'Treat Yo Self' to a Day Off
Recently, I took a 'Treat Yo Self' day - but I didn't spend the day blowing money on cashmere slippers or a diamond-encrusted tiara. Instead, I went to a hydrotherapy spa and plunged into freezing cold waters (a chilling wake up call)!
As I was relaxing in the dead sea salt pool, I was thinking about the last time I solely focused on one. single. thing. I'm a big advocate of self care, but frequently find myself checking my phone as I watch the latest movie, or have 8 tabs open when I'm reading an online article. This may be a generational problem, where our thousand and one projects are leading to stress - no matter how much we 'relax.'
Many of us have this 'never-ending list' mindset, and it's making our internal body go crazy. I touched briefly on coffee & fatigue in my last article, and now I want to delve a little deeper.
STRESS & THE BODY
Stress makes us fat. When we experience something stressful, cortisol is one of the hormones that's released to help transform carbs and fat for quick energy (helping us go, go go). When this immediate stress is over, cortisol lingers to help bring the body back into balance. It does this by increasing our appetite to replace the carbs and fat we should have burned while in fight or flight mode.
Constant stress (aka. our never-ending list) may lead to excessive eating - which can result in weight gain. Because there are a high number of cortisol receptors in the fat cells located in the abdominal area, any weight gain will typically accumulate there. Interestingly enough, cortisol can also stop our satiety hormone (which tells the body that it's full), and can encourage over eating.
TAKE THE DAY OFF
This is where I tell you to skip the sugary snacks and eat more fruits and vegetables, right? Yes. But we also need to get to the bottom of the stress. I'm not advocating to up and quit your job - but perhaps it's time to make use of one of your vacation days and rest your body and mind and really practice some good self care.
Taking 'me' time helps improve mental and physical health, allows us to be more available and present for our loved ones, increase our resilience, and help us achieve better success and performance.
I'll keep on repeating one of my favourite quotes: you cannot serve from an empty vessel. Your day off will help rejuvenate you (as long as you not spending it running errands and crossing things off your to-do list). And if you're in need for more support when it comes to helping your body adapt to stress, visit me and I'll create a plan based on your unique lifestyle and needs.
Treat yo self.
PS. For those of you interested, I spent the day at Body Blitz. I was fancy, and also opted for a glow treatment.