• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Retreats, Classes & Events
  • Work with me
  • Blog
  • Recipes
  • Private Events
  • Corporate Wellness

happy eats healthy

being healthy is finally delicious!

 

Healthy Chicago Cooking Classes

stress

stress means sickness

over 75% of all doctors visits are due to this.

According to The American Institute of Stress, up to 90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related problems.

Eh gads.

So even with all the focus on mindfulness, meditation and stress relieving tactics we see being promoted in every news show, blog, magazine and phone apps, stress continues to strong-arm us daily.

For adults, job stress tends to top the list, but stress and anxiety among our youth has escalated due to peer pressure challenges, personal safety concerns, unhealthy lifestyles and social isolation.

What’s interesting is that modern day stress is more pervasive, persistent and insidious because it stems primarily from psychological rather than physical threats. Yet it’s these type of emotional stressors that we can gain the most control over.

You’ve likely read about or have had others tell you about, various stress-reducing tactics numerous times already, so I’m not going to go into a list here. If you need a few ideas, check out my past blogs on how mindfulness minimizes stress, on breathing away stress, reiki for stress and stress and a bad diet.

Today the focus is on consistency. Because reading a book or a blog, watching a news show and listening to a podcast doesn’t change your health. YOU DO!

Stress is contagious.

Could relaxation be too?

Actually doing something, and consistency in that something, is what makes a difference on your wellness journey.

The book Unhealthy Work claims that stress is a $1 trillion health epidemic and is a factor in five out of the six leading causes of death — heart disease, cancer, stroke, lower respiratory disease, and accidents.

It’s enough to make a person stressed out!

Consistency is the answer. Stopping to take a breath, or to do a round of self care once or twice is great. But it’s not going to move the needle. The more your make this a priority in your life, the more it becomes a habit and more resilient you’ll be to manage whatever stress comes your way.

Also remember that stress is actually contagious. Choosing with who and how you spend your time can help you make strides to finding more balance in your health.

path to happiness

Finding Your Path to Happiness

********SAVE $50, REGISTER BEFORE DECMEBER 31ST********

Taking Control of Your Body and Your Space

The pursuit of happiness is a personal journey different for every individual. No matter our path, one of the biggest challenges to achieving and maintaining happiness is the stress and anxiety we experience in our lives. Controlling the many factors that drive stress can be a huge effort in itself, but by focusing on what’s best for your body, and what’s best for your space — whether at home or work — you can learn to thrive everyday!
 
Many think it will take a profound effort or event to find happiness, but happiness needs to be built and it takes small, gradual steps to elevate your own mood. In this workshop, participants will discover the key to unlocking the happiness potential within. You’ll walk away armed with tools that you can implement and lean on for the rest of your life.
 
Join Monique Costello, Health Educator, Functional Medicine Coach and Wellness Chef, and Bill Schwingel,  Master Teacher of Feng Shui, for a unique workshop focused on how what we take into our bodies and place in our spaces affect the stress and anxiety we feel day to day. They will share their more than 40 years of combined corporate and wellness experience to create a healing environment so you can take control of the stressors in your life and design your own happiness with practical and proven tools and techniques.
You’ll receive our special workshop workbook which will lead you long after our time together.
.
Workshop delivered via Zoom- join from anywhere!!
Cost: $300 –SAVE $50, REGISTER BEFORE DECEMBER 31st.

Register  today and get on your path to happiness!

~payment is through Paypal~

SAVE $50, REGISTER BEFORE DECEMBER 31st. 

What’s worse: Stress or a Bad Diet?

Which of these is worse: stress or a bad diet? And what does your sex have to do with it?

Any guesses?

We know a bad diet wrecks havoc on bodies, including skin, hair, mental mode, sleep, hormones, our microbiome and everything in-between. Over time, a bad diet results in much higher risks of developing serious conditions like heart disease and diabetes.

But did you know that long-term, chronic stress actually has similar effects on our bodies as well? Think about it this way- have you ever been so stressed out that you developed a headache. Or you couldn’t sleep? Or eat? (or perhaps over-ate?)Or your stomach hurt? Sound familiar?

Negative impact of stress on our digestive system is really not a new concept. But a study (on mice) suggests how dramatically different male and female mice responded. Gut microbes of male mice that were exposed to stress only (with no diet change) did not change. However, female mice handled the in the same manner (exposed to stress only with no diet change) saw dramatic shifts in their gut microbes, changing as if there were actually eating a high-fat, junk food diet.  Whoa!

Let’s be careful to not think that this means men aren’t ever affected by stress and can eat whatever they want. And for us women- this is not the time to throw in the towel and give up.

Our bodies were designed to deal with stress, think flight or fight. We run across a tiger, every system in the body that isn’t needed at that moment (like digestion) gives up its energy to help the body either fight, or run away from, the tiger. Once we get away from the tiger, our body calms down and eventually returns to a normal state.

In modern society, we don’t necessarily run across tigers but we do have traffic, bad bosses, bills, kids, relationships, news, politics, alarms, deadlines, noise, toxic environments, pesticides … something is always there to cause us stress. So we are always in this flight or fight state (ie, chronically stressing the body functions).

The biggest problems arise when we live in this chronic state of stress. Chronic stress increases [silent] inflammation in the body, which is at the heart of every chronic disease known to man.

The best way to respond to this study, and studies like it, is through lifestyle changes. Reduce stress or learn to manage it. Here are a few of my favorite ways:

  • breathing/meditating
  • try more restorative exercise like yoga/tai chi/qigong
  • eating whole, clean, organic foods (most of the time)
  • slow down, be more mindful and present
  • take time for self care

Do you need help managing stress? Reach out let’s talk about how having a Health Coach on your team can improve your health.

Happy Day

~Monique

Primary Sidebar

Search

Things I Like

footprints

the importance of remembering how far you’ve come

Remembering how far you've come can be ...

Keep reading

pink-salt-benefits

my #1 salt choice

If you've followed me in any way, shape ...

Keep reading

Check out all the things I like

Your chef

Monique Costello Happy Eats Healthy Chef

About Us

Want to find your happy? You hold the key!

Happy Eats Healthy exists to help others learn about and incorporate the healing power of clean foods in their lifestyle while experiencing how delicious healthy can be. Also, cooking and eating and socializing are FUN!

> LEARN MORE

Private Events

Happy Eats Healthy Private Events

Hosting a private event?

Don’t stress, we’ll cook for you!

> LEARN MORE

Recent Posts

  • 10-minute Korean Ground Beef {df, gf}
  • Bailey’s Irish Cream Mocktail {v, gf}
  • GF Quinoa Pizza
  • GF Focaccia Bread {gf, v}
  • Bison Osso Buco with Kale {low fodmap}

Read by category

  • Apps & Snacks
  • baking
  • Beauty
  • blogging
  • Bread
  • Breakfast
  • Breakfast
  • Dairy-Free
  • Dessert
  • Detox
  • Drinks & Cocktails
  • Fall
  • Fermentation
  • from scratch
  • Gluten-Free
  • Happy Eats Healthy
  • Home
  • Kitchen
  • Main
  • Meats & Fish
  • Paleo
  • Recipes
  • Salads
  • Sauces
  • Season
  • Self Care
  • Sides
  • Skin Care
  • soap
  • Soups
  • Special Diets
  • Spring
  • Summer
  • Super Foods
  • Supplements
  • Sweets
  • Things I Like
  • Tools
  • Tutorials
  • vegan
  • Vegan
  • vegetarian
  • Vegetarian
  • Veggies
  • Winter

Archives

Footer

Join the Party

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

More to Explore

  • About Us
  • Things I Like
  • Happy Clients
  • Contact

Want More Monique?

Visit her here

Copyright © 2023 · Happy Eats Healthy · All Rights Reserved