Mind-ing Your Body - Mending Your Cravings
by
Arlene K Unger, PhD
Clinical Psychologist (PSY 15383)
Certified Wellness Coach
Certified Nutritionist
Real Psych Solutions
at
The Center for Empowerment
34052 La Plaza Dr #107
Dana Point, CA 92629
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©2009-2010 Arlene K Unger, PhD. All rights reserved.
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Mind-ing Your Body - Mending Your Cravings
Free Bonus Article: Getting the Exercise Habit
Free Bonus Article: Habit Busting!
Free Bonus Article: Self-Loathing to Self-Loving
About the Author
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Mind-ing Your Body - Mending Your Cravings
The key to wellness is to be aware of what your body is telling you. This awareness can support not only a healthy body but also one’s self-esteem. Exercise and your relationship with food are critical. The trick is to select an appropriate level of exercise and to understand the difference between food cravings and needs.
Our body "talks" to us through negative signals such as aches and pains, as well as through positive signals such as higher energy levels, and feelings of exhilaration and well being. If we choose to follow them, these signals can be a lifeline that can lead us to healthy choices for eating and exercise. Our bodies don’t lie, but our perceptions of the message can be incorrect. It’s not a "mind body dichotomy” (a popular academic theme in the 90s, but going back much further) it’s a "mind body disconnect.”
*For instance, when you have the flu, your body says, "Let’s shut down and chill out for a while." You feel lethargic and uncomfortable and don’t really want to move. This is actually good! If you fight against the lethargy, you run the risk of weakening your immune system even more by overstressing it. Letting your body fight the flu virus can help you get back to your active life more quickly.
*When you are very overtired and stressed, your body is saying, "Stay put. Slow down. If you push us too hard, drowsiness can set in and we could get hurt.” You don't have the "energy" to focus; you become dangerous to yourself and others.
*When your body says, "We are soooo sore!” Your body is saying it needs a break. Personal trainers will tell you that recovery from exercise is just as important as the exercise regime itself. Overtraining can be as bad as undertraining. Your body needs time to metabolize the byproducts of exercise, and to rebuild damaged tissue.
*Headaches can send off a number of body signals that tell you that you are out of sorts. Instead of rushing to pop an aspirin, ask yourself "Did I get enough sleep, exercise, fluids, and/or sun today?” Conversely, too much of any of these can possibly bring on aches and pains.
*When you make a big sale, win a race or solve a difficult problem, you feel exhilarated. Your body is pumping out adrenaline … you feel like "jumping for joy.”
There are other signals that don’t come from your "body” but, rather from your fickle moods, feelings and impulses (your "mind”). They get you confused and off-track. For instance when you notice it’s cold and damp outside, you tell yourself it is okay to miss a workout. But even on these days you could still beef up your cardio conditioning by vacuuming, mopping, running up and down the stairs or jumping rope on your patio…that is, you could, if you wanted.
The Importance of Exercise
Exercise is great for you! This single action performed a few times a week, and within appropriate limits for your sex, age and body type, can:
*Burn Calories – so you lose weight (but see next section)
*Maintain Lipid and Carbohydrate Balance – so you reduce risk of atherosclerosis and diabetes 2
*Condition Your Cardiovascular System – so you reduce the risk of heart attacks and also reduce your blood pressure
*Condition Your Muscles, Tendons and Bones – helps reduce sprains, increases strength, resistance and endurance, and reduces risk of fractures
*Improves Your Mental Status – exercise has antidepressant effects, improves your cognition, gives focus to your life, and you "feel good” about helping yourself, Reduces the stress hormone cortisol which has several deleterious effects
*Etc! (See the References for the Wikipedia article on Exercise)
But there are many excuses. "Oops, ran out of time”, is a classic excuse. If you learn to combine other activities with exercise, it becomes much more fun. Going on a date to play tennis, taking a family hike or conducting a business meeting during a long walk with your client are just of few of the ways to get exercise while accomplishing another task. When you make a deal with yourself to do at least a part of your workout, you typically end up completing your whole routine. The reward is that you have exceeded your expectations and now you can watch TV without feeling guilty. Unless, of course, "My program is on the TV now”, is your poor excuse for not exercising at all. It wouldn’t be that bad to tape your show and watch it later, especially without commercials, or even to do some exercises while watching.
Another common excuse is "My spa or gym membership costs too much.” However, you can actually spend less on a monthly membership than you might on daily, blended coffee drinks over the month. The gym is better for you and you will feel a true sense of accomplishment each day. Also, coffee "perks” you up (from caffeine), but so does exercise (from adrenaline and "feel good” endorphins).
"I never lose weight when I exercise,” is another bad excuse that can lead us to lethargy. The key is to focus not only on the bath scale but also on your heart rate, muscle mass and how your clothes fit. In resistance training, as you exercise, fat cells can be replaced by lean muscle mass, so while you may not lose much weight, you will be healthier. See also the following section.
Taking time out to exercise may upset your activity flow and daily comforts, but taking just 3 days off may cause a backslide; your resting heart rate can begin to slip back to where it was when you first began exercising months ago.
Regardless of whether your mood is saying, "I am bored, I don’t want to work out alone," or "I drove too much this week," your body is still sending you signals to move, rest or challenge yourself. The key is to learn to pay attention to those signals and not be swayed by your excuses.
If you went to the gym straight from work twice a week, then worked out at home the other nights, you will slowly experience how much more your body feels exhilarated and how much more you are listening to what it really needs.
Some important rules are to only exercise when you are:
*Properly Hydrated
*Healthy Carbs in the Tummy
*Warmed up, Pain-free, and Sober
See also the free bonus article "Getting the Exercise Habit” included herein.
The Importance of Exercise … and Common Sense
While an appropriate level of exercise if very beneficial to you, there are some additional caveats. For example, as reported in a recent issue of Time Magazine (August 17, 2009, p42-47) it is not uncommon to exercise vigorously and still not lose weight. One reason is that, for some situations, you are replacing fat with muscle. While muscle burns more calories at rest than does fat, it is not enough of a difference to be the objective of your exercising if you are trying to lose weight (there are other benefits, see above).
But, the article also reports clinical studies from Louisiana State University that showed that people who exercise often simply feel hungry afterward, or feel "entitled” to treat themselves to food afterward, or they reduce their overall activity level outside of the gym because they are working out. They call it "compensation.”
You can easily wipe out the benefits of 45 mins of exercise if you consume a single "sports” drink, a sugared, blended iced coffee, or a burger, or fries or a milkshake. It’s very difficult to burn calories, but very easy to consume them!