Showing posts with label STRESS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label STRESS. Show all posts

Stress And Your Chemistry

Of the many stress factors that assault you, the BHMD is concerned primarily with those affecting nutrition. Moreover, it looks at them in the main on how they inter¬fere with successful weight loss. The BHMD holds to the premise that once the stress-producing elements have been removed from the foods you eat all the rest will be made easier.
Without stress your weight loss is facilitated. With the emergence of a slimmer, healthier, more attractive you, self-esteem and self-confidence return. With the positive reactions to your more appealing appearance you are further encouraged to stay on the diet. In turn, self- approval is reinforced. And thus it goes, one positive factor reinforcing another until the diet's goal has been achieved: the full integration of your physical and psychological well-being through rapid, simple—and en¬joyable!—weight reduction.
To obtain this optimum state of rapid and permanent weight loss together with a relaxed mental condition the BHMD begins by changing your food intake. Scientists are now coming to believe that much of our behavior is influenced by the body's chemistry. Quite a number of them are inclined to see stress as an important factor in altering that chemistry. And since the body's chemistry is affected by diet, there is a growing readiness to combat stress through the right kind of nutrition. The "nervous
eater" frequently reacts not so much 10 his craving for food as to the stress built up in his body through faulty eating practices.
To illustrate, here's a typical question I'm asked in my practice and health seminars: "Is there any harm in drinking lots of Diet Pepsi to cut down my appetite, Dr. Fox?"
A question of this nature usually leads to a discussion of the role of food stressors and how they frustrate the rapid weight-loss process.
I begin by pointing out the health hazards. I explain that the various diet colas are destructive to the immune system by tearing into the body with a huge chemical load. Our immune system repels foreign invaders such as bacteria, viruses and cancer cells. The continual stress caused by food additives and chemicals result in a devas¬tated immune system. Through this ravaged barrier, it is held, enter the conditions producing cancer and other serious illnesses.
But food stressors not only cut down the chances for health and longevity. If it is your object to slim and stay slim, they are the gremlins that play hob with your good intentions. Simply put, food stressors interfere with dis¬cipline.
You have already seen how the doughnut sets off se¬vere blood sugar fluctuations. The sugar in the doughnut drives up your blood sugar and throws the adrenal hor¬mones into a tailspin. Dietwise, it tends to make you lose control of your appetite regulation. Sugar is a stressor. Stress makes you tense. It makes you nervous. Because you are tense and nervous you are not in the proper frame to maintain your diet. Only by eliminating nutri¬tional stress can you prevent your appetite from running wild. And you'll be surprised to find how easily that can be accomplished.
For it is one of the virtues of the BHMD that while you lose weight your tastes undergo a permanent change. In- steadof refined sugars, you savor the "hidden" sugars in starches and legumes. Instead of salt, you want the natu¬ral tartness of certain grains and vegetables, or the seasonings on lean meats. Instead of reaching for a diet cola you find yourself asking for a glass of water, mineral, sparkling, or plain, with a slice of lemon.
The BHMD offers a large selection of natural and tasty suggestions to replace your old fattening and destructive eating habits. In the process your deadened taste buds spring alive again. A whole new world of flavors and savors is opened up to you. And almost without realizing it, you become a disciplined eater.

Evaluate Your Stress

The Self-Evaluation list identifies the various ways that, stress evidences itself in your life. It is graded on a 1 to 4 basis. Too many 3s or 4s should serve to warn you that an
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illness may be on the way if stress is not properly handled.
Many symptoms may be related to the effects ot stress. Mark according to the accompanying scale the frequency with which you have had the following symptoms in the past three months.
1. I haven't had the problem.
2. Occasionally.
3. Frequently.
4. Nearly all the time or constant.
1. Aches (neck & shoulders)
2. Alcohol usage
3. Allergy problems
4. Angry feelings
5. Arthritis
6. Asthma attacks
7. Cold hands & feet
8. Colitis attacks
9. Common cold
10. Common flu
11. Constipation
12. Depression
13. Dermatitis
14. Diarrhea
15. Early morning awakenings ——
16. Fatigue
17. Heart palpitations
18. Headaches (tension)
19. High blood pressure
20. Hives
21. Hyperventilation
23. Infections, low grade
24. Indigestion
25. Loss of appetite
26. Low back pains
27. Menstrual distress
28. Migraine headaches
29. Minor illnesses
30. Nausea
31. Nervous feelings
32. Nightmares
33. Non-prescription drugs
34. Overeating
35. Peptic ulcer
36. Prescription drug use
37. Sexual problems
38. Sleep-onset insomnia
39. Vomiting
40. Worrying thoughts
41. Others

THE BHMD WAY TO STRESS-FREE EATING

WHAT IS STRESS?
Of the ten leading causes of death in this country today, eight are in some way related to stress. Such an alarming statistic is apt to contribute to more stress. But with the BHMD you can do something about it.
The BHMD cannot make your life totally stress-free. There are other factors in your life, environmental, per¬sonal, etc., which do not touch upon the question of weight loss and diet. Two elements of stress, however, the BHMD can take out of your life. These two are associated with many of the diseases that cut down the life span. They are also responsible for overweight, as well as the "roller coaster" effect of other diets.
First there is the stress caused by the lowered self- esteem and self-confidence due to being overweight. This type of stress works on the psychological level. It keeps the dieter confined to a vicious circle. The poor self- image many overweight persons have keeps them from losing weight because of "nervous eating."
A second and very important cause of stress has to do directly with nutrition. We know that fighting your spouse is stress. Getting mad because you are stuck in
traffic is stress. Working harder than you are able to is stress. But you may not realize that eating a candy bar or Big Mac is stress.
I define stress as the non-specific response of the body, mind or emotions to any demand made upon them.
In terms of nutrition the response primarily involves the body. But we should not underestimate the emotional component. We already saw how through lowered self- esteem a person anxious to lose weight defeats his goal through "nervous eating."
Any time you ask your body to respond to something, whether it be physical or emotional, you are stressing your body. Let's see what I mean by looking at the Big Mac you just consumed.
Your unwise choice for lunch has caused stress on two levels:
1) With your burger came the sting of conscience for eating something fattening. The Big Mac cre¬ated guilt feelings. That's emotional stress.
2) By demolishing the hefty burger you pitted your body against an invasion of 1,510 mgs. of sodium, or four times your daily requirement. Counting the salt in the pickle, mustard and ketchup, you consumed with the Big Mac a total of 2,091 mgs. salt, or seven times what you need for the day.
This intake of salt puts tremendous stress on your chemical and cellular levels. Salt, like sugar, fats and additives chemically harm the body. It puts an extra strain on your heart. It is liable to cause hypertension. Salt can affect your kidneys and blood pressure in a very unpleasant way. Salt is a stressor, and any kind of stress crimps your determination to stay on the diet and lose weight fast.