I am STRESSED OUT!!!! Beyond all Reason!

OK.  Are you familiar with Hans Selye, MD, the father of stress physiology?  He said, " Life is stress and stress is life."

In 1936 he was studying reproductive medicine, when he noted that lab rats that had been (inadvertently) dropped repeatedly, all had ulcers.  (Have you ever tried to pick up a rat?  They don't like it very much!)  So anyway, he thought there might be a relationship between stress --a mental function and it's effects on the body--ulcers.  In other words, what occurs in the mind, effects the body.

Well, let me tell you, this past year has been incredibly stressful for me.  Relationship stress, friendship stress, surgery, deciding to retire from my job, move to the NYC area... a lot is happening in my life.  And my body shows it! 

I feel as though my body is in revolt against life!  I had foot surgery to correct a long term problem.  Then my back went into spasm.... I think because of the cane and favoring one side of my body.  And to further complicate matters, I had a charlie-horse in the muscles surrounding my knee which dislocated my knee! (don't try this at home!) On top of all of that, because I can't run or do much of anything physically right now... I have put on some extra pounds.  Yuck.

I sound just like all of those old people who sit around and complain about all of their ailments!  It would be easy to give in to the hassle of canes and crutches and feel sorry for myself.  It would be easy to give in to the stress, watch TV, read and not use this forced down time productively.  I won't give in!

As a perimenapausal woman, I am particularly prone to Syndrome W, so named by Pamela Peeke, MD, in her book, Fight Fat After Forty.

Syndrome W:

• Women (hormones)
• Worry (Toxic Stress)
• Weight (Gain)
• Waist (Toxic Weight)

This is an easy way to remember to make the connection between the effect of my mind--worry and chronic stress and my perimenopausal body--weight gain in the waist.

When I am stressed, my body secretes cortisol.  Cortisol tells my body to hang on to that fat--I might need it while that tiger is chasing me! So imagine what happens in my body when I have chronic stress---my body keeps hanging on to that fat so I can get away from that tiger!  Ta-Da!  "Toxic Waist!"

Lucky me--I have it all.  Perimenapause...stress... what's a woman to do???

I need a 3-prong approach:

1. Exercise--on those body parts that still work! 
2. A week of "Reset" to recalibrate my carb cravings
3. 10 minutes meditation each day to reduce stress and bring some balance

No time like the present!  I better go meditate and exercise before work!  Reset next week!