REPRESS YOUR STRESS

STRESS.  Everyone has some stress.  Some deal with it better than others.  One way of reducing stress in one's life is exercise.  I consulted a website maintained by the Mayo Clinic.  An article on Stress Management affirms that just about any form of exercise can relieve stress. An active person will naturally boost the 'feel-good' endorphins released by the brain.  This will keep you distracted from life's daily worries and make you feel good.  Exercise will improve your mood. It can also improve your sleep which is disrupted by stress.  This is in addition to all the other more obvious physical benefits exercise brings.

I can provide an anecdotal story.  Yesterday while driving on the poorly maintained highways that criss cross Chicago, I hit something and punctured my tire.   I was able to drive to a Firestone Tire location before my tire completely deflated.  This is the type of thing that was capable of ruining my day in the past. Nothing about this mishap was enjoyable, but I think I dealt with it better than I might have in the past.   Exercise does not make problems go away.  Exercise will keep you head clear so that you can tackle problems directly and appropriately.  There is simply no downside to exercise.

Here I am in a surreal photo before I started exercising again.  I could have used some endorphins to calm down.

While I was waiting for my tire(s) to be replaced, I was able to walk over to a very nearby Whole Foods.   As I was eyeing the sushi, I noticed that none of the packages had any nutrition information printed on the clear plastic containers.   I asked the sushi makers if they had any nutritional information for their products and indeed they did.  They pulled out a thick three ring binder notebook with nutrional information on all of their products. I found a suitable low calorie selection and had a most delicious lunch.

Whole Foods Kikka Spicy Tuna Roll, 8 pieces, 390 calories

TUESDAY MENU

BREAKFAST    three sunnyside up eggs, 2 turkey breakfast sausage links            275 CALORIES

LUNCH             SPICY TUNA ROLL, 8 pcs (7 oz)                                                 390 CALORIES

DINNER            2 cups Chicken Noodle Soup, 1/2 Beef Burger                              325 CALORIES

TOTAL CALORIC CONSUMPTION        990 CALORIES

CALORIES BURNED

5AM  TREADMILL: 60 minutes @ 4 mph (4 miles) 600 CALORIES
6PM   TREADMILL: 60 minutes @ 4 mph (4 miles) 600 CALORIES
8PM   TREADMILL: 60 minutes @ 4 mph (4 miles) 600 CALORIES

NET CALORIC DEFICIT     810 CALORIES

Yesterday I visited with two of my favorite customers.   I have met with these two people four times at least in the past 6 months, and they have not even opened their shop yet.   These two people had just seen me on December 8th.   I was wondering if they would notice my 30+ pound weight loss.  It really made my day, when they asked me if I had lost weight.  Absolutely made my day. 

Last week, I surprised myself when I hopped on the treadmill four separate times on Friday for a total of 3.5 hours in order to log 50 miles 'walked' for the week.   At the time I thought that I had set a personal record that I would not soon break.  I underestimated myself.  My 'exercise' week begins on Saturday.   Through the first four days of the week, I have managed to log 44 miles. (eleven hours on a treadmill, so far this week)  My long-term goals remain the same - minimum of 30 minutes of cardio exercise four times a week as the doctor ordered.  I admit I am going just a bit overboard this week.   I am a calorie and fat burning machine.   I believe that my pace of losing one pound per day should continue at least this week.   I will know for sure in three more days.

See how much less stress I have after exercising?