Tip of the Week: Stress Management

Nick Travaille, the COO of MyFitFoods, breaks down the importance of stress management in this week’s tip.

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Many people report high levels of stress on a daily basis. When you’re stressed, it can be harder to fall asleep and stay asleep, which can impact your ability to build muscle or lose body fat.

More importantly, people who report higher levels of stress tend to eat more calories because stress can cause us to have more hunger cravings.

So I want to share a simple tool you can use to help keep those stress levels down so you can get better results - and that tool is called BOX BREATHING.

It’s a very easy exercise that you can do anywhere - all you have to do is take 4 seconds to inhale, hold that breath for 4 seconds, then take 4 seconds to slowly exhale, and wait 4 seconds before repeating. Do that 4 or 5 times the next time you feel stressed, and see if it helps out!

How to do box breathing:

1. Breathe out slowly, releasing all the air from your lungs.
2. Breathe in through your nose as you slowly count to four in your head.
3. Hold your breath for a count of four.
4. Exhale for another count of four.
5. Hold your breath again for a count of four.
6. Repeat for four to five rounds.

That’s it for this week’s tip. Have a healthy and happy holiday week!