"Get Abs #1" - my advice

Matt Kay recently wrote a blog on the Inspiring Fitness website that highlighted the need to reduce stress to help you achieve the six pack you desire. He highlighted the importance of coping with stressors and gave recommendations on how to deal with stress, like identifying the stressor, avoiding stressors, managing the stress, getting plenty of sleep and exercise, and nutrition and supplementation to help you cope with stress.
I'd like to flesh out these points and give my own advice on how to deal with stress in your life. This will not only help you achieve the flat, waterboard stomach you see in magazines and movies, but also prevent diseases of a stressful lifestyle including cardiovascular disease, Type II diabetes, hypertension, depression, eczema, IBS, insomnia, fatigue and some forms of cancer.
A lot of the content of this blog comes from The Smart Health Guide To Stress, distributed at Nuffield Health sites. I picked my copy up at the Covent Garden site.

What Is Stress?
Getting 'stressed' is defined as feeling pressure exceeding our ability to cope, i.e. events becoming out of our control.
Stress is not necessarily a bad thing. We have evolved to react to stress by releasing hormones which heighten our senses and metabolic rate ('fright or flight' responses). It can help us achieve our goals. Stress is essential. But when it becomes too much or is not coped with, that is when it can become detrimental. Other hormones, like cortisol, are excessively released and that can cause detrimental effects on the body.
Cortisol counteracts the effects of growth hormone (GH) and testosterone (T) in the body. Both GH and T have been shown to be associated with increased fat burning and decreased abdominal fat, whereas cortisol has the opposite effects, increasing fat deposits around the midsection of the body.

How Do You Know When You Are Too Stressed
If you suffer from any of the follow, then it is likely that your stress levels are excessive:

• lack of appetite
• food cravings when under pressure
• indigestion and heart burn
• poor sleep pattern
• irritability with people
• indecisiveness
• loss of sense of humour
• simmering anger
• poor concentration
• feeling unable to cope
• switching to new tasks when the previous one has not been completed
• no interest in activities outside of work

Coping With Stress
There are 3 main ways you can cope with stress, by addressing the following areas

1. Environment
This area is based around changing the circumstances and events in your life that causes you stress. There are several things you can do to change your environment to limit stress.

• identify the stress and, if you can, remove or reduce it
• spend more time doing the things you enjoy
• identify what is preventing you enjoying the things you do
• improve time management - diarise everything and write lists
• only allow yourself to work a certain number of hours
• surround yourself with positive and supportive people - avoid stressful relationships
• take a 5 minute break every hour at work, 55/5 rule.

2. Perception

This is when you create stress for yourself by 'dwelling' on things or assuming things are stressful. There is often at least two ways of looking at something. Try to maintain a positive outlook.
If you suffer from any of the follow, you are likely to see situations as stressful when they may not in reality be so

• Perfectionism
• Desire to please others
• Insecurity
• Fear of failure
• Lack of flexibility
• Negativity
• Need for control
• Unable to ask for help
• Fierely independent

Some self-reflection may help you not to perceive events around you as stressful. Try asking these questions;

• Is what you dealing with really that important?
• Live in the present, not the future. Are things that bad today?
• What is it that I am stressing about? Why? Is it that bad?
• What good may come out of this situation?
• What is one way I could reduce the stress in this situation?
• Who can I talk to about this? Friends, partner, colleagues, boss, spiritual leader, shrink?
• Is there anything positive about this situation? Could I make it more so?
• What other coping strategies could I try?

3. Physical Resistance

There are two components to this area: releasing stress and increasing relaxation.
Releasing Stress

Exercise! Preferably after the stess, i.e. after work. It clear the stress hormones: adrenaline and noradrenaline. But not for too long. Exceeding an hour of medium to high intensity exercise will release more cortisol which will be counter-productive. As Matt Kay recommended, try intervals when doing cardio, or do weights, or punch a bag or pads in spurts.
Increasing Relaxation

Improving your nutrition is a great start to helping you be more relaxed. Try:

• Make sure you have a decent breakfast with wholegrains and protein (oats, egg whites, etc)
• Eat some regular meals throughout the day
• Take a lunch break, do not eat at your desk or 'on the fly'
• Avoid sugars and refined carbohydrates (white pasta, bread, rice, etc)
• Try to avoid caffeine and stimulants
• Eats lots of fruit and vegetables
• Drink lots of water - dehydration of only 3% can increase your sense of effort by 70%.

You could also try the following relaxation strategies

• Meditate or just sit quietly for a few minutes, visualising non-stressful situations
• Listen to music, read enjoyable books and do not watch TV just for the sake of it
• Conduct deep breathing at least once per day
• Enjoy a long bath or shower... with a partner? ;-)

What If You Can Not Avoid Stress?
Nutrition is something that most people can attempt to alter to help them cope with stressors. However there are some supplements that can help you deal with stress and try to regulate your stress hormone (adrenaline. noradrenalin, cortisol) outputs.
Siberian Ginseng
Siberian Ginseng is an adaptogen. An adaptogen is a natural herb product that increases the body's resistance to stress, trauma and fatigue.
Ginseng's name comes from the Chinese jen shen, which means ‘man root’, so-named because some roots have limb-like branches resembling arms and legs.
Nutri-Calm
During stress, your body becomes depleted in Vitamin Bs and c. This supplement contains a mixture of B-complex vitamins and vitamin C, plus camomille and anti-oxidants to calm you down and prevent damage from free-radicals which are produced during stress.
Hops and Valerian Root
Hops and Valerian Root are excellent herbs to help relax you and help you sleep. This supplement can also be taken by those who suffer from any phobias, eg. fear of flying, to help calm them before and during the activity.
Perilla & Cyperus Combination
This is another supplement based on Eastern herbs to help with coping with stress. Perilla is also helpful in the relief and prevention of seasonal allergies and hayfever.