You meet the most interesting people and learn the most interesting things when you start cruising the blogs. Problogger took me to eMoms at Home which took me to BlogJolt which led me to Everyone needs therapy? Lessons from a family therapist. Which has post that inspired this one.
Stress eating and Bree Vandecamp
(snip)
When we’re anxious the arousal system in the brain works in sync with the adrenal glands to pump more adrenaline. The process makes us feel zippy, not necessarily comfortable zippy, however. We interpret this nervous system arousal as “anxiety” or “stress,” rather than simply, “extra energy,” which it is.
If Suzie is a coffee drinker then she’s adding even more speed to the mix. Add a real problem, like job loss, marital stress, whatever, to the brew and it IS stress.
But if Susie eats, the food sits in her belly and requires all of her free-floating energy to digest it. She eats, she feels better. Some of her adrenaline is tied up for a long time digesting the Ben and Jerry’s. (. . . snip)
If Suzie has a cognitive therapist she’ll be told to be in touch with her anxiety and will be taught a few self-relaxation exercises, particularly muscle contraction (if it were me, no question). Jogging’s good too, so are sit-ups or simply holding the body in a push-up position until you have to drop down to rest.These exercises literally burn off the adrenaline; they use the extra energy productively. I even recommend doing laundry or the types of busy things Bree Vandecamps does on Desperate Housewives to burn off the steam. (all emphasis katiebird’s)
This sort of discussion fascinates me. I’ve always heard that exercise relieved stress. I used to work for a guy who had a terrible marriage and every single day he played handball during his lunch hour. And he’d come back and lay 3 soaking wet pairs of handball gloves out on the radiator to dry. He seemed like the calmest most easy-going guy you could ever imagine. But he had that much stress to burn off.
He was thin as a rail. I guess the lesson here is that exercise is a much less fattening way to control stress than compulsive eating? Maybe I’ll have to give it a try….
Well said! I forgot to say that if you do it aerobically, your appetite should actually be suppressed. Drink water but WAIT before eating any of those sugary things people eat after exercising.
Enjoy the way you feel, the rush from the oxygen, the feel of your muscles. Oh, and stretch so they don’t hurt later if you’re not in shape!
One of the problems with eating is that your body is so caught up digesting that the other senses can be dulled, too. After exercising listen to the birds, take in the sky. Don’t be afraid to live a little.
On empty’s not half bad.
Linda, Thanks for stopping by. I’m not sure I’ll ever be a fan of aerobic exercise. I’m happy that I’ve found a routine with this walking business. But, I’ve never really liked moving fast. Maybe after I lose a little more weight it might not seem so dangerous.
You’re totally right. Just walk, move, and enjoy the moment. It IS dangerous to exercise (talk to anyone who bikes, aka me, who hasn’t got an injury they wish they could return._
One thing I’ve figured out after all these years is to ditch ideas that don’t work for me. And since I almost always get sick when I exercise too vigorously, I decided a long time ago that I just wouldn’t do it. It’s better that I just keep plodding along. At least I’m getting somewhere even if it isn’t as fast as a lot of other people.