10 Things To Count That Are More Useful (and Sustainable) Than Calories
Sadly, we’re heading into the most toxic time of the year in diet culture. As we near the end of December and head into the new year, we’re about to be bombarded with endless conversation and marketing around weight loss and dieting.
To help you weather the coming storm, I want to remind you that the research is crystal clear that dieting doesn’t produce long-term sustainable weight loss. It very often does, however, have a lasting, harmful effect on your relationship with food and your body.
Instead of getting lured into counting calories (or points, or macros, or anything else the $145 billion diet industry throws at you), here are 10 things to count that may lower your stress levels and promote your health and wellbeing:
10 Helpful Things to Count Besides Calories
Blessings: Research shows that regularly practicing gratitude can help lower your stress and enhance your overall wellbeing. So, spending some purposeful time writing down the big and small things you’re grateful for each day can be a powerful health habit.
Breaths: Deep belly breathing has been shown to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system (what’s known as the “rest and digest” system) and is believed to help reduce stress in a variety of ways. Pausing to take 3-6 deep diaphragmatic or belly breaths on stressful days may help calm you down.
Minutes in nature: As little as 10 minutes in the great outdoors can help you feel happier and reduce the effects of physical and emotional stress. But why stop there—nature is good for the soul. Soak up all the outdoor time you can get!
Hours of sleep: Sleep helps regulate our metabolism, boost our immune functioning, enhances our cognitive function, and can help minimize the effects of stress. The National Sleep Foundation recommends between 7-9 hours of sleep each night and offers these tips for boosting your sleep: get yourself on a strict sleep schedule in which you wake and go to bed at the same time each night, keep the bedroom temperature at about 65 degrees, keep electronics out of the bedroom, avoid consuming caffeine or nicotine in the hours before bed, and exercise regularly.
Servings of fruits and veggies: Never underestimate the power of a nourishing meal. The gut-brain connection is a hot research area—there are all sorts of studies coming out to show that the health of the bacterial communities in our gut is connected to our psychological and emotional wellbeing. The bacteria in your gut feed on fiber—so feed ‘em lots of veggies, fruit, and whole grains!
Hugs: Hugs and other types of interpersonal touch have been linked with a reduction in cortisol levels, and are believed to act as a buffer against the effects of stress. Researchers say you should aim for a 20 second hug to really get the full calming effect.
Time spent exercising: Physical activity is one of the best ways to lower stress levels and boost moods. Anytime you’re moving your body, it’s a win—and all movement counts. So, get creative, have fun with it, and do things you love. You don’t have to slog it out in a 60-minute high intensity sweat session at the gym to experience the healing effects of movement. Reframing exercise into feel-good movement is often a strategy for welcoming more physical activity into your life.
Meditative moments: Mindfulness based meditation seems to have a great many benefits, with some research indicating it may help lower stress levels and aid in emotional regulation. There are tons of youtube videos that offer guided meditations and many apps that do as well. The HeadSpace app is a great guided meditation program you can check out.
Belly laughs: This one might be my favorite! Laughter therapy has been linked with a reduction in cortisol levels, epinephrine, and other hormones associated with the stress response. So put on a funny movie, get silly, call up your funniest friend, and get serious about looking for moments to let loose and laugh.
Boundaries. No is a powerful word. We’re so used to thinking we have to answer every call, both metaphorical and actual. But the truth is, less is often more when it comes to managing stress. Practice saying no and using the question, “would you please…?” to tap into your support network.
The Healing Benefits of Lowering Stress
Many of these ten activities are great tools for managing or lowering stress levels, which is one of the 5 pillars of wellness I focus in in my healing work with clients. Here are just a few reasons why this is so integral to your health and nutrition.
Chronic stress raises cortisol and a few other glucocorticoid hormone levels in our blood that can make insulin less effective and lead to high blood sugar—which can result in Type 2 diabetes and contribute to heart disease, stroke, kidney disfunction, and other significant health issues. Every organ system in our bodies is negatively impacted by chronic, unmanaged stress, including our overall immune functioning.
When it comes to food, cortisol helps to stimulate appetite, and studies have found that higher levels of this necessary hormone increase our preference for higher fat, higher carbohydrate foods. In other words, chronic stress can make us eat more and seek out less nutrient dense foods.
Here’s something else that’s important to understand, especially with toxic diet culture about to kick into turbo mode. Dieting is a physical stressor on your body; constantly monitoring or obsessing about what you eat and dieting itself have both been shown to increase cortisol and perceived stress levels.
The fear mongering about food that persists in the media and social circles and the endless promotion of fad diets and quick fixes not only robs us of the joy of nourishing our bodies, but it really takes a toll on our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing as well.
Remember that how you eat is just as important as what you eat — your relationship with food is part of your overall health and wellbeing.