Seven Gifts from the Heart

The holidays are a stressful time for a lot of people and for a variety of reasons. Finances are a big part of the problem because the season has become so commercial. We have so much to give that mean so much more, it begs to have a reminder of the gifts from the heart that don't come with a monetary cost.



1. The gift of time and attention: What can be better than the gift of your time? We each have the same 24 hours in the day, but with our hectic lifestyles time often gets away from us. That’s why giving someone your complete attention is a rare gift.
While you are with someone, don’t text or check your email under the table. Be present with them. Remember that most people just want to be understood and feel valued. The mere feeling that you are being heard can be very healing to someone. Paying attention is a precious gift you can give anyone and is the lasting memories that will be cherished when those people are no longer with us.

 2. The gift of listening: Most people think that listening benefits the person who is speaking, but it also benefits the listener. It gives you time to really understand what someone is telling you, and maybe discover something you never knew about them. We have two ears and one mouth for a reason!

It takes the pressure off you, because you don’t have to worry about jumping in with your own stories or witty remarks. Really listening means you withhold judgment or advice unless you are asked. Don't spend your listening time just thinking about what you want to say next!

3. The gift of sharing joy: Take a few minutes to share a funny story or joke you heard, a tasty organic recipe, a lesson learned, or a hope or dream for the New Year.  

Lend your friend a book that delighted you, some music that moved you, a link to a hilarious cat video on the internet, or a movie that made you laugh out loud. Sharing something that amused or delighted you will lighten your moods and your hearts.

4. The gift of help: Most people need help of some kind, and often the simplest things can make a big difference. People with young children always appreciate the gift of babysitting. People who have difficulty moving around will be most grateful for help with simple household chores, such as offering to change burned-out light bulbs or picking up groceries on bad-weather days. Be a snow angel for your neighbor and shovel their sidewalks if you are healthy enough and live where it snows! 

5. The gift of information. If you’ve been reading this blog, you’ve discovered many new ways of . You’ve learned about keeping healthy and strong and much more.

Why not pass this information along to your friends so they can also share in the weight management and health strategies discussed here? Not everyone has the time or ability to research new ways to keep healthy and active. You are one of the lucky ones who does. Sharing the information you learn can launch other people on their journey to health.  

6. The gift of humor: Laughter draws people together. If you stop to think about it, how many times a day do you laugh?  Probably not as often as you did when you were a child. There is even laughter yoga classes to reduce stress! In this holiday season, take a few moments to laugh with your family, friends and people you work with.

A dose of humor stimulates your endorphins, so it actually makes you healthier. But the main reason to share a chuckle is that laughing just feels good, and spreads warmth and cheer. Don't be afraid to laugh out loud - joy is contagious!

7. The gift of thanks: Too often, we don’t take the time to thank people or tell them that we appreciate them. It’s never too late to take a moment out of your busy day to give sincere thanks to people who helped you this year. Send a hand-written card, an email, or an e-card.

Better yet, pick up the phone and say “Thank you.” Best of all, visit in person and deliver a big hug. Your kind words, warm touch and expression of sincere appreciation can make all the difference in someone’s day.

 

And now I’d like to thank you for giving me a few moments of your precious time. I feel honored and privileged to have spent this past year with you. I  wish you joy and health through the holiday season and look forward to being part of your journey in 2015.

A little help to manage holiday stress

1. Create a Game Plan: Get organized and start checking off that check list. Getting items before the day of your event or celebration also helps prevent stress caused by time constraints.

 

2. Make a Budget: Finances are always stressful. Make a budget and stick to it. Don't overspend and put yourself in a bad place. A thoughtful gift doesn't have to be expensive. Be creative!

 

3. Accept Reality: Mistakes are going to happen and drive you crazy. Try to go with the flow and accept that life and everyone in it aren't perfect. 

 

4. Create New Traditions: Try to switch things up each holiday season. Sometimes doing the same thing over and over again for years can drain out a certain person or a group of people. Take a vacation every other year, or do a gag gift exchange instead of stressing over getting thoughtful gifts for loved ones. 

 

5. Stay Healthy: Everyone has a busy schedule, but don't neglect your health. Exercise and diet play a huge role in how you are feeling. Exercise is also a great stress reliever!

 

6. Lower Your Alcohol and Caffeine Intake: Try to drink less caffeine and alcohol. Caffeine can disrupt your sleep schedule and alcohol can make you feel sluggish and depressed.

 

7. Take a Break: If you are feeling overwhelmed take a minute to pull yourself together. Stop for a couple minutes and do breathing exercises or find a quiet place and listen to some of your favorite music. Talking a short walk outside can also help ground you.

 

8. Celebrate Life: Whether you're celebrating a holiday, loved ones or simply enjoying life don't forget what the holiday season represents. Keep those you loved ones close and remember what they mean to you and how they make your life wonderful. :)

 

Happy Holidays! 

Simple and inexpensive solutions to fight holiday stress

It’s the most wonderful time of the year...

Or so the song says. For children maybe because all they have to do is eat, receive gifts and sign the occasional card for relatives, but for us adults who have to deal with nightmarish traffic, huge crowds, long shopping lists and party after party this could easily be the most stressful time of the year.

In our last post we talked about various holiday stressors, how the body reacts to stress and how this leads to weight gain. In this follow-up article we’ll share some ways validated by experts to help you cope with holiday stress. By staying relaxed, calm and energized you can actually enjoy time spent away from work and among the company of loved ones, and keep your waist trim in the process!

These methods are easy to do or find and won’t necessarily require you to wish Santa for a bigger bank account.

·         Spend a day out in the sun. This encourages the body to produce the feel-good hormone serotonin and provides required Vitamin D3, which is crucial for regulating some of our important functions like appetite, sleep, mood and behavior. It is also a natural way to ease Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD, a debilitating form of depression caused by the change in season when days become short and cold. Get together with some friends and have a picnic at your favourite outdoor hangout or take the kids and pets out to the park. If you don’t have the time or patience for the crowd outside, opening doors and windows to let those golden rays in is a good alternative.

·         Savour the fragrance of citrus. A study done by researchers at the Mie University School of Medicine in Japan found that citrus fragrance reduced the doses of antidepressants needed to treat depressive patients. Citrus essential oils also do the trick if you need a quick pick-me-up at the office.

·         Get moving! Got a few hours in the morning to spare before work? Jog a few rounds around the block or walk briskly for at least a half hour. We all know it feels good afterward, but what’s the science behind? According to Dr. Ann Kulze, a respected expert on wellness and nutrition, the rhythm and repetition from walking or jogging has a tranquilizing effect on the brain, which translates to decreasing anxiety and improving the quality of sleep.

An even better idea is to combine the first three tips. Get up early in the morning when the sun isn’t too hot yet, walk briskly to the local supermarket or farm and get yourself a bag of oranges or lemons to eat or make into a delicious juice for breakfast.

·         Squeeze, squeeze. In traditional Chinese medicine, pressing the hoku spot or the fleshy area located between your index finger and thumb firmly for 30 seconds reduces stress and tension in the upper body. You can easily do this yourself whenever you start to feel overwhelmed from the long line at the checkout counter or while waiting for a cab that never seems to materialize when you need it most.

·         Find time for laughter. Alright, spending an hour (or a few) to watch Jimmy Kimmel or a Jim Carey flick on your couch might not be too practical if you barely have enough time to chew your food during meals but that doesn’t mean you have to wear a frown the whole day. Stuck in unmoving traffic or waiting for an appointment? Browse through a collection of photos on your phone and have a laugh-fest of your most silly, “what-was-I-thinking?” moments. YouTube on your mobile is also very handy in these situations.

Whatever difficulty we found ourselves in, it’s important to remember that the quality of life we live depends largely on perspective. Hey, even the rich and famous have their own share of feuds, divorces and bad hair days too. If you always find time to be grateful for every blessing that came your way and strive to see the good that has the potential to come out in every situation, you will find that these stressors we go through are merely ‘hiccups’ compared to the happiness we get from life. 

Holiday Stress - Another Reason for Weight Gain

As if the overflowing food and drinks from parties and dinners this month and early the next aren’t enough reasons to pile on the pounds, the stress we experience during this time is another reason for weight gain.

Preparing meals, buying and wrapping gifts, looking for the perfect outfit to complement each event we attend can leave us in a constant state of motion as we go all over town. Others who do not have family or partners face a different type of stress as they deal with loneliness and depression in the season where everyone is under pressure to be in a festive mood.

All of these add on to the pressures we already experience from our daily life of dealing with projects, bosses, clients, heavy traffic, bills, spouses and children.

What goes on inside – how the body reacts to stress

Our body has a built-in mechanism for handling stress. This set of physiological and biological reactions give you a burst of energy needed during make-or-break, dangerous situations. Whenever you experience an acute stressor, adrenal glands release the stress hormone cortisol into the bloodstream. This results to a surge in blood sugar which the body can use to fuel urgent actions like fighting and running or its modern-day equivalents of slamming on the car breaks, sprinting to catch the last bus or going after the colleague that spreads false rumours about you in the office.

Once the problem has been dealt with, the cortisol exits your system and the body resumes its normal metabolic state. Unfortunately, with our modern pressure-filled lifestyle we simply swap one form of stressor for another as we go through the day.

Chronic stress

During the holidays, stress is compounded as we have to deal with additional expenses and additional responsibilities on top of pressures from work and the people we interact with on a daily basis. 

Holiday shopping, writing and mailing Christmas cards, getting the house decorated, preparing for the Christmas and New Year’s Eve meals and the various get-togethers we attend leading up to these two big occasions can leave us feeling overwhelmed. It leads to chronic stress as we feel there is always something that still needs to be done and we don’t have enough time or resources.

Biologically, this causes significant metabolic imbalances and constantly elevated cortisol levels. This means blood sugar is always being readied to provide energy. It doesn’t have a good effect if this happens often.

Chronic stress and weight gain

Most of these mini-stressors we encounter do not require us to exert a lot of physical effort, unlike with our ancestors whose ‘emergency’ situations consisted of fleeing from storms and wild animals or walking long distances to look for food.

All of the excess sugar, generated by too much cortisol that does not get used as energy is stored as body fat. Elevated cortisol also results to a drop in serotonin, the hormone which regulates mood, sleep and appetite, among others. Low serotonin levels send a message to the brain to crave sugar and eat more to address the deficiency. Since most of the food available on the Christmas table is already fatty or sweet to begin with, eating more than what your body needs to deal with stress predisposes it to store more fat.

You can ease your stress, decrease your cravings and get control of your weight today with CortiSLIM!