Reducing Stress and Increasing Health
Using CRG's Stress Indicator and Health Planner
A Series of Five Sections
Section Three: Wellness Assessment
One of the benefits of the Stress Indicator and Health Planner is that it segments stress into five categories that provide you, the participant, with the opportunity to focus on opportunities for improvement.
As mentioned in Section One (Personal Distress Assessment), experts have confirmed that up to 90% of illness is stress- and lifestyle-related. That means most illness is preventable. The Stress Indicator and Health Planner helps you establish a benchmark of your current stress levels, then provides a road map for improvement.
Section Three has 2 segments. (Nutrition + Health)
Each segment has 15 questions, for a total of 30 questions.
Stress affects each of us differently. In the end, stress—regardless of the source—will show up in the three areas we are measuring in this ezine.
The following information is from CRG’s Stress Indicator and Health Planner by Gwen Faulkner, PhD, MSN; Terry Anderson, PhD; and Ken Keis, MBA.
From Section Three: Wellness, please complete the following 30 questions on yourself.
- In the boxes provided, print the number that best describes how often you have experienced the symptoms during the past month.
- Be completely honest. There is no benefit to misrepresenting
the truth.
|
The Scale | |
RARELY
About 10% or less of the time |
1 | |
OCCASSIONALLY
About 25% of the time |
2 | |
REGULARLY
About 50% of the time |
3 | |
VERY FREQUENTLY
About 75% of the time |
4 | |
ALMOST ALWAYS
About 90% or more of the time |
5 |
|
Your
Responses |
|
Stress Indicator and Health Planner
The Statements for Section Three:
Part One Nutrition Assessment | |
|
61 |
I eat a diet that includes whole grains, whole grain breads, and legumes. | |
|
62 |
I eat a daily diet that includes 5 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables. | |
|
63 |
I limit my intake of coffee (caffeine) to
2 cups a day. | |
|
64 |
I eat very little fat and limit the amount of fried foods in my diet. | |
|
65 |
When I use dairy products, they are of the low-fat variety. | |
|
66 |
I limit my intake of fast foods, such as pizza, hamburgers, and fries, to 2 meals per week. | |
|
67 |
I eat chicken or red meat only when it has been trimmed of excess fat. | |
|
68 |
I limit my intake of sugar (cookies, cakes, donuts, candy) to 1 snack per day. | |
|
69 |
I choose foods that are natural and fresh, rather than foods that are quick-fix prepared. | |
|
70 |
I limit the amount of alcohol I drink to 2 ounces or less per day. | |
|
71 |
I eat at least 3 balanced meals (including breakfast) each day, plus 2 between-meal (healthy) snacks. | |
|
72 |
I avoid white bread, white rolls, and white buns. | |
|
73 |
I limit or avoid any food classified as junk food, including all sugared soft drinks and beverages. | |
|
74 |
I take a daily multivitamin/mineral supplement. | |
|
75 |
I drink 5 to 6 glasses (8 ounces each) of pure water each day. | |
|
‹ Your Nutrition Assesment Score
|
|
Your
Responses |
|
Stress Indicator and Health Planner
The Statements for Section Three:
Part Two Health Assessment | |
|
76 |
I get regular aerobic exercise (using 60% to 65% of my maximum heart rate) for 45 minutes at least 5 times a week (brisk walking, running, hiking, biking, and so on). | |
|
77 |
I practice some type of deep relaxation at least 3 times a week. | |
|
78 |
I avoid chewing tobacco, smoking cigarettes or a pipe. | |
|
79 |
I make time each week for leisure activities and hobbies. | |
|
80 |
I get 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. | |
|
81 |
I eat a good breakfast in the morning. | |
|
82 |
I do not drink more than 2 ounces of alcohol per day. | |
|
83 |
I avoid the use of medical drugs to assist in sleeping or altering my moods. | |
|
84 |
I avoid the use of nonmedical drugs (marijuana, cocaine, crystal meth, and so on). | |
|
85 |
I know my ideal weight and maintain it within 5 to 10 pounds (2 to 4 kgs.).
Note: If you are 30 pounds (12 kgs.) or more overweight, deduct 5 points from your Health total.
| |
|
86 |
I wear a seat belt while driving or riding in a vehicle. | |
|
87 |
If I get sick, I take the time to slow down and relax. | |
|
88 |
If I become exhausted, I take time to rejuvenate myself. | |
|
89 |
I do weight training, strength training, or resistance workouts for at least
15 to 20 minutes, 3 times a week. | |
|
90 |
I increase my flexibility by doing stretching exercises for 15 minutes,
2 to 3 times a week. | |
|
‹ Your Nutrition Assesment Score
|
| |
Your Nutrition Assesment Score |
| |
Your Health Assesment Score |
| — |
Health Points Deducted (see question #85) |
| |
Your Total Wellness Assessment Score |
Here's what the total is indicating.
| Total 30 to 75 |
Low Wellness |
| Total 76 to 100 |
Average Wellness |
| Total 101 to 150 |
High Wellness |
Health Practices
Research has shown that people who practice the following lifestyle choices
tend to live longer.
- Eat breakfast almost every day.
- Have 3 meals and 2 healthy snacks every day.
- Sleep 7 to 8 hours per day.
- Maintain their normal weight, adjusted for height, age, and gender.
- Never smoke cigarettes.
- Avoid alcohol or use alcohol moderately.
- Participate in regular physical activity.
NUTRITION
Admittedly, there are almost as many diet and nutrition recommendations and programs as there are people on the planet. There are, however, many commonly agreed principles for a healthy, nutritious diet. We have summarized some of the findings for you. Every day, research reveals new ones, so we encourage you to seek ongoing information from the Internet and other sources.
Control Your Weight
Achieve and maintain your ideal body weight through exercise and a balanced diet. Obesity has become an epidemic in North America; other countries are following suit, as their nutrition lifestyles change. Being overweight is a major risk factor for high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, to name just a few.
Avoid Simple Carbohydrates
New findings continue to support that reducing our consumption of refined carbohydrates—like sugar, white flour, crackers, candies, white rice, pastries—is significantly beneficial to our health. Those usually calorie-rich foods generally have a higher Glycemic Index. Ranging from 0 to 100, the GI is the rate of digestion or how quickly a food breaks down in your system. The faster the breakdown, the higher the GI. The slower the breakdown, the lower the GI.
Simple carbohydrates with high Glycemic Indices can cause broad swings in blood sugar levels, which influence weight gain and loss and overall health.
Avoid All Junk Food
Junk food includes potato chips, cookies, taco chips, any sweetened snack food, sugared soft drinks and beverages, and other packaged munchies.
Limit Fat and Cholesterol Consumption
Limit fat to 30% of your total calories. High-fat diets are associated with an increase in cholesterol and cancer. Use all fats sparingly, including butter, margarine, oil, salad dressing, and mayonnaise. Use low-fat dairy products. Avoid fried and greasy foods. Limit desserts. Increase your intake of fish and skinless chicken. Moderate your consumption of red meat because it has the highest content of saturated fat, compared to other meats.
Limit Alcohol
Limit your alcohol intake to a maximum of 2 drinks per day. (1 can of beer, a 6-ounce glass of wine, or a shot = 1 drink.) Alcohol in excess can increase the risk of high blood pressure, liver failure, and heart disease.
Note: Some research states the moderate intake of red wine (1 glass per day) can decrease certain heart disease.
Avoid Quick-Fix Prepared Foods and Fast Foods
It’s so easy to go to your freezer and throw a pizza into the oven or pop a premade dinner into the microwave. To increase their shelf life, many prepared foods are heavy in saturated fats or additives.
Note: Some additives can increase your hunger cravings and
cause weight gain.
Increase Your Fruit and Vegetable Intake
Eat fresh fruits and vegetables with each meal. Add a salad to your meal, instead of fries. Replace cakes and sugary desserts with portions of fruit.
Increase Foods Containing Fiber
A diet high in whole grains, brown rice, beans, fruits, and vegetables helps decrease cholesterol and helps protect against cancer and heart disease.
Limit Coffee and/or Your Caffeine Intake
Caffeine can adversely affect and alter adrenaline levels. Stress levels can increase as a result of the many side effects of too much caffeine.
Choose Lean Meats
Many recommend that meat be avoided entirely. For most people, that is not practical or even desirable. By simply being more discerning and choosing lean cuts instead of high-fat options, you will reduce your fat intake.
Consider Taking a Natural Supplement or Multivitamin
Stress and lack of balanced nutrition decrease your body’s nutrient level. To counter this, we suggest you consider taking a quality vitamin supplement each day. As with processed foods, some nutrition supplements are not high quality. Do your homework. Select a reputable brand with proven absorption levels.
Special Note
We encourage you to select and work with health practitioners who have a holistic approach to your wellness and who stress prevention. Drugs can be helpful but, generally, they are not a cure—just as painkillers can relieve your headache but not its root cause. Keep that in mind when you seek help from health professionals and when you are developing your health plan.
HEALTH
Aerobic Exercise
The term "aerobic" means activity with air. To function, the muscles require oxygen; their need for oxygen increases when your body is engaged in steady movement. Aerobic exercise refers to any type of activity where the heart rate is elevated above the resting heart-rate level in response to sustained movement. Examples of aerobic exercise are brisk walking, jogging, swimming, aerobic dance, cycling, and cross-country skiing. Aerobic exercise is an excellent way to lose weight and keep it off.
Some of the Benefits of Aerobic Exercise
- Helps build strong and healthy bones (to help prevent osteoporosis).
- Enhances self-esteem.
- Increases energy for daily living.
- Provides protection against heart disease by reducing coronary risk factors
through
- decreasing LDL (bad) cholesterol;
- increasing HDL (good) cholesterol;
- decreasing blood pressure; and
- encouraging more efficient use of blood sugar.
- Helps control physical and emotional stress.
- Helps relieve depression and anxiety.
A complete exercise program needs these 3 elements.
| 4 to 5 times per week |
| 60% to 90% of your maximum heart rate.
(If you don’t know your maximum heart rate,
ask a health consultant or physician.)
|
| 45 to 60 minutes per session, for a total of 4 to 5 hours
minimum per week |
Lifestyle Exercise
To sustain your commitment to exercise, exercise must suit your interests, motivation, and whatever you define as enjoyable. Some individuals are more likely to commit to exercise when other people are involved, such as team sports or partner-based activities.
- Team sports include volleyball, basketball, soccer, and hockey.
- Partner-based activities include tennis, squash, racquetball, martial arts, and golf (only when walking the links; powercarts don’t count!).
- Some people like to hike alone.
What you do does not matter, as long as you do something! Even dancing, when continuous, meets the exercise criteria. If you include a friend or significant other in your activity, you can address your life balance and your relationship while you improve your overall fitness and your wellness levels.
Strength Training
More and more research is revealing the importance of strength training as part of desired health behavior. Strength training helps a person maintain muscle and bone mass. As we get older, both diminish. Unless we do something about it, our overall body mass will actually shrink and atrophy.
Smoking
There are many reasons to quit smoking or quit chewing tobacco. Cigarette smoking is a major cause of coronary heart disease in both men and women. Smoking is also associated with many types of cancer and chronic obstructive lung disease. Most smokers would like to quit but they don’t know how to do it successfully.
Sufficient motivation is important. Most people who have been successful at quitting have made personal pacts with themselves. Studies have shown that many times, smokers have quit during transition times in their lives. The required motivation and timing are best known to the respective smoker.
Special Note
If you have any risk factors for heart disease—such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or Type A behavior—it is strongly recommended that you see your physician or a fitness consultant before starting an exercise program. A treadmill stress-test may be recommended.
What do you need to improve your wellness?
To access the entire Stress Indicator and Health Planner online or in print, please
click this link. In addition to the 120 stress and wellness related questions, you will find 12 pages of suggestions and ideas on how to improve your health. |
Participate at less than our cost, if you qualify for our Alumni rate! 
