Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Working out while traveling

I’ve started traveling more since I started writing. Has that happened for you, too? Writers’ conferences, or research trips, or visiting publishers or agents.

Travel would always mess up my exercise schedule, sketchy as it is. Not all hotels have exercise rooms, and even fewer don’t charge for you to use them.

And then when I came back home, it would take a while for me to get back into my exercise rhythm.

But I came across this neat article from eFitness.com about how you can exercise in the privacy of your hotel room while traveling. It’s fabulous! I don’t know if I’d pack an exercise mat—I’d probably just use a hotel towel or two—but a resistance band is both cheap and easy to pack. Check out the article:

Travel Light, Stay Fit by Michael Stefano on eFitness.com

Camy here: This is my last Health and the Writer column. It's been fun! I can always be reached via my website. Write healthy!

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. She previously worked in biology research, and she is a staff worker for her church youth group. She runs the Story Sensei critique service, and her Asian chick lit novel, Sushi for One?, releases in September. Enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

The 10-Minute Workout

At last! A workout for people juggling work, writing, kids, spouse, and the kitchen sink (which needs cleaning, but we’ll ignore that for now...)

The 10-Minute Workout by Scot Dawson on eFitness.com

This is a great workout because it’s fast and it’s easy. If you don’t know what some of the exercises are, do a Google search to find out the proper way to do them

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. She previously worked in biology research, and she is a staff worker for her church youth group. She runs the Story Sensei critique service, and her Asian chick lit novel, Sushi for One?, releases in September. Enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Eat fiber

I have to confess, I’m a snacker.

I have found that I write better when there’s something around for me to eat.

I’ve tried everything, but the brain just doesn’t function without food in my mouth. Even gum doesn’t cut it for me.

I’ve discovered it’s because my creative side is tactile-activated. If I have something in my mouth or if I’m doing something with my hands, then my creative left-brain side kicks into high gear. Or maybe it’s just the sugar rush. LOL

I’ve started knitting, which is a nice tactile and foodless way of activating my creativity, but sometimes even that isn’t enough.

Hence, the snacks.

But I don’t have to eat unhealthy things, and neither do you. High-fiber foods are actually an extremely important part of your diet, so why not ingest some fiber while writing?

The high fiber content of my snacks also help me feel full faster than something higher in fat or sugar. I’ll end up snacking for a while, then stopping because I’m full.

Veggies with dip is one of my favs. The deli section of my supermarket has some really neat, unusual dips too—parmesan and artichoke, cheese and jalapeno, the list goes on and on.

Fresh fruit is another good snack that’s also high in fiber. Pick what’s in season, cheap, and looks fresh. In the summer, my favorite is berries—strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries—and plums and peaches. Other months, apples and oranges are always on sale.

Beans are also high in fiber, so I’ll often have some whole wheat tortillas with fat-free refried beans smeared inside. A great snack as long as you’re not going out in company for a few hours...

Speaking of whole wheat, now there are lots of high fiber crackers that are low in fat.

I also enjoy high fiber cereals like Frosted Mini Wheats! Yum!

So be creative and go high fiber!

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. She previously worked in biology research, and she is a staff worker for her church youth group. She runs the Story Sensei critique service, and her Asian chick lit novel, Sushi for One?, releases in September. Enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Keep your back strong!

As writers, one of the areas most likely to suffer injury is your back (the most popular injury-prone area is probably the wrists).

If you have money to invest, get an ergonomic chair. They can be very pricey, anywhere from $200 to $1200, but they’re worth it to save injury to your back. You’ll need to go out and try a bunch of chairs to find the one that fits your body the best.

Most of us, however, don’t have much money. Here are a few low-cost alternatives.

1) WALK. Yes, I’m shouting. I’ll even repeat myself—WALK. For ten minutes, every hour.

This will stimulate blood circulation to your back, keeping it healthy and allowing fatigued muscles and injured tendons to heal.

If you can, put on good walking shoes for your ten minute hike.

You can walk anywhere, from around the block to around your living room. Just make sure it’s ten minutes long and it occurs every hour you’re sitting in front of that computer. I have often walked forwards and backwards down my hallway (there are no windows, so none of my neighbors can see the crazy writer walking in her house!).

2) Stretch. At least once a day, preferably three times a day.

Don’t bounce—stretch slowly and gently. Use your breathing to allow you to deepen the stretch.

Touch your toes. Alternately, sit down with your legs in front of you and reach for your toes. Stretching your hamstrings releases any tension tugging at your lower back.

Stretch side to side. You can also twist side to side. Make the motions slow, gentle, and refreshing. Don’t cause yourself abject pain.

Stretch your neck forwards, backwards, sideways. A tense neck can also cause or be the cause of back pain.

3) Elevate. Your workspace, that is.

Standing at your desk and typing standing up can alleviate back pain, especially if you switch from standing to sitting a couple times during the day.

Levenger.com has these fancy wooden stands for your keyboard, mouse, and monitor. I don’t have money, so I improvised and use empty boxes to elevate my keyboard and mouse to the right height. Boxes are also light and easy to remove when I switch back down to sitting.

For my monitor, I have a flat-screen which is lighter than a regular tubular screen. Flatscreen monitors are going down in price, so they’re not so impossibly expensive. I happened to be lucky enough to get mine at GoodWill for $70.

I lift my monitor from my desktop to a thicker-than-normal cardboard box, stuffed with packing Styrofoam popcorn and taped shut. The popcorn gives it more strength. The box is on its end and tall enough so that I’m looking straight at my monitor when I stand up.

Take care of your back! A bad back can adversely influence your writing!

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. She previously worked in biology research, and she is a staff worker for her church youth group. She runs the Story Sensei critique service, and her Asian chick lit novel, Sushi for One?, releases in September. Enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Try to cut back on refined sugar

You’ve heard all the hype about why refined sugar is bad for you, but you just can’t stop those sodas and candies and cookies and...

It’s not just the calories. Sugar depresses your immune system, and if you have kids, that just means you’ll get sick even more often than you already do.

Sugar can cause mood swings, fatigue, and headaches, which certainly aren’t inductive to churning out powerful prose. The nature of sugar itself can mess with your body chemistry if you eat too much of it, and if you’re sedentary.

Problem is, we’re writers. Our profession naturally means we’re sedentary. We can’t exactly type out a novel while jogging with the dog.

However, there are ways we can cut back on sugar and make up for the necessities of the writer’s life.

(I personally don’t support artificial sweeteners, because as a biologist, I know that there’s no way to really know what all those fake chemicals are doing to our cells. We also recently had three church members discover they had cancer.)

I know you have that case of Dr. Pepper in the fridge. Or maybe it’s Coke or Pepsi. Regardless of your poison, try to limit the number of cans you drink. Pour your soda into a glass of ice to water it down a little AND chill it even more so that you drink it slower. Use a straw to also prolong the time it takes you to consume a can.

Take baby steps. Try to cut back on a can a week. Then maybe two cans a week. And so forth.

Try not to keep candy, cookies, and cakes in the house. If you do, put it someplace where you won’t see it all the time, like the top shelf of the pantry or the back of the fridge.

Be smart--don’t keep a bowl of M&Ms at your desk. Keep all that stuff out of sight.

I personally know it’s not easy to cut sugar out of our lives entirely, and I’m not suggesting that. After all, we need some kind of reward for finishing that chapter, or that page! Where would a writer be without chocolate?

However, be sensible and try to cut back on that stuff. You might actually see your writing efficiency improve.

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Don't procrastinate.

I admit, I’m a huge procrastinator, especially when it comes to exercise. I’m just plain lazy.

But part of my procrastinator-itis is that I keep lying to myself:

“I’ll feel more like exercising tomorrow.”

“I’ll have more time to exercise later in the day.”

“I need to do this one thing first, then I’ll exercise.” (Distraction is a big problem for me and it just feeds my procrastination.)

“Exercise isn’t really that important if I eat less today.”

Isn’t lying a sin? And surely lying to myself isn’t less a sin than lying to someone else, right?

The problem is that overcoming procrastination usually takes a great deal of mental energy. I don’t know about you, but my brain is fried most of my waking hours.

That’s why they always say exercise is best done with a friend or with people who can keep you accountable. Even if it’s just an online buddy who can e-mail you each day for your buddy-system check-in.

So conquer your procrastination by buddying-up.

My particular procrastination is so bad that I, er, need several buddies...

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Portion check

Even if you’re eating low-fat, high-fiber foods, watch that you’re not undoing your new healthy lifestyle by eating too much of a good thing.

A serving of chicken is the size of a deck of cards, not a whole breast.

One serving of pasta is 1/2 cup cooked.

One serving of juice is 3/4 cup.

One serving of a bagel is half a bagel.

One serving of rice is 1/2 cup.

Check what size a portion is supposed to be, and try measuring or weighing your food until you can eyeball it. And even then (since my eyeball tends to grow after a few weeks), go back to measuring or weighing every so often to keep yourself in check.

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

A small change—complex carbohydrates

Making just a small change from simple sugars to complex carbohydrates can drastically improve your health.

Simple sugars are stuff like white flour, pasta, rice, cake. They’re shunted directly to your hips, baby. They also can cause your blood sugar to crash, which will inspire more eating.

Complex carbohydrates are foods that contain fiber, like whole grain breads and cereals, brown rice, fresh fruit, veggies.

These days, it’s easy to make small substitutions in our diets from simple sugars to complex carbohydrates.

Instead of all white rice, make it half-and-half white rice and brown rice. Buy whole-grain breads instead of white bread. Serve fresh fruit for dessert a couple nights a week instead of brownies or cookies. Increase the amount of vegetables in each meal by a third.

Make small changes—it’ll have positive long-term effects.


Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

When you can, walk

If you can, get in about 30 minutes of walking a day. It’s a nice time to relax and de-stress. Or you can use it to walk the dog and get him in shape, too. Or you can play music on your MP3 player. Or you can listen to an audiobook or a workshop on MP3.

If it’s raining or snowing, walk around the house. Denise Austin has a “Walk Away the Pounds” indoor walking video. Or heck, just pop in any short exercise video and just do it! Even 15 or 20 minutes is great for your metabolism and energy levels.

If you can’t fit in 30 minutes for walking or exercise, then take small segments during the day to get in a little extra walking. You don’t need your fancy-shmancy walking shoes.

Stop the taxi a few blocks short and walk the rest of the way. Park at the far end of the parking lot. Take the stairs. Walk to your child’s school and make them walk back with you. Walk to the post office. Walk to the grocery store (assuming you don’t have twenty bags of groceries to take back with you).

If you sit at a computer or desk all day, take ten minutes out of every hour to take a short walk. Go use the bathroom, take a hike around the building. Walking will also be good for your lower back if you don’t have an ergonomic chair.

eDiets has this statistic: “A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that walking briskly for half an hour just six times a month cut the risk of premature death in men and women by 44 percent.”

So walk!

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Try a light workout in the morning

When you exercise soon after getting up, even a very light workout, it can boost your metabolism for the entire rest of the day—up to approximately 15 hours. It will make you feel more energized the rest of the day.

Morning exercise will also help you not feel so hungry throughout the day, so you will be able to make healthy food choices.

I’m NOT a morning person, so I videotape a morning workout program and watch it when I get up later in the morning. I also buy workout DVDs from thrift stores.

Your morning workout doesn’t have to be long or strenuous—I only take about 20 minutes, and I often do Denise Austin’s Fit and Lite exercise program, which is low impact and very easy.

With kids, it’s often a little harder. You could try getting up earlier or waiting until later when they’re doing something you can leave them at for about 20 minutes. If you prep everything ahead of time (like the night before), you can jump right into your workout. And don’t feel guilty if you need to cut it short, either—even a little is great.

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Use variety so you don’t fall off the wagon

Let’s face it, low-fat and high-fiber foods are often not very exciting. And they can get old really fast.

So why not experiment with your food choices? It’ll help you keep to your healthy lifestyle.

Change up your ingredients. Try whole-wheat sourdough instead of regular bread for French toast. Pick up a mango or a papaya. Try spreading hummus on your sandwich, to dip your crackers, or topping your salad.

Experiment with different ethnic recipes. Often the more exotic recipes also use exotic (healthy) ingredients, like couscous or bulgar.

Try Jamaican jerk chicken wings—pepper and spice increases metabolism. Chinese Mapo (or mabo) Dofu with tofu and ground chicken over brown rice. Thai prawns and asparagus or Tom Kah soup with reduced-fat coconut milk.

Recipes are easy to find on the internet, and there are always tons of recipe books for cheap at thrift shops.

Experiment! Be wild!

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

You’re not a loser

I know you’ve heard the voices:

I can’t stick with this new eating and exercise lifestyle change.

I’m too lazy.

I’m too old.

I’m not disciplined enough. (I hear this one a lot!)

Don’t let yourself get down on yourself! If you have a calorie-fest or miss exercise for weeks on end, don’t hate yourself. Don’t believe the lie of “Why bother?”

Every day is a new day. So you ate over 3000 calories yesterday. So what? Today is brand new and you can eat within your calorie range today. Don’t think about the days or weeks you busted in that one meal at that decadent steakhouse. Just get back on track.

A healthy lifestyle is not like a bank where you withdraw and deposit calories/fat/exercise. A healthy lifestyle is training yourself to become used to a ROUTINE. A healthy lifestyle is training your mind, your stomach, and your emotions to form GOOD HABITS.

Routines and habits are LONG TERM.

Don’t think about the past. It’s over and done with. Concentrate on today, making good choices today, training yourself to make better choices in future.

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Eat breakfast

Eating a small breakfast actually increases your metabolism so that you burn more fat while just sitting on your bum during the day.

If you skip breakfast, your body’s metabolism is still low from your waking up, and it takes longer for your system to rev up.

You also have a tendency to have a larger lunch if you skip breakfast, which can negate the point of skipping a meal in the first place.

Breakfast is a good place to intake fiber with a high-fiber cereal, high-fiber toast or bagel, or a piece of fresh fruit.

Try to keep your fat count down, though. Have one piece of bacon instead of two. Or three. Use one egg white and one whole egg when you scramble. Use a little less oil when you fry those eggs, too. Take a little less cream cheese on your bagel—or use the low-fat version. Try low-fat milk instead of whole milk.

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Make a small change

Often it’s best to make small changes in your diet and exercise rather than a whole lot at once. Try taking up just one of the following little changes this week:

* Get a notepad and record what you eat. Don’t attempt to change your eating habits, just write it down. Seeing it in black and white can help you to make small changes in your eating that have long-lasting effects.

* Go with the more natural stuff. Rather than the fake fat or artificial sweeteners, try for natural low-calorie stuff like fruit, vegetables, whole grains, etc. Artificial sweeteners can actually stimulate you to eat more, however don’t go hog-wild over refined sugars, either. Try natural sugars in fruit.

* Put a few low-calorie snacks around your house or office. Tuck them in every room so you have something on hand. Also try to pre-portion it so you don’t gorge yourself—snack bags of popcorn, fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, whole-grain crackers, etc.

* Get rid of one of your weekly television shows. If that’s too hard, then set the recorder for one night and do something else that one night a week instead of watching TV—do creative projects, or family night, or puzzles and games, or reading.

* Take a low-calorie frozen meal for lunch one day a week.

* Cut one soda a week.

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Exercising if you’re sick

If you have a runny nose, sneezing, sore throat—basically symptoms involving your head and neck—it’s fine to exercise moderately. NOT at your usual effort level. Clinical studies have shown that light exercise while sick doesn’t make you stay sick for longer or intensify your symptoms.

When your symptoms go, you can resume your normal exercise intensity.

However...

Don't exercise with a fever. You might become dehydrated and put stress on your heart and body.

Don’t exercise if you have other types of symptoms. eDiets says, “If you have below the neck signs, such as extreme tiredness, muscle aches, vomiting, diarrhea, chills, swollen lymph glands, or a hacking cough, allow at least two weeks before returning to intense training.”

Also, WASH YOUR HANDS FREQUENTLY. Don’t give your germs to anybody else!

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Curbing cravings

It’s 4:00 p.m. and I’m staring at the candy vending machine with longing.

Or else I’m opening the refrigerator to look what’s there.

Sound familiar?

It’s actually good to eat smaller, more frequent meals. You’ll eliminate those four or five o’clock munchies if you had a healthy snack at three, when you weren’t starving.

Remember portions! Don’t scarf down a 1,000 calorie burger. Try to aim for 100-300 calories.

Try to choose something high-fiber. It’ll make you feel full for longer.

Fresh fruit (go for variety, not the same apple you buy all the time)
Dried fruit (although again, watch portions because they’re high in sugar and calories)
Cereal (it’s not just for breakfast)
Multi-grain crackers (watch your fat content)
Veggies (keep an eye on any dressings you use for dipping)
Popcorn
Yogurt or cottage cheese
Part-skim mozzarella cheese

As a disclaimer, small frequent meals don’t work for everyone. But it’s worth a shot to see if it helps with your cravings.

And if you’re still looking for something at five, try drinking water instead. It’s documented that often people mistake thirst for hunger.

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Stress eating

Not all people eat when they’re stressed or emotionally upset, but I sure do. I pack on the pounds when I’m under deadline.

Curbing stress eating is a combination of practical tips and mental preparedness.

Remember that each day is a new day. Trying to leave negative or stressful emotions behind as soon as you fall asleep can sometimes help.

Try to cope with stress or negative emotions in positive ways. Do something you enjoy, like take a relaxing bath, read a book, play with the cat, walk the dog.

The key here is that exercises or activities that physically relax you will also influence your mental state. And that will prevent you from rushing the refrigerator.

Yoga sometimes works for some people. I personally enjoy the stretching. It makes my lower back pain ease and makes my body feel younger.

If you have a tendency to dwell on negative things, keep your mind busy. Sometimes I read a book or watch TV to de-stress—something that doesn’t give me a lot of thinking time.

Creative projects can also relax you. Knitting or crocheting, scrapbooking, stamping, making cards or soap or calico turkeys—whatever you enjoy.

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Six slimming strategies from Denise Austin

This is a really great article on small things you can do to change your eating habits to be more healthy.

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Eating vegetables

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time getting excited about fresh fruits and vegetables when I’m in a hurry and don’t have the time to wash and slice. A good alternative is frozen fruits and veggies.

You can often use frozen fruits and vegetables straight from the bag without thawing.

Thawed fruit with yogurt and Splenda or honey is a great snack. Or make a smoothie with ice, milk, yogurt and fruit.

Frozen veggies are great when cooking because I just use what I need and put the rest back in the freezer.

Frozen veggies last about 6 months in the freezer and take up minimal room.

Canned veggies and fruits (the kind stored in water, not oil or syrup) are also good, quick alternatives to fresh. They can be heated up quickly in the microwave or tossed in a salad.

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.

Health and the Writer by Camy Tang

Whether you’re a writer who also works a full-time job or are a busy stay-at-home-mom, it’s hard to stay healthy. I researched and figured out a bunch of tips and tricks to help me stay in shape without carving out of my precious writing time. I also found some tips to help me have just general better health. Pick and choose which of these will work for you.

Eat Your Heart Healthy: 11 Tips! From eDiets.com

The tips in this article are really easy to implement in your diet and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Camy Tang is a novelist also fighting the battle of the bulge. Find out more about her and her books at http://www.camytang.com/, or enjoy the read on her blog at http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/.