An interesting Times on Line article that says a lot for having balance in your life. I think too often we treat our bodies like it’s some sort of machine that isn’t really connected to the rest of us. It also answers some questions about why some people just cannot lose weight even though they are going to the gym every day and eating next to nothing.
Two things that resonated with me were restless sleep and generally reacting badly to stress. I’d never actually heard of cortisol before, but it wouldn’t surprise me if my poor ol’ bod was totally awash with the stuff.
So I’m going to dust off and update nothing ventured… (yes, again! ) and start working on the fitness and well-being thang with a new perspective that takes in the bigger picture. I think the past couple of months of going to the gym almost every day for yoga and pilates has been a good first step towards a new nice & easy lifestyle, keeping in mind a very nice ‘frase de hoy’ from my yoga class the other day…
~ the fat fat cat comes from olga forever ~
casa azahar 
stress sure doesn’t help your overall health, so it makes sense that it will aggravate attempts to lose weight. but i’ve found exercise reduces stress – unless i’m getting stressed out that i’m working out and not losing the weight i expected to be losing.
balance. that is probably the best answer… and way to go for getting to the gym on a regular basis! that’s fantastic!
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So, we can die not only from what and how much we eat, but from what is eating us!
Terry L. Sumerlin
The Barber-osopher
Author/Motivational Speaker
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Hi Terry and welcome. That’s quite a good way of putting it! 🙂
Yeah, I’ve also found that excerise reduces stress, daisy, but when I was (much) younger I used to stress out about not exercising, which I’m sure wasn’t good for me.
I started off with just going to yoga three mornings a week, for about a year or so (with occasional breaks when my back ‘went’). Then I added two pilates classes a week, which pretty much took care of Mon-Fri. And now I’m staying on after classes (sometimes) to ride the dreaded BIKE for half an hour. And occasionally I go on Saturday mornings too, to do the BIKE and some small weight stuff.
I must say that it helps having a gym five minutes from my house.
Have yet to lose even one kilo but I’m feeling better in general. Now to work on sleeping better and ac-cent-tchu-ating the positive. 🙂
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The bike is the only thing I need to keep me half-ways fit and active. In addition to commuting to work I take a good long spin at least once a week if I can manage it – less often in winter, more in summer. I love it!
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I used to cycle every day too, Ian (on a real bike, not a stupid boring stationary one like now), but my bike is now in storage due to lack of space. It used to be a double workout because after cycling I’d have to lug the damn thing up three very long flights of stairs …
I also used to run every day, but had to give that up years ago due to lower back problems.
Keeping fit is definitely easier than getting back into shape (aarrgh).
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Wow, this really resonated with me Az, thanks for posting it. I do quite a bit of exercise, but I’ve been totally unable to shift the 5 kilos extra I put on 4 years ago when I was ill for a while. And its all round my middle! Plus I already know I don’t deal with stress well because that’s partly what made me ill in the first place. I’ll have to chill out and sleep more and get more fish oil in my diet!
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I have to admit, when I’m feeling hassled or pressed at work, I’m more likely to pop some chocolate in my mouth and keep going.
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