Lifestyle Corner

What does it take to get that healthy and fit body and keep it for life? The answer lies in your ability to navigate the stresses in your life without neglecting yourself.

Do you ever get the feeling that you are in a constant state of siege because of family and work obligations? Your best laid plans fall to the wayside as you battle to cope with daily life events---sick kids, work deadlines, micro-managing bosses, traffic jams and stressed-out spouses. Exercise time and healthful eating are the first casualties of this daily war.

The good news is that you can work it out so that you can learn to hold onto your fitness achievements despite what life tosses your way. How? With a four-letter word--PLAN. One of my favorite sayings is:

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

Make stress resilience one of your goals in life. The ability to adapt, adjust, and cope with whatever hand you are dealt can help you navigate stress-and possibly prevent it-without losing sight of yourself. To be resilient, you need to have a plan (Plan A) for maintaining your healthy living. Have backup plans (Plan B, C, or D) on hand to activate should something occur. Running late with no time to get to the grocery store for dinner items? Plan B takes care of it: Use the frozen and canned foods you bought last week in case this happens.

Remember, too, that your success in learning stress resilience depends on your ability to pull from your creative and flexible nature when necessary.

Try not to feel defeated when your plans have to change. Accept the Plan B or C and go with it. Don't be a victim to skipped meals or fast foods: Have that canned soup and frozen vegetables ready to go.

Let's look at some tips to help you along the way.

What if: You wake up late and have to be at work for a meeting?

Then you: Slide into Plan B. Grab your canister of protein powder and scoop it into your blender with water or skim milk and some fruit and blend it quickly. Pour it into your coffee mug or a thermos, and drink it on your way to work. Also grab an apple or pear as you run out the front door.

What if: You child is sick in the morning, your kids miss the bus, or the baby-sitter doesn't show?

Then you: Have your breakfast at home, pack a lunch to eat at your desk since you won't have time to go out. In your car, eat baby carrots and/or fruit on the way to work in the mid-morning.

What if: You'll be getting home late from work and have to take the kids to soccer practice?

Then you: Don't panic. Pack a sandwich for your dinner and put it in the little cooler in your car. Round out your dinner with other goodies you have already placed in your cooler---nonfat yogurt, baby carrots, fruit.

What if: You are starved. The midafternoon munchies have hit and you succumb to a handful of cookies?

Then you: Still eat dinner, but cut the portions by one-third and take a walk before or after you eat.

What if: After dinner, your appetite kicks in!

Then you: Check to see if you are anxious and feeling stressed. When stress hormones are elevated, they can stimulate your appetite for carbohydrates and fat. If you are not stressed out and truly feeling some hunger, then have a snack that includes protein, such as one or two pieces of low fat string cheese, a yogurt, a small fruit smoothie, or even a small cup of cereal with skim milk.

With practice, you can learn to shift from one plan to the next and realize that it's not the end of the world. Depend on your creativity and ingenuity to save the day. Stress resilience is achieved with a PLAN and with daily refinements and adjustments. Your reward is the ability to keep yourself and your health in focus throughout your life whenever stress strikes.

Pamela M. Peeke MD, MPH, Pew Foundation Scholar in Nutrition and Metabolism, is Medical Advisor to the NWHRC; she also is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and author of the best selling book Fight Fat After Forty (Viking Press, 2000).

Click www.drpeeke.com, Dr. Peeke's Web site featuring health and wellness issues for women.