I’m going to tell you a little story about the crazy week I had last week. And I’m sharing this because I’m 99.9% sure you can relate.

It all started when my schedule suddenly became unexpectedly crazy (work & home).

Which meant I didn’t get a chance to work out as much as usual, or even get outside to take a walk.

And because I was busy, my food choices were more “grab & go” than normal. And, of course, my sleep was terrible.

Which made everything feel even crazier, which made me crave even more comfort and junk food, which made me sleep even worse, which made me feel too tired to work out.

The last couple of weeks I’ve been talking a lot about moderation, mostly about food … but guess what?

Moderation ALSO applies to exercise and your workouts.

The old days of “no pain, no gain” are definitely in our rear-view mirror. Instead, it’s about the “minimum effective dose” for results.

That means getting just enough exercise to maintain or improve your fitness, without overdoing it (especially when it comes to long or super-intense workouts).

More is definitely NOT better, for so many reasons.

Some of those reasons might surprise you:


🔸 It can set you up for injury
🔸 Your body needs time to recover between workouts
🔸 It can lead to burnout
🔸 It can make you feel hungry
🔸 It can make you tired, which means you’re less active the rest of the day, burning fewer calories than would have without exercising, and
🔸 Doing too many long or super-intense workouts is not good for your heart

The key is to find the right mix for your fitness level, your goals, and your likes/dislikes.

Your fitness prescription:

If you’ve ever had a stressful day (or year!) that affected your eating habits, you are NOT alone.
 
In a study, more than 75% of adults said that stress played a role in their eating during the past month.
 
This included overeating, eating junk foods, or not eating. Many of them said it happened weekly.
 
They also said it made them feel sluggish, lazy, disappointed in themselves, or irritable.
 
The good news is that I have a few tips below to stop stress from getting in the way of your results when it comes to food.
 
But before I get into the tips, it’s important to know WHY stress affects our appetite.
Knowing why can help you manage the situation when you’re in it!
 
When you get stressed, your body releases hormones to help you deal with stress.
 
Not only can these hormones – including adrenaline, insulin, and cortisol – cut your appetite and/or make you crave high-calorie, high-fat foods …
 
They also can make your body store MORE fat than when you’re relaxed.  
 
The horrible hormones!
 
This means it’s NOT a willpower issue, but an actual physiological response. Knowing this can help stop you from giving in to it when it happens.