Surviving Divorce & Separation: Coping Skills: Staying Healthy Through Your Divorce:
Walking is an anywhere, anytime activity and a social sport. Grab a friend or two at lunch, slip off
your heels or loafers and put on your walking shoes for a trek through the great outdoors. It beats slouching around the coffee machine. The benefits that you get from walking include:
- Greater energy
- Greater resistance to illness
- Greater resistance to stress
- Less susceptibility to injury than most other forms of exercise
- Lower anxiety
- Lower risk of certain degenerative diseases
- Stronger bones and stronger, more efficient lungs
Good nutrition goes hand-in-hand with an exercise routine. What you eat and drink affects your entire physical-mental self. Like a car low on fluids, the body gives signals of distress when it is not well-nourished. If you exist on cola and sugar, your mood swings or episodes of hyperactivity probably rule your productivity and sense of well-being. Like a car, your body can't operate well on low-quality fuel. Good nutrition goes a long way toward taking care of yourself. Here are some do's and don'ts:
- DO eat 2-3 balanced meals a day or "graze" throughout the day on wholesome foods
- DO shop for the four basic food groups - grains/ cereals, fruits & vegetables, meat/protein, dairy
- DO eat fish for vitamin A
- DO eat small portions and eat slowly
- DO eat with someone at least once per day
- DO drink 6-8 glasses of water per day
- DO pamper yourself and splurge occasionally
- DO use polyunsaturated fats
- DO learn the cholesterol levels of foods
- DO remember what you eat affects your performance and try to monitor what works for you
- DO spread your intake of food among all your meals
- DO enjoy a pleasant atmosphere for eating
- DON'T skip meals
- DON'T argue while eating
- DON'T eat while standing
- DON'T overuse alcohol, especially while eating
- DON'T eat late at night
- DON'T make a habit of eating at odd hours
- DON'T rush while eating
With diet and exercise well under control, you are well on your way toward coping with stress.
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