We all like our ‘comfort’ foods, especially when we are feeling stressed. You know the kind I mean - fast food, big meals, takeout, fatty foods, sweet foods, and alcohol. Let’s face it – we all find some comfort in a tasty meal and a bottle of beer or glass of wine when we stress out or get upset about something.
There is nothing wrong with that in moderation; however, it’s not a good permanent solution.
When you are turning to what you regard as unhealthy foods you can feel better temporarily, but in the long run, you will feel worse. If your body is not getting the right nutrition, you will feel less energetic, more lethargic, and sometimes unable to concentrate and focus. What does that lead to? YES - even more stress.

Stress-less foods
If you’ve been feeling more stressed out than usual lately, it’s important to know which foods to choose and which to avoid when it comes to redressing stress and helping you to deal with feelings of anxiety.
With food and nutrition, the best way to stress-less is to have a healthy, balanced diet, which includes each of the different food groups.
Filling up on foods such as whole grains, leafy vegetables, and lean proteins as the basic staples of your diet is the best way to ensure your body gets the optimum amounts of nutrients to fight both physical and mental health problems. When choosing the foods to eat, remember many have a range of magnificent properties that help the body redress stress. Choosing stress-less foods will help to heal and calm your mind permanently, rather than providing a temporary fix.
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Some of the best stress-less foods include:

• Avocado – Avocados are a creamy and versatile fruit that you can eat in a range of different ways whether you enjoy it raw, made into sauces, dressings and dips, or in a smoothie. These nutrient-dense fruits have the properties to stress-proof your body, thanks to their high glutathione content, which specifically blocks the intestinal absorption of certain fats that cause oxidative damage. Avocados also contain higher levels of vitamin E, folate, and beta-carotene than any other fruit, which boosts their stress-less properties. 
• Blueberries – If you’re feeling stressed out and reaching for the snacks, swapping chocolate or chips for one of the best superfoods is a great way to help you deal with your stress levels and achieve a higher level of calm. Blueberries have some of the highest levels of antioxidants, especially anthocyanin. This berry has links to a wide range of health benefits including sharper cognition, better focus, and a clearer mind – all of which can help you stress-less.
• Chamomile Tea – Of course, it’s not all about what you’re eating, what you’re drinking can also ease or increase the stress you’re feeling. Drinking liquids high in sugars and caffeine, such as coffee, energy drinks or soda, can increase your stress levels if consumed regularly. Chamomile tea is a natural bedtime soother, and clinical trials have determined that chamomile is effective in reducing the symptoms of generalised anxiety disorder.
• Chocolate – Although it’s usually seen as an unhealthy treat, there is an undeniable link between chocolate and our mood. Studies have shown that eating chocolate can actually make you happier. However, that doesn’t mean that you can start munching on chocolate bars every time you’re stressed out – chocolate helps you stress-less when eaten in moderation and as part of a healthy and balanced diet. Dark chocolate particularly is best for you, as it contains more flavonols and polyphenols, two hugely important antioxidants that can help redress stress, more than many fruit juices.
• Beef – Grass-fed beef is not only kinder to the planet and to animals; it is good for people too. Grass-fed beef has a huge range of antioxidants, including beta-carotene and Vitamin C and E, which can help your body to stress-less. If you are looking for more reasons to spend a little more money on organic, grass-fed beef, it is also lower in fat than grain-fed beef whilst being higher in omega-3.
• Oatmeal – Oatmeal can be a filling comfort food, but also has many healthy properties to make you feel better from the inside out. A complex carbohydrate, oatmeal causes your brain to produce higher levels of the feel-good chemical serotonin, helping you to feel calmer and stress-less. Studies have shown that kids who choose oatmeal for breakfast have a tendency to be much sharper throughout the morning in school compared to kids who had alternative breakfasts.
• Walnuts – If you are looking for a healthy snacking option that will help you stay in control of your stress levels, walnuts are a superb choice. Walnuts have a sweet, pleasant flavour and are a tasty snack for in-between meals or as part of a desert. A versatile nut, walnuts are great for salads, or add them to a sweet treat such as coffee and walnut cake.
• Pistachios – another great snacking food that helps to redress stress and anxiety in the long term is pistachios. Did you know, simply eating two small, snack-size portions of pistachios per day can lower vascular constriction during stress, which puts less pressure on your heart by dilating your arteries. Along with this, the rhythmic, repetitive act of shelling pistachios can actually be quite therapeutic.
• Green Leafy Vegetables – leafy, green vegetables should be a pivotal part of everyone´s diet. Along with helping you to stress-less, leafy greens are full of nutrients and antioxidants, which help to fight off disease and leave your body feeling healthier and more energised. Dark leafy greens, for example spinach, are especially good for you since they are rich in folate, which helps your body to produce more mood-regulating neurotransmitters such as serotonin - a ‘feel-good’ chemical. Making leafy greens a part of your diet will help you feel happier and stress-less.
• Fermented foods – eating fermented foods like yogurt can help to keep your gut healthy, improve your mental health, and reduce stress levels. The beneficial bacteria found in fermented foods have a direct effect on your brain chemistry and transmit positive mood and behaviour regulating signals to your brain via the vagus nerve.

Plan to stress-less
Planning your meals wisely is the key to  staying physically fit and healthy, mentally strong, and being able to stress-less. It really helps to know the foods to avoid and the foods that are best to reach for as snacks when you are feeling worried and anxious. 
During stress it can be tempting to eat classic ‘comfort foods’ – these are usually foods high in sugar, very starchy, or greasy. However, although these foods can make you feel temporarily better, they will  make you feel worse in the long run.
Stress-less snacks include:

• fresh berries
• dark chocolate
• yogurt
• walnuts
• pistachios
• fruit smoothie with avocado and leafy greens

Eating a healthy, balanced diet is one of the best ways to stress-less.
When you are dealing with worry or anxiety leading to stress, it is a good idea to make sure you have a selection of stress-less foods in your kitchen. Making sure that your meals include foods such as lean proteins and leafy green vegetables will not only make you feel healthier overall, it will improve your mental health and stress levels, too.

An example of a healthy, stress-less menu:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with berries / fruit smoothie with avocado and berries
Mid-morning snack: Natural yogurt with fruit /handful of pistachio nuts
Lunch: A whole-grain pasta salad filled with plenty of leafy greens
Afternoon snack: Dark chocolate
Dinner: Grass-fed beef with vegetables
Before bed: Chamomile tea
 
There is a saying – “you are what you eat”.
Make sure you are filling yourself up with foods that are good for your mental health.
Everything in moderation - and balance is the key! Stress-less!

Find out how to Redress Stress in 5 easy steps here....

What is self-awareness, and what do we gain from it?
If you look up the meaning of self-awareness, it says - "conscious knowledge of one's own character and feelings." It says nothing about how to deal with it when you dislike what you become aware of. 
 
In today's world, I believe that self-awareness is recognising how you feel and accepting that you are the only one who can change it.
To grow, you must accept 100% responsibility, and then you can take back your power. If you do not know yourself, your beliefs, your dreams, your strengths, and your weaknesses, you cannot do that. When you have access to how you feel on an emotional level and recognise how it affects your beliefs and therefore your actions, it is transformational.
As a life coach, the greatest gift we offer our clients is the space, encouragement, and support to find the connection to their emotions. We can then support self-awareness and self-empowerment.
Too often self-awareness advocates focus on looking inward and ignoring the external environment.
It is important to acknowledge both internal and external awareness because self-awareness encompasses both.
When you begin your journey into awareness and take stock of how you feel about your situations and environment, it opens you up to so many things that you did not notice before. Using your five senses to experience fully how the environment you see, hear, smell, touch, and taste translates internally to your sixth sense (your emotions) is the key to self-awareness. Taking this holistic view allows you to connect to self-awareness and relate to your situations and environment, knowing what is right for you, and how to deal with what you feel is not right for you.
Connecting to every experience and every situation and then looking inward to your feelings, your beliefs, and then your reactions to your world enable true self-awareness. By making how you feel your number 1 priority, no matter what, you become truly self-aware. 
The road to self-awareness leads to letting go of all self-judgements and self-expectations; it means giving yourself a break, in the same way you would for a friend or loved one, be kind to yourself, and accept who you are, warts and all.
 
Many people believe they are more self-aware than they are because they find it challenging to be honest with themselves. It's easier to ignore those feelings of guilt, shame, and unworthiness than to look deep inside and take responsibility for them. The best way to develop self-awareness is to take time to connect to how you feel and accept that it's ok to feel whatever it is and it's also ok to change it when you are ready. When you become adept at connecting to your inner emotional state, you may find there are many times when you dislike what you feel, you then have the power to change it.
 
Look at your beliefs, your strengths, and your weaknesses. If you are self-aware, you will instinctively know how you feel about anything and if it is right for you. You, and only you, know what you need, what will work for you, and what will not.
When you are undecided it is ok for you to pause and connect to that inner knowing, then to choose if, and when the right time is for you.
So, what  is self-awareness, and what do we gain from it?
It is connecting to how you feel and being ok with whatever that is in the knowledge that you have control. We become empowered. 
Whatever you are doing today, enjoy, have fun, and feel good!
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​#FreeFloLiving #KeepItSuperSimple #RedressStress

History: study of past events
Hi: greeting, informal
Story: an account of something real or imaginary, usually narrated for entertainment or information
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What is your Hi Story?
Your Hi-story is how you identify (with) yourself.
It is your personal history (story), which is made up of the experiences you have had and the memories you have of them throughout your life.
Whenever we meet someone new, we ask questions to find out more about them.
How do you tell someone new about you? The words you use are so powerful, especially when they have an emotional connection.
Every time you tell your story, you are updating it in your mind. It's like updating your software on your computer.