Enter Into Exercise and Develop a Diet

It is January and the fitness clubs are full again. After the holidays, there is always a rush to get fit it seems. People realize that they need to have exercise and no one needs to list the benefits for us. The challenge is to get from the good thoughts to the action and to endure the pain of getting an out of shape body into shape. That requires discipline and consistency.

The benefits exercise include stress reduction. A body that is exercising will deal with stress in a much better way. Regular exercise can contribute to a sense of emotional well being in the midst of stress. After a loved one has died or you have been through a divorce, the last thing you want to do is exercise. Even if you have a regular routine going, you will most likely stop. If you can force yourself to exercise at the time of a loss, the better you will feel as a result. In fact, if you can increase your workout just a little, due to the added stress, you will benefit even more. About one month of a slight increase in you routine should do it.

Along with exercise, diet is critical in managing your grief stress. In times of grief, we turn to comfort food and that is always junk food. I haven’t heard of anyone craving vegetables and salads when under stress. If you can’t stop eating the comfort foods, try to cut down. There are four food groups that everyone needs to cut down on in times of stress and they are: alcohol, sugar, salt and caffeine. Adding more water is also very helpful. For some reason, stress tends to dehydrate us and if we add more water to our intake the better.

A little attention to our bodies with exercise and diet during the stress of grief will pay big dividends. We may not notice the benefit of exercise and diet, but we will notice the lack of it due to increased stress. Why not try everything we can to reduce our stress and help our healing?