Life is all about change. Adapting to new environments and challenges is what allows us to grow, become stronger, learn new skills and become better, happier people. But whilst change is good, it can also be stressful.
Whether you’ve adopted a new approach to healthy eating, living or working out, we talk to Bodyism’s Lee Mullins about the impact that a change in diet and exercise can have on our health and stress levels.
Can working out excessively actually be detrimental to health or weight loss?
I think anything in excess is detrimental. Our bodies are designed to move every day, but too much will eventually contribute to our bodies breaking down, through injury or getting sick. Be kind to your body, move everyday and your body will last you a lifetime
Do we need to supplement training with de-stressing forms of exercise? Why?
Absolutely, its a case of getting a balance. Exercise is challenging and energising and is very “Yang” for our bodies. But we also need the “Yin” to keep us balanced, and that can be in the form of stretching, yoga, a walk, or anything that helps you to relax, such as reading etc. Finding the balance of Yin and Yang will also help you body to recover and stay young and healthy.
Are there any alternatives to yoga?
If yoga isn’t your thing, then find something that helps you to relax, whether its a gentle swim, a walk in the park or meditating. I love to be stretched and at Bodyism we have Tegan Haining, our Stretch Therapist, who I see once a week for a total body stretch. It’s incredibly relaxing and my body always feels amazing after a session.
How many of these ‘Yin’ sessions should we be doing? And at what time during the day?
Stretching, yoga, reading, meditating are all great to do in the evening as they are stress lowering and can help your body to calm down, and ultimately sleep better.
Spring is the perfect time for detox and diet-cleansing, can changes in diet affect your stress levels? Either negatively or positively?
Absolutely. Eating the wrong foods or foods that generally don’t work for many people such as wheat, gluten, alcohol and sugar acts as a stress on our bodies. When these are reduced or eliminated from our diets, it makes a huge difference to the way our bodies are being stressed and you will notice improved energy, better sleep, clearer skin and a flatter tummy.
When changing your diet, giving up sugar, alcohol or detoxing, is it best to limit your exercise or adopt something more gentle?
Exercising will help your body to improve its ability to detox toxins, along with drinking plenty of water, eating fibrous rich foods, and eating foods and drinks which help to support our bodies’ ability to detox such as green tea.
Are there any foods we should be incorporating into our diet for stress-lowering?
Foods that are rich in magnesium are great stress-lowering foods. These include:
Pumpkin seeds
Sesame seeds
Sunflower seeds
Cashew nuts
Almonds
Spinach
Halibut
Swiss chard