We could all use some help when we feel overwhelmed, and the help needs to come from within us.  But if we don’t have the skills to muster up the strength or clarity to know what to do, things can get even more out of control. Learning to help ourselves cope is essential to our overall health and happiness. I should know. There was a period in my life when I was overwhelmed, broke down, and repaired myself by learning some important life lessons.

Here are 7 simple ONE minute Lifestyle Hacks to try when feeling stressed out!  Really, all it takes is one minute!

1. BREATHE – This is the most essential and foundational hack, and that’s why it is first on the list. Just stop, inhale and sigh it out with a big exhale with your mouth open, then close your eyes and take a deep breath through your nose, and exhale through your nose.  Repeat this for one minute.  Thoughts will come and go, but try to tune into your breath, and what is happening in your body.  Let the thoughts float away and come back to your breath.  Don’t judge yourself during this time, just focus on your breath.  It’s only one minute.

2. THINK – Ask yourself and think: “What is the most important thing I can do right now for myself to get in control.”  There will be all kinds of answers each time you do this, based on the situation.  Sometimes the answer is to breathe for a minute.  Sometimes the answer is to walk away for a minute.  Sometimes you might need to have a calm conversation with someone, or let them know you’d like to schedule some time with them, and schedule it. Or maybe sit quietly and write for a minute.  That brings us to the next hack.

3. WRITE – Try the three gratitude’s activity.  Again, this only takes one minute.  Grab a piece of paper or a post it note, or a cocktail napkin, anything that is around, and write three things you are grateful for today and why.  It could be as simple as “I woke up this morning.”  “Why, because I have an alarm clock, and I was responsible enough to set it in order to meet my responsibilities and obligations today.”  Then write a second, and a third.  If you are not accustomed to this, it might actually be difficult to come up with something, but just pick something and write it.  Just like yoga and meditation, gratitude is also a practice.

4. SAY NO – Protect yourself and your time by not agreeing to do things that are not in line with your purpose, and your goals.  This might sound selfish or mean spirited, but we’re talking about your health and happiness.  No one else is better equipped to take care of you than YOU. Don’t allow someone else’s monkey to jump on your back.  If you are feeling taken advantage of, then you ARE being taken advantage of.

5. GO TO SLEEP – When there are too many things on our plate and we are trying to get everything done, we may be forfeiting our all-important sleep time.  Our bodies do not function well with lack of sleep, and this just adds to the stressed state in our bodies. This interferes with mood, rational thinking, hormones and weight, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, and the list goes on. Set a bedtime each day and try to stick to it no matter what is not done.  This is one of the most difficult challenges I see with many of my clients.  Decide what time you have to get up the next day, and then subtract at least 7 hours.  That’s when you need to go to sleep.  Keep a notebook at your bedside table when starting this new practice because your mind will probably be racing with everything that still needed to get done.  Write these things down. You can take care of it tomorrow.  And with your new delegating practice (next hack), things will get better.

6. DELEGATE – Take one minute to STOP and think about something that can be taught to and delegated to someone else at home or at work.  Make a list of all the things that can be delegated and then jot some notes about how that will happen.  Yes, it will take some time later to have conversations, teach, and make sure the work is getting done appropriately, but once it is delegated, in the future, these tasks will no longer be consuming your day and precious time.  So just take one minute and make a list.  It’s a start to a powerful change in your life.

7. PLAN – Before you go to bed each night, look at your calendar for the next day, and a week at a glance as well.  Have a schedule for each day with chunked times of appointments and your priorities.  And schedule time for YOU.  Start to put YOU into your schedule.  Schedule time with friends, for exercise, and for other passions.  Scheduling only takes a minute.  Then stick to it.  Stick to you and what you need for a happier and healthier you.

Just a side note:

Practicing yoga for the past - I can’t even remember how long - maybe 13 years, has taught me so much about coping with life’s challenges, hurts, disappointments, and on and on. Yoga and meditation PRACTICE has helped me understand and have more clarity about situations, manage my inner thoughts, learn how to be grateful for what is, and love myself more.  And over time, I’ve experienced some easy ways to get in control when challenged or overwhelmed.  All of these hacks are based on being present in the moment. 

Wishing you peace, love, truth, health, and happiness.  It is within your grasp, and is your right.

Intermittent fasting is the world’s fastest growing “diet” tweak going, as if we didn’t have enough theories and confusion already about what and how to eat for optimum health. Actually, intermittent fasting is not really a diet, rather a particular pattern of eating.  People usually get into it for weight loss, and it does show some positive results, but it’s trickier than that.  You still have to eat sensibly, as with anything.

Fasting is not new.  It goes way back to ancestral times when food was scarce, and it’s deeply rooted in spirituality across many forms of religion.  In my own religion in which I was raised, we fast during lent and on certain holy days.  And other religions in addition to Christianity, including Buddhism and Judaism have similar practices in order to be more mindful, lighter, focused, and for some reason or another to experience “lack of”.  This goes way back to those ancestral times when food was scarce.  What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger?

Just this past weekend as I was reading the Sunday papers, I noticed articles in two major newspapers about intermittent fasting.  Wow, I thought, this has really become mainstream!  I enjoyed reading about the history, benefits, latest research, and of course the caution and warnings, and the way these fad diets just take off and are often times misunderstood and misused. 

Here we go again.

Someone tells us about intermittent fasting at a social event, or we read about it in the paper, and we want to try it.  Why not?

You can read all you wish on the internet and diet books, and now newspaper articles, about intermittent fasting, how to do it, the benefits, the warnings (who should not do it – pregnant women or those who are breastfeeding, women trying to get pregnant, those with diabetes, children and teens, those with low blood pressure or other serious health conditions, those who are underweight or have a history of eating disorders), but here I’ll just give you my thoughts as an experienced health coach with first hand knowledge dealing with clients (and myself as experimentation) with diets, and our relationship with food.

But before I get into that, what actually is intermittent fasting?  It’s a period of not eating, and is done in a few different ways.  During fasting, water, plain, herbal tea, broth, are all okay, and hydration is important during this time and recommended.

Here are a few different types of intermittent fasting:

16/8 – Eat during an 8 hour window, say 11:00 am to 7:00 pm and fast the rest of the 24 hour period, much of which is sleep time. This is the simplest, and easiest to stick to without too much difficulty or danger of getting over hungry.

5:2 – Take two consecutive days each week where only 500-600 calories are consumed.  Generally people have a difficult time with this on the weekends if they are social, so perhaps a Monday and Tuesday can be planned, or any two consecutive days that are right for your lifestyle, and it can change each week too.

24-hour fast – Choose one to two 24-hour periods each week in which no food is eaten, so perhaps Saturday night at 7:00 pm until Sunday night at 7:00 pm.

What do you think?

Sounds a bit crazy given all of the healthy eating pattern advice we’ve been taught about not skipping breakfast, or any meal for that matter, or eating 5-6 mini meals a day for blood sugar control, avoiding getting over hungry and over eating, and energy balance.

So why fast?

The research shows there are real benefits to intermittent fasting such as lower inflammation, improved insulin sensitivity making stored fat accessible for fuel, improved cellular repair, and efficient and effective gene expression to promote longevity and protection against disease.  Studies have also shown improvements in heart health by reducing LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, better brain health, and an increase in nerve health. But be warned, many of these studies are just performed with rat subjects so far.  And I hope if you are reading this, you are not a rat.

So, where do I stand on skipping breakfast, limiting calories, and balancing blood sugar?  I’ve done intermittent fasting and have felt great having experienced less bloating, more focus and clarity, and improved mood.  I generally do the easy 16/8 after a weekend where my diet is not always as stellar as during the week, not as a form of punishment, but just as a mindful, listen to my body kind of thing.

As far as skipping breakfast, if I’m not hungry, I do not feel the need to eat right away after I wake up.  I will always have something healthy planned, but will drink water or herbal tea and wait until I feel hungry.  I generally don’t wait past 11:00 am, because if I wait too long, when I do eat, I am over hungry and may over eat.   Just practice being mindful, and listen to your body.  Also, whenever I see a client drinking cups of coffee until 2:00 in the afternoon – no, no, this is not how you do intermittent fasting!

I’d love to hear from you and what you think. Have you tried intermittent fasting?  What’s been your experience? Let me know what you think or if you have any questions.