Avoiding stress is nearly impossible today; due to the constant change personally or professionally from high demands being away from home and long work hours. How many of us are over loaded with everyday life of the hustle and bustle, and is it fair to say  it's really worth the frustration?
Remember the old saying, "Find a job you love and you'll never work another day in your life." Most people spend about 25 percent of their adult lives working. If you enjoy what you do, you're lucky. But if you're the proverbial square peg and your job is a round hole, job stress hurts your productivity and takes a serious toll on your mind and body. www.apa.org

We've all felt stressed at one point in our lives; where the emotional and physical strain of every day life can become overwhelming due to the hustle and bustle in the rat race to get ahead.
​Is it really worth it? Sometimes even feeling the tightness in our shoulders, heart beating faster, or anxiety levels elevating. The natural stress response -also known as " fight- or- flight", causes muscles to tense up allowing us to run faster. It also enables our lungs to breath faster and heart to pump faster, and heart to pump faster to circulate oxygen through the entire body.Avoiding stress is nearly impossible today; due to the constant change personally or professionally from high demands being away from home and long work hours.

Chronic Stress can lead to:

• High blood pressure
• Headaches and neck pain
• Sleep deprivation
• Sadness and depression
• Fatigue
• Asthma

be rewarding job, but can sometimes lead to unhealthy levels of stress. So, it's very important for them to recognize the signs & symptoms. Taking a step away from what's causing the stress by doing a, 
 
Two-minute relaxation technique:

1. Close your eyes


2. Take deep breaths and exhale slowly. Let your mind focus on the breath moving in and out of your lungs.


3. Rotate in circular motion to release tension In your shoulders and neck.


4. IF any other muscles feel tense try to focus on relaxing them.


5. Finish the exercise by thinking of something positive in your life


Source: www.apa.org

Summer has arrived; and literally like most people new years was only five months ago. Which means summer is less layers and beach attire of all sizes. I know, it can be the tell tale of all the things we were enjoying in the winter season. But, what really matters is eating healthy while getting in shape while being the best you.
According to www.womenhealth.org, healthy eating  improves your health and helps prevent disease. It means choosing different types of healthy food from all of the food groups (fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, and proteins), most of the time, in the correct amounts for you. Healthy eating also means not eating a lot of foods with added sugar, sodium (salt), and saturated and trans fats. "What you eat and drink is influenced by where you live, the types of foods available in your community and in your budget, your culture and background, and your personal preferences.
Often, healthy eating is affected by things that are not directly under your control, like how close the grocery store is to your house or job. Focusing on the choices you can control will help you make small changes in your daily life to eat healthier."
I've been a size four and at my largest a size fourteen, and never kept a scale. I just changed my eating habits and took accountability on where I needed to make changes in my life. For many women we believe that we must fit a certain criteria to feel beautiful based on our size. But, what really matters is eating healthy while getting in shape while being the best you. Nothing to panic about you still have time to reach your goals eating healthy while embracing those curves.

Here are six tips to get you started:


1) Start your day off eating a balance breakfast with plenty of fiber, fruit, & dairy
2) Keeping a journal of your intake will keep you accountable on getting healthy
3) Meditation is not only good for the soul, it keeps the mind centered on positivity
4) During lunch eat leafy green vegetables with protein with a simple can of tuna in water
5) Instead of driving to a local store, challenge yourself to walk while getting your  cardio in
6) Most importantly, plenty of rest and plenty of water
Source: www.womenshealth.org
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