It’s no secret that stress levels today among the general population are higher than they may have ever been before. It’s also no surprise that obesity has become a dangerous trend in America. Could the two be related? A new study by University of NSW offers scientific evidence that lends credence to the idea that stress may be making us fat as we turn to fatty, sugary comfort foods to ease our stress levels.

If like many Americans your goal is to shed pounds, consider looking for solutions beyond diet and exercise and make a conscious effort to de-stress your life. De-stressing is a catch 22. If you’re already stressed out and unhappy, engaging in activities that will make you happy can take effort that you just can’t seem to muster up. The trick is to realize when you are comfort eating and making a conscious effort to engage in some other form of positive behavior instead.

Here are 3 simple and fun ways to de-stress that you can easily work into your life and start shedding those unwanted pounds.

Watch a comedy: Even if you’re not in the mood for a comedy, get yourself to the theater or the rental store to and find yourself a good comedy that will get you laughing. The act of laughing is a powerful stress reliever. If you’re feeling stressed at work and can’t leave right away, open up the movie listings online or browse through movie rental titles online to get your mind off of what’s causing you stress and start planning your few-hour get-away.

Limit news watching: 24 hour news channels are desperate for content to fill up their air time. Unfortunately much of the “news” is tabloid-type shock and awe material, not real news. Whether you watch the news or not, these things will still happen in the world and there’s not much you can do about it. Why subject yourself to the added stress of these negative messages? Try not watching the news for a week and see how much your stress levels drop.

Play a game: When you need stress relief fast, try playing a handheld video game for 10 or 15 minutes! A portable game player is a great investment in stress relief – even if you don’t consider yourself the game type. When you focus your concentration on the game, you momentarily forget about whatever it is that is causing your stress in your life. Try carrying one with you and picking it up and playing a round whenever you feel like grabbing some comfort food.

In short – have more fun! The world has become so serious that as a culture, it seems that we have forgotten how to have fun. In response, our stress levels have skyrocketed and our waistlines have exploded. If you’re a serious stress case, you may have to force yourself to try some of these things, but once you begin enjoying yourself, you and your waistline will thank you.

Tags: Stress //