Part 3: The Solution
Now that we have dispelled common beliefs about exercise and even gone so far as to explain many of the underlying causes of stress in a person with a depleted stress reserve, it is time to find an answer. As I came to the conclusion of my conversation with Sam, I felt hope. With the right dietary and exercise adjustments, true and complete ‘fitness’ can be achieved. This type of fitness does not come from an indomitable will over exhaustion, or the ability to lift or run a certain number. Instead real ‘fitness’ comes from holistic integration of exercise and diet with the realities of the other stress factors in our life, leading to inner and outer harmony.
Amrita: Stress can depend on where you are too right on earth; there are some places that are less stressful than others?
Sam: I would imagine so, but I’m sure we could really measure HOW stressful one thing is relative to another. This makes it challenging when we have to prioritize, but can also stop people from focusing on such small elements of stress obsessively. For example some people are so resistant to reducing mental/emotional stress or changing jobs or whatever is really bothering them that they resort to obsessing over things like removing EVERY possible food sensitivity they can find. My question is, if we take the bigger stressors that are going on in our lives and we knock them out how detailed do we really have to be? Is it really necessary to turn our lives upside down with these kind of lifestyle restrictions?
Going after more obvious stressors like excessive dietary restrictions, high mental-emotional stressors, and excessive exercise are probably more likely to allow repletion of stress reserves, so that we don’t have to sweat the small stuff.
Amrita: You had mentioned loneliness at one point as being a big factor in someone’s vitality.
Sam: I have seen people get divorced and lose thirty pounds very rapidly.
Amrita: Wow.
Sam: I mean, these are extreme examples but it just goes to show you that it does happen. For that individual it was a tremendous amount of emotional stress, so the reserve pumps out cortisol 24/7, and maybe the rest of the day they are working a job they hate. Despite sporadically going into positive emotional states you know maybe when they were watching TV, the person was deeply draining the adaptive reserve.
When you remove a large chunk of that stress it’s going to make a huge difference on the entire system. Now all of the sudden when somebody you know who is in a bad marriage gets divorced and now they have less dietary restrictions, how did that happen? It’s not because they spontaneously were tolerating these foods again it’s because the reserve built up a little bit. It doesn’t mean that they couldn’t benefit from cutting further stresses out; it just means that now with a larger reserve they can handle the stress.
Conclusion
Through our conversation one thing became clear to me above all else; everyone is different. Though we can certainly all benefit from some similar practices of general health, each person has a particularly reserve and capacity to handle stress. In order to maintain ourselves for a long time, we must work with our bodies in an individualized manner. This is why I, as well as Sam, always deal with clients using ultimate personalization, because the goal is to create your personal ideal ‘fitness’.
Physical appearance is a good indicator of health, but in no way is it the best one. Begin by looking at your diet, and then move to consistently vary your workout routines, always with the idea of adapting your bodies to new styles of stress without over exhaustion. Please feel free to check out these other articles on my sites that will help lead you in the right direction.
Part 1: Fitness misconceptions
Part 3: Solutions and holistic approach to fitness