My original post located at http://healthmad.com/mental-health/factors-that-might-affect-you-and-your-familys-weight-loss-plan/
Have you ever wondered if stress in you and your family really aggravate your plan of loosing that excess weight? Here’s what I’ve found about it, and I realized that these facts have bothered me for quite some time already.
Stress Trigger: Slow things down
Studies have shown that too much stress (chronic stress) can produce too much cortisol. It’s a hormone that can ramp up appetite and this may lead you to overeating. Stress can also trigger comfort eating. That’s why a hectic lifestyle may affect your family’s weight. So slow things down a bit. Plan something like encouraging your family to a relaxation getaway. Go to family picnics in the beach or on top of a mountain or just by the backyard. My family does these during our days off from work and school. Just do something or anything that can help you pause and switch gears for a bit.
Stress Trigger: Too Little Sleep
Anybody who has too little sleep can make anyone still tired and cranky. (I’m guilty about this, yes I remembered something bcoz of this). Way back in my corporate days I was too fat and cranky. I only get 2-4 hours of sleep a day and that is why too little sleep can cause slow metabolism and unfortunately increases your appetite. So you risk your life on overeating unhealthy food choices and less activity at all just to keep awake at work. Might as well set a soothing routine like setting a regular bed time that will allow you to take a long sleep. Remember that adults and children have different sleeping hours:
Kids 6 and younger: 11 to 13
Grade-schoolers: 10 or 11
Teens: 8 to 10
Adults: 8 to 10 hours (I don’t advice to over sleep because you’ll feel the usual tired and cranky)
Stress Trigger: Money Troubles
Every time you feel stressed about your finances, the rest of the family can be too, probably because the family’s lifestyle has changed like no more movies or no more extra shopping. For kids, it just maybe that they sense something is wrong around the house. To avoid such feeling, be honest with your family. Be open about day-to-day concerns but keep an upbeat attitude. You can’t say “No more out of towns this year! Because we ran out of money and we can’t afford another vacation” instead say “An out-of-town vacation won’t happen this year, but let’s plan something fun around here.” Let them feel that things are going to be just fine and will still be ok in the feature.
Stress Trigger: Fighting Parents
When kids saw their parents fighting, they feel tense, particularly with kids under 10 because they still based their sense of security around the home. They felt threaten if they see parents shouting or hitting each other. These occurrences can also give them psychological trauma. To avoid such thing, your arguments should be kept low and private or if you can’t avoid the kids from hearing it both of you should acknowledge it. Remind your kid that everyone one argues sometimes and you reassure that you’ll work it out.
Stress Triggers: Stressed-Out Parents
If you struggle with stress and your kids see you at your worst hour, they gain knowledge to respond the same way. They will mimic how you eat on the go, staying up late or cranky. Show your kids the proper way of coping with your own stress in a healthy way.
When your kids see you struggling with stress, they learn to respond to stress the same way. They mimic how you stay up too late, eat on the go, or just get irritable. Admit when life feels hectic and make time to relax and pamper yourself. You kids will be watching and they will also offer you their soothing hands to help you out with that stress.
Stress Triggers: Friends
Just as you thought that friends could only be the most comforting of all but they could also be triggering your stress. Stay away from people who are demands too much not just of your time but also your attention in a way that they always wanted you to say yes to them when you cannot. Those who cannot understand your situation is not a real friend. Also, when kids reach their 3rd or 4th grade, they base much of their self-worth on friends. Being bullied or getting hurt feelings could lead them to stress eating. Listen to your kids when they say that their friends are “mean” or if they act irritably about something. Keep an open communication with your kids to know what’s going on in their social lives. If you notice extreme sadness and social withdrawal, talk to her first and if it’s necessary with a health professional.
Stress Trigger: School
In this competitive world we live in, us adults has learned to go with it and even young kids today worries about performing well in class, recitals or keeping up in sports and other activities. These lead kids to feel a lot stressed out just to please their parents or anyone to get a pleasant attention (well, some parents tend to be so perfectionist). Instead help them out. Assist your kids to find activities he excels at or enjoys. Provide encouragement to try hard, tell him to keep on practicing and acknowledge even small successes. Help kids organized such as making weekly task list and checking them off so they could see and feel their accomplishments in school.
Stress Trigger: Boredom
Kids and even adults feel boredom most of the time especially when kids are done with school work. Adults may feel some redundancy about what they used to do and these people might just crave for something else like junk foods while spending too much time on video games or TV. They end up making poor choices just to feel stimulated. For kids, an after-school program and regular physical activity for even an hour a day can provide them just enough downtime after school. For adults, keep an active lifestyle like a 30 minute walk or run in a day can have a huge effect on your mood. No dull moments while walking. You can also walk after work and listen to some good music you really like. You can go out with your friends and have a good time on your days off. There are lots of things you can do to avoid boredom. Just be creative.
Stress Trigger: Irregular Eating
Replacing or skipping meals with something light makes it hard for us to balanced and maintain energy all day. This can take a toll on our ability to focus on health. It can lead us to excessive eating for something really unnecessary. Instead, stick to 3 meals and 2 snacks a day (this works for most of the families I used to know). Take time to eat with the family together, this helps kids eat happier and healthier too. This has been proven by studies already. Here in the Philippines we say “The family that eats together stays together”.
Stress Trigger: Multitasking
Not only teenagers can do multitasking, adults do multitasking all the time. Especially the mothers, from preparing breakfast for the family to prepare to work and preparing dinner again for the whole family. The best thing to do here is that always remember, you can’t do ALL of the things you want to at the same time. Learn to prioritize. Doing things slowly make you feel a little more calmer than you thought you could be and learning how deep breathing can help you think about which one to start and which one to finish. Multitasking for me is something you can do in one place. You can type the keyboard while sipping a cup of coffee, while talking on the phone by your right ear and listening to a cool music on your left. Too much huh? hahaha
Stress Trigger: Being Inside Too Much
Kids -- and even grown-ups, too – feels much better when they get to go out in nature or just about anywhere as long as they can enjoy the place they’re into. One study showed that hospital patients fared better from just seeing trees from their windows. I can attest to this because there was a time just about last week when my hubby was on a vacation and we can’t go out somewhere because it’s raining and we don’t feel like spending the money we have until his pay day. We are confined inside the house and we feel so bored already. Luckily we got tons of movies and we just indulge watching those.
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