacation mood.

Other ideas you may consider for stress relief include dancing, gardening, massages, pedicures, arranging a bouquet of flowers, soaking in the bathtub or a hot tub, blowing bubbles, petting an animal, attending religious services, singing, purging extra possessions, saying no to extra obligations, keeping a gratitude journal, considering the silver lining in negative situations, crying, and talking with a trusted friend or a professional.

Of course everyone is different and what helps me may leave you still feeling stressed. So I suggest you figure out your best stress relief techniques and practice them when needed. Finally remember that daily healthy habits like getting enough sleep, eating nutritious foods, engaging in regular exercise, and drinking water will be a big help in not only losing weight but stress reduction as well.