If you feel like your life is a constant treadmill of problems, you’re not alone. Pressures at work, at home, and everywhere in between can push the modern woman’s stress levels into overdrive. To make matters even worse, stress can affect your health and body in many ways. Whether your daily trigger is money issues or your children bickering, a natural chemical called cortisol is released into your system whenever your inner pressure gauge begins to move into the red zone.

Increased cortisol levels are one of the main reasons that many women experience weight gain or can’t seem to lose those extra pounds. This often creates an endless cycle as our weight causes stress, and in turn our stress levels cause us to gain weight. Before you get frustrated and ready to give up, try these stress-reducing tips.

Hit the Road and Get Moving

While we all mean to start an exercise program tomorrow, it seems to be an easy thing to put off when your schedule is full. However, taking time to exercise makes everything else easier. In addition to increasing your energy levels, exercise stimulates your body to produce endorphins, which are natural, feel-good hormones that automatically reduces stress and improves your mood. Spend about 30 minutes exercising at least a few times a week, and you’ll feel like you can tackle the world. Don’t worry if you don’t have access to a gym; a brisk walk is just as good.

Improve Your Diet

Many women automatically turn to comfort food when they’re stressed and short on time. Too many carbs and sugary foods can really slow you down. While you might get a boost of energy right away, you know that you’ll pay for it with the inevitable carb crash. This kind of diet can fuel an endless cycle of cravings in many women. For improved stress levels, skip the processed food and eat more whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, and lean protein.

All Natural Stress Relief Supplements for Optimal Nutrition

If you’re having a hard time getting into the groove with a new diet and exercise program, natural supplements are available to help increase energy and reduce stress. One of these, Confianza®, is an all natural mixture of herbs that will even help improve your memory. Confianza’s active ingredients is a variety of adaptogens that work with the body’s own adrenal glands to restore balance, reduce your current stress levels, and increase your resistance to new stressors. Because the adaptogens are created naturally by the herbs included in the Confianza formula, you won’t have to worry about adding any harmful chemicals to your body’s delicate system.

Have a Little Peace and Quiet

There’s a reason that all those cute little Buddha statues look so serene and peaceful. Meditation has been used for centuries to reduce stress and develop inner peace. If you aren’t sure how to meditate, that’s okay. Just find a quiet place where you can take about 10 minutes or so each day to relax, think about nothing, and recharge a little. Of course, that’s easier said than done. Many of us can’t even find time to go to the bathroom by ourselves.

Learn How to Say No

Some women feel so guilty about saying no that they agree to do almost anything that anyone asks. This can leave you feeling overwhelmed and under-appreciated. While it’s fine to do a favor for someone when you really want to, don’t feel bad when you simply can’t fit it in. Knowing your physical and emotional limitations is crucial to keeping stress levels low.

Share Your Problems

The old saying that “a problem shared is a problem halved” couldn’t be truer. Statistics even show that people with a good support system feel less stress and depression than those who hold everything inside. If you’re having a really bad day, call up your sister, your mom, or your best friend for a good cry or a well-deserved rant. Either one will help. If you don’t have a shoulder to lean on, don’t hesitate to seek out a counselor.

Be Realistic

Having unrealistic goals or expectations is a sure way to add stress to your life. If you are always disappointed because you expect too much from yourself, from others, or from a specific situation, it’s time to cut everyone a break. You’ll be a happier person, and so will everyone else. By not expecting everything to be perfect all the time, your stress levels will quickly drop.

Take Time for Yourself

Most of us are so busy taking care of our families that we forget to take time for ourselves. Whether you enjoy bubble baths or kickboxing, it’s important to do something for yourself every now and then. In addition to eliminating stress, it will bring joy back into your life. Instead of taking time away from your family, you’ll actually have more of yourself to give.

Let Go and Forgive

Holding grudges and judging others can be major sources of stress. If you can find it in yourself to accept people as they are and forgive those who have wronged you in the past, it can relieve some of your stress. Of course, forgiving doesn’t have to mean that you forget or allow someone to constantly take advantage of your good nature. It simply means that you’ve resolved your inner issues. After all, forgiveness can be more for you than for the other person.

Gain Some Perspective

Most of us are guilty of letting our problems take on a life of their own. While life and death situations should be given the attention that they deserve, many other problems really aren’t that important when you look at the big picture. When you’re reaching panic mode, take a deep breath and put things into perspective. In most cases, everything will work itself out.

Of course, you don’t have to do everything on this list. If you did, you might find yourself in an ironic situation where you’re adding to your stress levels instead of reducing them. Choose one or two items to start. As your stress levels drop, you can always try another stress-buster. Before you know it, your excess weight will seem to melt away as your cortisol levels drop to normal levels.

Last summer my husband lost 25 pounds in 4 months by removing sodium from his diet.  Mrs. Dash was our best friend.  Our biggest surprise in sodium loaded foods was canned veggies.  His diet consisted of LOTS of boiled chicken seasoned with onions and garlic, fresh steamed veggies, nuts, fresh and dried fruit.  It was difficult to do this while traveling, but he managed to get through it and now has slowly introduced it back in to his diet, yet has kept the weight off.

Salt is America’s favorite food ingredient. Salt is used both in processed foods
and home cooking. Americans consume about 2 to 4 teaspoons of salt a day. According to
the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, healthy adults should have no more than 2,300 mg
(or about 1 teaspoon) of sodium a day from all sources. Sodium plays a role in hypertension (or “high blood pressure”)
development in many individuals. Cutting back on salt and sodium is a good idea for everybody, even kids.

1. Think Fresh
Most of the sodium Americans eat is found in packaged
foods. Eat less often highly processed foods—especially
salty chips; cured meats, such as bacon, sausage, hot dogs,
and luncheon meats; canned entrées, like chili and ravioli; and
many soups.

2. Enjoy Full-Flavored, Home-Prepared Foods
Use herbs and spices to flavor foods. Preparing your
own foods allows you to control the amount of sodium
you eat. Make your own salad dressings with herb mixes
instead of buying pre-packed ones.

3. Fill Up on Foods Naturally Low in Sodium
Eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and cooked dry beans
and lentils. Many Americans need to eat 3 cups—and
for some people up to a total of 6 cups—of fruits and
vegetables each day, depending on the amount of calories
needed. Go to MyPyramid.gov to find out the amount of
fruits and vegetables YOU need.

4. Get Enough, but Not Too Much, of Some Other Foods Low in Sodium
Find out the specific amount of foods YOU need from
the Milk Group and the Meat & Beans Group by going to
MyPyramid.gov. Choose fresh cuts of beef, pork, poultry,
fish, or eggs—and eat just the amount you need. Choose
low-sodium cheese. Choose fat-free milk or reduced fat
yogurt.

5. Learn to Enjoy the Natural Taste of Foods
Savor the flavor of simply prepared foods. Try cutting
back on salt little by little—and pay attention to the
natural tastes and textures of various foods.

6. Skip the Salt
Table salt (sodium chloride) is approximately 40%
sodium. Just skip adding salt when cooking. Keep
salt off the kitchen counter and the dinner table.

7. Read the Label
Use the Nutrition Facts label and the ingredients
statement to find foods lower in sodium. Look for
foods labeled “low sodium” or “reduced sodium.” Foods
with less than 140 mg sodium per serving can be labeled
as low-sodium foods.

8. Learn the Lingo
Besides “salt,” sodium comes in a range of forms.
When reading ingredient statements, look for:
sodium benzoate, sodium nitrite, sodium ascorbate, etc.
Limit sodium and salt in food.

9. Ask for Low-Sodium Foods Where
you Eat out or Shop
Ask for what you want. The marketplace is changing
and supermarkets and food manufacturers want to sell
healthier foods. Many restaurants will prepare low-sodium
foods at your request and will serve sauces and salad
dressings on the side so you can use less. The more you
make your low sodium demands known, the greater the
chance that food companies will change their recipes.

10. Pay Attention to the Condiments
and Seasonings You Use
Some seasonings are just about as high in
sodium as regular table salt. So, instead of onion salt,
use onion powder or replace garlic salt with fresh garlic.
Limit the amount of brined or pickled foods. Buy lowsodium
soy sauce. Use only a sprinkling of flavoring
packets instead of the entire packet.

Some times we need a motivator.  Something that will kick start a better health plan and will force us to make better decisions about what we eat.  True that it is NOT an easy step to take, but once we take it we must look ahead at our long term goal, while making lots of short term goals along the way.  From my own personal experience, I know that it is not easy, but sometimes it just takes one thing to kick me into gear.  For me it is usually something like:

• An event (birthday, anniversary, annual doctor’s appt)
• A vacation coming up (especially one wear a bathing suit is required)
• Putting on a favorite pair of pants that no longer fit

Whatever the catalyst, I usually need something to get me back on track.  I wish I was one of those people that maintained their motivation every day while skipping to work out.  For me, it is forced.

Losing weight can be a struggle, but keeping it off can feel like a losing battle. Now a large clinical study shows that monthly personal counseling—usually just 10-15 minutes by phone—can help people who’ve lost weight keep much of it off for over 2 years. A web-based program also showed modest success in helping people keep lost pounds at bay.  10-15 minutes a day also makes you feel a certain obligation to a person or an online community.  That alone can help to keep you on track.  It’s likely that the success of many other weight loss programs are due to the daily or weekly communication.

Excess weight is a significant public health problem. Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese. This excess weight is the nation’s second-leading cause of preventable death. Extra pounds can lead to increased blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes—all risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Weight loss can reduce these risk factors, but keeping that lost weight off is notoriously difficult.

A multi-site team of scientists, led by Dr. Laura Svetkey of Duke University, decided to compare the success rates of 3 relatively low-cost approaches to maintaining weight loss. Their study, called the Weight Loss Maintenance Trial, is funded by NIH’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). It’s the largest and longest-lasting trial to date that’s tested different strategies for weight-loss maintenance.

As reported in the March 12, 2008, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study initially enrolled 1,685 overweight or obese adults who had high blood pressure, high cholesterol or both.

After a 6-month weight-loss program, 1,032 of the participants had lost an average of nearly 19 pounds. They were then randomly assigned to 1 of 3 approaches for maintaining their weight loss: monthly personal counseling on diet and physical activity; an interactive web-based program that provided similar information; or self-directed maintenance, where participants received little input from study staff.

The personal counseling sessions included monthly 5- to 15-minute telephone conversations with a health and weight-loss coach. Participants and counselors also had in-person meetings 3 times each year, lasting up to an hour. The web-based program provided advice similar to the personal counseling but involved no personal contact. It also included interactive features that allowed people to set personal goals and to graph weight and other data over time.

After 2.5 years of trying to maintain their weight loss, the participants who had personal counseling had the most success. At the end of the study, they retained an average weight loss of 9.2 pounds. At the 18 and 24 month checkups, the web group had retained more weight loss than the self-directed group, but by the end of the study, their numbers were statistically similar: an average of 7.3 pounds for the web group and 6.4 pounds for the self-directed one.

“Most people in the study regained at least some of the weight they initially lost,” said Dr. Svetkey. “However, both the personal counseling and the web-based program modestly alleviated weight re-gain for up to 2 years, with the personal counseling ultimately proving to be the most beneficial by the end of the 2.5 year study.”

Other studies suggest that even minor weight loss can have significant health benefits, the researchers note. They recommend that future studies try to refine and improve the success rates of these relatively low-cost and potentially wide-reaching approaches to maintaining weight loss.

Let your inch loss be your motivator.  Remember, it’s not a miracle, but it might be enough to kick your butt in to better health mode.