Breathe To Relax

Whilst I would consider myself quite far removed from a hippy, I do understand the benefits of simple meditative techniques such as breathing techniques to aid in the relief of stress and to generally chill you out.

Remember that stress is what is ruining people's lives, making them fat, depressing them and causing them to get sick, so any way we can fight it should be embraced!

Try this exercise whenever you get a bit stressed in the office or after a stressful day before you try to get to sleep.

Cyclical Breathing:

Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds and let out for 8 seconds.

Repeat this 8-10 times.

Focus on clearing your mind or look at a relaxing image and allow yourself to drift away from the day's troubles.

Stay Strong

Ben

Stress - Deal with it!

We all get stressed. Sometimes for a few minutes when we can't find the keys, sometimes for a few days whilst we wait for some big news, and sometimes it seems never ending, and all consuming.

Without wanting to stress you out. Stress is what is killing people in the modern, developed world. It is the endless hours of work, the pressure to succeed and have all the trappings and belongings that reflect your wealth and status. The first thing you need to do is realise that you are stressed. Simple. Now think about why and write a list...... Money? Work? Health? Family?

That is the first step and without it you can't control and reduce the stress in your life.

There are some things that are just out of your control and you need to try not to worry about them because you cannot affect the outcome. Write them down and tell yourself verbally, out loud (like a crazy person) to cast them aside and focus on the things you can control. That is the key word here, CONTROL. You should be in control or your stress, not the other way around. You can then set about dealing with the other stressors in your life.

Without going all Peter Pan on you, it is also a good idea to have a "happy place" to go to either physically or mentally where you can think things over. When I lived in Kent this would always be the beach where I could sit down and think about things whilst chucking some stones in the water. Take some time and go for a walk and think things through. There is nearly always a solution to your problems and sometimes you just need to take 5, and rationalise things in your head without the distractions of day to day life.

"It's good to talk." Your friends and family can usually offer you plenty of support so talk things over with them. They may have some great suggestions, or they may just tell you that you are being silly (a bit of tough love!), but either way you will feel better.

Finally, eat good, clean low carb foods and don't turn to the biscuits and cake (or booze) as you will just end up feeling worse and getting fat!

Why should you listen to me though? What do I know? Fair point..........

I would say that I am very good at dealing with stress personally, and I understand how it affects people including many of my clients. I am only 31 but have endured some pretty stressful times, particularly commanding my own patrol base in a remote area of Afghanistan with sole responsibility for each of the 70 soldiers' lives who lived there with me. Now that WAS stressful, but I dealt with it well and helped the people around me deal with some pretty difficult situations too.

I hope this helps some of you in some little way.

Stay Strong

Ben

Caffeine is like Crack

Yes, I admit it, I LOVE coffee, and have graduated over the years from cheap instant with lots of milk and sugar (glorified coffee milkshake!) to strong dark filter coffee without milk or sugar and I look forward to it every time. Coffee is my crack cocaine and it is the hardest part of my diet to control and moderate. I can walk past Dunkin Donuts, or the fish and chip shop and stay strong, but if I have been working hard, feel a little slow or tired or need a pick me up to train, then coffee is hard to beat.

I am also fully aware of the negative effects that caffeine dependence due to lack of sleep and chronic stress can have on your health and also your weight. It all stems back to a hormone called cortisol, known to many as the "Stress Hormone" as our bodies secrete it in times of stress, originally to fuel our fight or flight instincts. Cortisol, in turn raises our blood sugars, and decreases our insulin sensitivity, leading to an increase in fat storage around our bellies. Basically stress releases insulin which makes us fat. Simples!

So, how does caffeine tie in here? Often when working and partying hard we do not get enough quality sleep, which, when combined with the stresses of work, money and family life means that we live in this cycle of fatigue, dependant on stimulants like caffeine to keep us going and that mask the truth - YOU ARE TIRED ALL OF THE TIME AND NEED TO ADJUST YOUR LIFESTYLE. To further add to the argument, consuming caffeine also has a detrimental effect on the quality of your sleep, further fuelling the fire.

Currently my bootcampers are in week one and trying to cut out caffeine in all of its forms, and they are finding it hard work. If you are a hardened coffee drinker then going cold turkey will leave you like Ewan MacGregor in Trainspotting, so it is best to cut it out over the course of a week or maybe change to a low-caffeine coffee for a few days before cutting it totally. Once off of the caffeine you will experience better sleep, and improved response to stress, and potentially less fat storage around your tummy.

Remember if you don't try it, you will never know! Cut out the coffee and go to bed early.......

Stay Strong

Ben