{"id":16897,"date":"2022-12-23T18:41:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-23T18:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/?p=16897"},"modified":"2023-05-17T01:59:08","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T01:59:08","slug":"exercise-and-stress-tips-from-a-dietitian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/exercise-and-stress-tips-from-a-dietitian\/","title":{"rendered":"Exercise and stress: 4 tips to work it out from a dietitian\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"Feeling stressed? You\u2019re not alone. More than half of Americans struggle with some level of stress every day.1 And while the cause of stress isn\u2019t always the same, there is one thing we can all do to help manage it: exercise. Working out not only helps boost your overall wellness, but it helps your brain produce endorphins, a type of hormone that reduces stress and promotes the feeling of pleasure.2Follow these tips to learn how to start exercising regularly to manage your stress.Tip #1: Set SMART goalsWhen it comes to starting a new workout routine, it\u2019s easy to be all-or-nothing. We imagine ourselves needing to spend hours at the gym to work out every muscle in our body. If we can\u2019t do that \u2013 we don\u2019t do it at all. The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate to intense exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week.3 Even that can be intimidating, but you don\u2019t have to jump in blindly. A better option: approach your goals strategically to make long-lasting changes.Set SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound goals. 4In other words, create smaller, reasonable goals that are well-defined and relevant to your main goal, and make sure you can track progress to know when you\u2019ve reached the finish line. For example, a not-so-smart goal would be, \u201cI will exercise more in the new year,\u201d while a SMART goal would be, \u201cI will go on a 30-minute brisk walk after work 4 times a week for the next month.\u201d Use the SMART goal method to help start making small shifts in your day-to-day routine to help manage stress.Tip #2: Do what you loveDespite how many times your BFF tries to convince you to tag along her AM jog and that you\u2019ll feel great the rest of the day \u2013 if you loathe every minute and step of that run, it\u2019s not going to last. You don\u2019t have to run (unless if you like it!) or do exercises that make you feel stressed out just thinking about them. You have options! Find activities YOU have fun with and enjoy doing. If you\u2019re not sure what you enjoy yet, here\u2019s some ideas to help get you started:Join your local gym and try out different group classesConnect with a trainer and give weightlifting a shotIf you prefer working out at home, you can access thousands of videos online and strength train or do aerobic exercises with little to no equipmentWalking is also a simple and effective activity that you can do just about anywhere, anytimeNo matter what form of exercise you choose, make sure it\u2019s something you look forward to and it\u2019ll become a stress-reducing habit in no time.Tip #3: Change your mindsetToo often we connect exercise to just tipping the scale, but it has so many other benefits beyond that. It improves your heart, immunity, gut and joint health to name a few. While dropping a belt size can be a motivating factor, but if that\u2019s your *only* reason for working out, it can easily feel like a chore and add to stress. Plus, the lifestyle often won\u2019t last long. It\u2019ll feel like something you have to do instead of something you get to do to feel good and stay healthy. Reach your goals by building a positive relationship with exercise and focus on long-term health benefits like building muscle and bone strength, reducing disease risk, and of course, managing your stress.Tip #4: Fuel your body correctlyAs you make changes to your activity level, you might need to alter your diet too. It\u2019s important to ensure you\u2019re fueling your body not with just enough food but also the right nutrients. The last thing you want is to run out of energy mid-set. The type of fuel needed will depend on the type of exercise you\u2019re doing, but in general, it\u2019s important to get enough protein, carbs, healthy fats and water.In short: Choose nourishing foods to fuel your workouts, support recovery from the physical stress caused by exercise, and your overall daily stress levels.5,6If you want some additional nutrient support to aid your workouts, read 5 best supplements for exercise recovery.About TannazTannaz is a Registered Dietitian (RD) with a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Science and Dietetics from San Jose State University. She is experienced in providing nutrition care to individuals and communities of various backgrounds and is passionate about using evidence-based science to make nutrition accessible and sustainable for everyone.Do you have questions about supplements? Reach out to one of our experts, or take Persona\u2019s free nutrition assessment, and learn exactly what you need to take your wellness to the next level.*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.This information is not intended as a substitute for the advice provided by your physician or other healthcare professional, or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. Do not use the information from this article for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, or prescribing medication or other treatment. Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professional before taking any medication or nutritional, herbal, or homeopathic supplement, or using any treatment for a health problem. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem, contact your health care provider promptly. Do not disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking professional advice because of something you have read in this article.","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Feeling stressed? You\u2019re not alone. More than half of Americans struggle with some level of stress every day.1 And while the cause of stress isn\u2019t always the same, there is one thing we can all do to help manage it: exercise.","protected":false},"author":1179,"featured_media":18521,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[672,1825,1893,1905],"tags":[1953,1975],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16897"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16897"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18085,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16897\/revisions\/18085"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.personanutrition.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}