I hope your weekend wasn’t as snowy as mine. In NYC, we got about a foot. I love snow, however, because I’m not a student, and the possibility of school being canceled is no longer an option, it’s not all that exciting once it turns to slush.

If anything, it adds to the stress some of us are facing – especially the week of Christmas as it only makes holiday shopping that much more difficult.

A good solution is to engage in some activities like exercise that aid in reducing anxiety as this time of year is certainly riddled with it!

So, how exactly does exercise make you less anxious?

Well last month, at the annual meeting of neuroscience in Chicago, preliminary results were presented. One group of rats were allowed to run while the other one wasn’t.

Then all of the rats were forced to swim in cold water, which they don’t like to do.

Afterward, the scientists examined the brains of all the rats. They found that the stress of the swimming activated neurons in all of the brains. The researchers could tell which neurons were activated because the cells expressed specific genes in response to the stress.

But the youngest brain cells in the rats that ran, that scientists assumed were created by running, were less likely to express the genes. They generally remained quiet.

According to the researchers, “the cells born from running appeared to have been specifically buffered from exposure to a stressful experience.” Through running, the rats had created a brain that seemed biochemically calm!

For years it has been known that exercise enhances our mood.

In another experiment done at the University of Colorado in Boulder, it proved that rats who had run prior to being exposed to a laboratory stressor, were less anxious and helpless despite the stress.

According to Michael Hopkins, a graduate student at Dartmouth, “It looks more and more like the positive stress of exercise prepares cells and structures and pathways within the brain so they’re more equipped to handle stress in other forms.”

Which means that what you do physically (exercise wise) absolutely affects your mental capacity to deal with stress! This is incredible.

(Two for the price of one. Make yourself physically and mentally stronger at the same time. I won’t even get into all of the other benefits of exercise for your future self and your current self!)

However, these changes don’t happen overnight. Rats that only ran for 3 weeks didn’t show much change. But those that did for 6 weeks or more did. Something happens between 3 and 6 weeks – another reason why it’s essential to keep on going!

They’ve only tested the benefits of aerobic exercise like running, walking, biking or swimming.

According to doctors you may not feel the change after your first session of cardio. However, in the long run the molecular biochemical changes that will occur are profound!

In short: Aerobic exercise *consistently* will make you less anxious and help you deal with stress better in the future.

So I’ve been paying attention to this closely for a while now. I know that when I eat certain foods, it makes me want other foods. Nothing new there.

But what is new is actually knowing what your trigger foods are!

For example, whenever I have ketchup, I have to have pickles. Ketchup just makes me in the mood for pickles. Harmless enough.

Here’s another one: Whenever I have marinara sauce, it makes me want chocolate.

And another: Whenever I have salty chips, it makes me in the mood for sugar.

Here’s one for many people: Whenever they have a few drinks, sometimes too many, it makes them in the mood for anything and everything.

Being aware of your trigger foods is really helpful if the foods aren’t MBT approved. Start thinking about that today and this weekend.

Does eating one food always lead to another?

Ya have to have those fries with that burger right? Guilty.

Ya have to dip the bread into the sauce right? Guilty.

I can go on and on.

It’s interesting though when you start noticing these patterns because I think it’s a lot easier to resist marinara sauce than it is chocolate.

And at the very least being aware of this helps a lot. It’s the first step to breaking free from the conditioning we’re used to.

One of the many rationalizations we all face is the good old “Enjoy life now!”

When I eat healthfully and exercise – I feel better, in other words, happier, than if I didn’t.

But I love cookies. I love ice cream. I love hamburgers. I really do!

And I indulge!

However, I make sure I’m indulging for the right reasons and that I really do want what I’m eating and not just eating it because it’s available.

This leads to the whole now versus later debate we all have with ourselves.

“Screw Adam, screw MBT, screw the Daily Feedback! I want to enjoy life now!” you rationalize.

That’s the devil on your shoulder talking to the Body Tutor.

So try this thought on for size:

Why not enjoy life now, even if it means more health problems later?

Go for that cookie! Go for that burger! Go for that ice cream! Do it all the time!

But it seems to me, unless you are already taking heroin you aren’t being true to your own philosophy. Why not enjoy a good high now? Who cares what happens later!?

Most of us, though, have always thought about later on…and not now.

Usually, we wake up and do the things we do, to set ourselves up for a better future.

The one downside of planning ahead is that you may enjoy today a tad less. The upside is that your future might be a bit better! Maybe even a lot better!

Either way, we’re going to suffer (I say this word very loosely) from the pain of discipline or the pain of regret and disappointment.

I’m not saying my approach is right, but I don’t think it’s fair to call the “live for today” approach any kind of philosophy unless you’re also quitting your job, doing heroin, living at McDonald’s and only doing what feels the best every minute of your life.

Junkies have a philosophy. You have rationalizations.

Now there’s always a twist:

It turns out – I actually enjoy today more when I eat and exercise for the future. We all have days when we do nothing but eat and watch TV which are certainly fun. But I always feel even better when I’m eating right and exercising.

It turns out living and planning for the future will also make you happier today.

During the holiday season, our access to tempting foods is outrageous. To make matters worse, the month of December can be synonymous with tension, pressure and overwhelm to get things done and please everyone.

Whether it’s year end preparations or gift giving, it’s hard not to get overwhelmed.

Most people resort to eating. It’s a quick way to feel better.

The problem though, is that it’s temporary. It’s like a 2 minute band-aid. Who wants that? It’s much more effective to get to the root of the problem.

The most common feeling people want to get rid of is the feeling of being overwhelmed.

Let’s noodle on how we can do that:

1. Let’s all agree that eating isn’t going to make your to-do list get any shorter.

2. What does help is planning ahead, getting organized, asking for help, and as much as possible, being in the moment. (Read: Toothbrush meditation)

3. Honesty is everything. If you know the times, as well as the activities that overwhelm you the most, why can’t you ask for help or plan for them even more than you usually do?

How to do that you wonder?

We all have good intentions that don’t ever get fulfilled. We all have to do-lists that are multiplying faster than ever before.

I just said the answer.

Write it down somewhere!

You’d be amazed at what gets done when you make a to-do list and keep a schedule. It gives us great satisfaction when we can tick things off our to do lists. And schedules make us feel safe!

So many people are amazed at how well they do when they plan their week and weekends out in advance.

One of the reasons why I love doing it so much and why I stress it so much on the Daily Feedback under outcomes is because tasks like the ones I’m talking about take up space in our head.

If we keep having to remember them that’s using up valuable mind power. And it makes us stressed!

Instead – just write everything down! This way you don’t have to think about it again. You can let your mind take a rest so it doesn’t have millions of ‘to- do’s’ floating around.

The ideal way to do this is to plan your week out in advance and then plan your day out in advance the night before. You’d be amazed at how much more relaxed and in control you’d feel if every night when you were doing your feedback you were working off your master list (that you should always keep with you).

You’d also be amazed at much less stress you felt because you wouldn’t feel as overwhelmed.

The more you can work on becoming less stressed – the easier eating healthfully is because your emotions will be a lot more in check!

Simple yes. Insanely effective? Check!

When in doubt: Just write it!