Lifestyle Challenge - Start Simplifying Life

Last week I brought to light that diet and exercise were not the only issues which needed to be addressed when trying to achieve your New Years Resolution to lose weight and get healthy. The writer of the article suggested that we examine the current structures and systems of our lives to find out what areas sabotage us from achieving our goals.

A few weeks prior to that, I touched on the subject of cortisol and how high levels of it may sabotage weight loss efforts. I have additional information I obtained from an article I read (womentowomen.com) which I would like to share regarding cortisol, stress and the adrenal glands:
Stress and the adrenal glands
Unlike our ancestors, we live with constant stress. Instead of occasional, acute demands followed by rest, we’re constantly over-worked, under-nourished, exposed to environmental toxins, worrying about others — with no let-up.
Every challenge to the mind and body creates a demand on the adrenal glands. And the list of challenges is endless: lack of sleep, a demanding boss, the threat of losing your job, financial pressures, personality conflicts, yo-yo dieting, relationship turmoil, death or illness of a loved one, skipping meals, reliance on stimulants like caffeine and carbs, digestive problems, over-exercise, illness or infection, unresolved emotional issues from our past or present and more. The result is adrenal glands that are constantly on high alert.
The destructive effect of high cortisol levels
What is cortisol? In its normal function, cortisol helps us meet these challenges by converting proteins into energy, releasing glycogen, and counteracting inflammation. For a short time, that’s okay. But at sustained high levels, cortisol gradually tears your body down.
Sustained high cortisol levels:
• destroy healthy muscle and bone
• slow down healing and normal cell regeneration
• co-opt biochemicals needed to make other vital hormones
• impair digestion, metabolism and mental function
• interfere with healthy endocrine function; and
• weaken your immune system.
So how can we simplify our current lifestyles in an effort to make time for diet and exercise and to reduce stress? An article I read (fitnessspotlight.com) suggests 15 ways …..
Below are just a few ways to start (this weekend!) and apply to your lifestyle. You may find that freedom that comes from becoming less attached to things (or needing more things) and finding appreciation for what you have. You really have everything you need to be happy right now, but it is all in your perspective.
• Take a Fast From Technology – TV, cell phones, computers, video game, and other forms of technology. While useful, can take away time from other positive life experiences that you may be missing out on. Go for a walk, go hiking, go have a picnic, go to the beach, or just sit around and take time out for yourself to clear your head and get perspective. It’s your time, so use it wisely.
• Learn to say “No” to people – Again it is your time, do you really need to be running around doing things all the time? Pick and choose what things you would like to participate in because they bring you a positive feeling, and let go of the rest. It’s ok to say “No” to people, you are not obligated to do anything. Take control of your life.
• Keep all your Mail in one Place and Deal with it Once- Don’t leave it scattered around the house, have one inbox for all mail and set aside time to go through it whether once a day or week. When you do go through it , take care of it right then and then file or toss it. No clutter. As those stacks of bills may be just sitting in the back of your mind all day causing you worry and concern.
• Check Email at Specific Times – Same rule as mail above, except you are not checking your email inbox all day. This could be at work or home. Just log one once in the AM and once in the PM (or whenever you want to set a schedule), read mail, respond right away and file it or delete it. Don’t leave your inbox stacked up with emails you are waiting to do something, take action right there and then shut off the computer and walk away to do other things. (This may be harder for people at work, but checking email in routine bunches will distract you less from the more important tasks of your job)
• Get a Shopping List and Go Once a Week - Do you find yourself at the supermarket 4-5x a week? Why? Could you get your shopping down to once (or even twice) a week? Create a list of everything you need for a week including food, supplies, laundry detergent, etc. Check what you need to get, mark it on your list and go to the store once. Imagine all the free time you will have if you are not running around all the time.
• Have a Garage/Yard Sale – How much stuff do you have sitting around as clutter in the house? How much stuff have you not even touched in years? Are you keeping stuff based on the “what if” excuse? (Like I have a raft because what if there is a tidal wave and I need……) Having a garage sale forces you to go through your stuff and who knows what you will find. There is such a liberating feeling in getting rid of stuff you don’t need or use! Use the rule, if you haven’t used it or worn it in 1-2 years, then you don’t really need it.
• Use the 2-Out/1-In rule for Clutter – If you have a garage sale like above, don’t go out and just spend the money on more clutter to come in! That is not the point. With the 2-Out/1-In rule for every 2 items you get rid of, you can only bring in 1 to replace it. So at least that will still keep your clutter down by 50% from before. Or better yet, 2-Out/0-In!
• Practice Dying – We are all going to die someday (hopefully not anytime soon), nothing we can do about that. But it’s amazing the though of that and how it can give us perspective. What if your doctor told you that you had 1 year to live? How would that change your perception of what you are doing with your life? Would you have regrets? Would there be things you wish you had tried? What really matters at that point to you? Practice dying is just a quick way to help you get a bigger picture on your life to make sure you are doing what you want to (now I didn’t say sell everything and spend all your money on a boat trip around the world….have to have a little perspective of long term planning as well)
• Lose Everything – This is another exercise to find out what things matter and to practice detaching from things that don’t. If your house was on fire and you had 5 minutes to grab things, what would you take? Does the rest really matter (assuming you could easily replace them with insurance)? Visualizing losing everything is a simple way to appreciate what you already have.
• Decorate with Less – Do you have shelves of pictures and books and never even look at them? How about just keeping 1 or 2 pictures out and a couple books. Having less will actually help to put more value in them. Appreciate the few pictures you have out, and then enjoy changing them out every few weeks. Have more….with less.
• Keep your Finances Simple – Keep only one credit card for emergencies and pay it off monthly. Pay in cash with everything. If you have debt make a plan to cut your expenses now and pay it off as quickly as possible. Buy used items as they can be 50-70% less than what a new thing may cost you. Haggle prices as people will always give you discounts, if you ask for it. Have auto deposit for your paycheck with an auto withdrawl of say 10% into a savings account (that you will not touch). Do auto debit from checking account for monthly expenses. These are just a few strategies to try out.
• Get Rid of Junk Mail and Telemarketers – Write in to the Direct Marketers Association and tell them you want off the list. Here’s the link for the addresses. You must write in once for mail and another for phone and give your name, address and phone number. You should see a dramatic reduction in like 4-6 weeks.
• Give Back to Those Less Fortunate – You can donate your time or items to charitable organizations for those who may not be as fortunate as you. Nothing will give you a greater appreciation of what you already have than helping those with less.
• Don’t try and Keep up with the Joneses – Chances are the Joneses may have a nice car, house and lifestyle from the outside…but most are 1 paycheck away from bankruptcy, living on credit and so stressed out that their health is at risk. In fact it may be the Joneses who want to live like you in a simple and happy way!
• Stay Healthy – Nothing is as simple as never having to be in the hospital, on medications or deal with other medical issues. Being healthy is also going to save you a ton of money in the long run!
Regarding the last suggestion, specifically as it pertains to never having to be on medications, I’m currently reading a book on women’s health. The author brought up a very interesting point on this issue. She (Christine Northrup, MD) wrote:

“Lacking a way to name and change their situations, many women (and men) instead turn to addictions such as overwork, overcare, smoking, and overeating that result in an endless cycle of abuse that we ourselves help perpetuate. Being abused or abusing ourselves, we become ill. Then we turn to a medical system that is set up to deliver mostly quick-fix pharmaceutical solutions to problems that can’t be healed until we change our core beliefs and thoughts!”

Take the lifestyle challenge and start simplifying and experience freedom (from medication or whatever)!