Be happier: 4 life-changing reasons to get active

There are literally hundreds of reasons why being active is beneficial.  Exercise is good for your body, your mind and for your social life.

Here are four reasons that I believe will inspire you to get up and get healthy. Once you’ve read through, I know you’ll join me and become a happier, healthier you.

1.  Reduced stress

Most of our lives are filled with stress of some sort, whether it’s lack of time, financial struggles, difficult work deadlines or simply trying to herd your children to school.

Stress can lead to weight gain and make losing weight more difficult, so finding time for activity has never been so important.

Stress also often causes over-eating and this can lead to weight gain, in turn this can increase your stress and then the cycle repeats.

Even I have succumbed to stress and hidden out in my pantry (where I keep the cookies!) during times of high pressure.  Knowing that this wasn’t the best reaction, I took time out and realized that I needed to do something that would help me cope with the stresses of my life.  I found that adding an activity to my day allowed me to re-group and focus on myself and this helped me to reduce anxiety and stress.

2. Feel more productive in work and life

I always used to think that in school we had recess to give the teacher five minutes of peace but the real reason is much more interesting. Studies have found that after activity our brains are more active and this makes it easier for us to learn and retain information. (I’ve tested this philosophy on my own children and it definitely works for them.)

You may not be in school any more, but taking a brief recess for activity, especially when you feel drained, may improve your focus and make you more productive. Feeling that you’re more productive is a great way to beat stress!

3. Positive lifestyle attracts positive people

When you make a conscious effort to improve yourself through becoming more active, your confidence gets a boost.  Even better, your new positive approach can convince those around you to also make a positive change.  This is especially true if you decide to take a class or join a fit club.

Who knew that by improving yourself you¹d have the potential to improve others too?

4. Increase your happiness

Who doesn’t want to be happier? Being active promotes the release of endorphins in your body similar to those that are released when we eat foods such as chocolate.  I’d much rather get my happy endorphins from activity because it¹s long lasting.  When you eat unbalanced sugary delights, your happy vibe is short lived and is quickly followed by a not-so-happy energy drop.

What goes up must come down and if you constantly spike your blood sugar in this way, you¹ll find it hard to balance your mood. Instead, try involving yourself in a healthy activity as this may make you happier because you¹ll have more energy and your mood will be stable.

***

Activity really is good for everyone.  Think of these four life-changing benefits of exercise as routes to happiness. Less stress makes you happier, being alert and more productive makes you happier and happy people attract positive happy people.

Happily, I think that promoting an active lifestyle will eventually make the world happier, healthier place.

STEPHEN HARRIS | Herbalife Independent Distributor | Home

Taming a sweet tooth -­ what’s the best approach?

My husband has a ferocious sweet tooth.  If he had his way, he’d start his day with a cookie and end it with a bowl of ice cream.  People who know this about him think this is just hilarious – given that he’s married to a dietitian.  They love to tease him -  as in,  “I’ll bet she keeps you on a tight leash”, but that just isn’t my style. It isn’t up to me to tame his sweet tooth – all I can do is to try to control how much (and what) is available in the house.  The rest is up to him.

When I talk to clients, the issue of how to handle sweets in the diet comes up all the time.  Since every situation is different, each household may have to figure this out for themselves. Some people never keep sweets in the house – but for many, that just makes them “forbidden fruit”, and all the more desirable.  Others use sweets only as tools for reward or punishment – a practice that often extends way back to childhood.

Then there are those who try to make the issue less emotionally charged – sort of “neutralizing” sweets. I have a friend like this.  He serves dessert to his kids once in a while – but he’ll set it on the table right along with the grilled chicken, the green beans and the salad.  His reasoning – and there is some logic to this – is that if sweets are just ‘part of the meal’, they’d lose their significance as a reward or a treat.

It’s a thorny issue, to be sure, so here are some things worth considering.

Try not to use sweets as a reward or withhold them as a punishment

Whether you do this to yourself or with family members this is a tactic best avoided. Many of my overweight clients remember, as kids, being given bags of mini-cookies to ‘keep them quiet’, or having sweets taken away if they behaved badly.  Not surprising that they grow up to have a love-hate relationship with sweets, which are now the most emotionally-charged foods in their diet. As adults, they now turn to sweets for comfort – but they’re also wracked with guilt whenever they eat them.

You might find that keeping sweets out of the house entirely can work

Many parents take this approach with their kids but it’s important to remember that kids will still be exposed to sweets, will still ask for them, and – despite their best efforts – will probably figure out a way to get them one way or another.  Oh, and this doesn’t just apply just to kids, by the way…last week while doing laundry – and this has happened more than once – I pulled a few candy wrappers from the pockets of my husband’s cargo shorts.

Try a more neutral approach to sweets instead

What often works best is a middle-of-the-road approach in which sensible sweets are kept around – like low fat cookies, pudding cups or frozen yogurt.  Since nothing is off-limits, it sort of takes the pressure off.  The sweets are there if you want them, so you might actually think about them less.  Sometimes when there’s nothing around, you end up craving sweets even more.

You could try serving the occasional dessert along with a meal – like my friend does.  I think his heart is in the right place, and it seems to be working for his family.  I’m just waiting for the day when he takes his kids to a restaurant and they order their salad, their spaghetti and their chocolate cake… and ask that they all be served at the same time!

STEPHEN HARRIS | Herbalife Independent Distributor | Home   

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