Life is stressful. It can be a real pain in the a**
sometimes. While some stress is good, most of this mayhem makes us fat;
especially around our waist. So if you want to get rid of those love handles,
start taking lavender baths and saying "Om", honey!
Acute stress, like taking a test or realizing you're about
to get into a car accident, is a normal part of life that elicits the
"fight or flight" response. You know that feeling - it feels like
you're running from a saber tooth tiger - elevated heart rate, sweaty palms,
the rush of adrenaline.
Unfortunately our hectic, chaotic lives keep our body in a
chronic state of 'fight or flight' mode - all the time. This reeks hormonal
havoc on our body and metabolism. The bottom line - stressed out people are
fatter!
Your body's primary stress messenger, cortisol, helps you
respond to things like physical, mental, physiological stress and trauma, and
return to "normal" (homeostasis). The chronic elevation of cortisol,
a fat storing hormone, combined with elevated insulin levels, from things like
sugar, processed carbs or a large meal, causes mood swings, energy lows, and
metabolic resistance which leads to more fat storage.
Does this sound familiar?
You wake up, determined to make this a "good" day
and stick to your diet, so you skip breakfast and opt for coffee. Lunchtime
rolls around and you, still being "good", have a salad, no dressing;
convincing yourself you aren't hungry.
Meanwhile, your inbox has 300 new emails, your boss is
annoying you about an upcoming deadline, you have 10 places to be at the same
time... you get the idea. So when you reach for that afternoon candy bar, from
a combination of hunger, stress relief, reward, distraction, and "you
deserve it since you've stuck to your diet all morning and need a little pick
me up", you might as well just glue it to your tummy. No six-pack here,
folks! And day after day of that adds up, and around, fast.
While you can't always control how much stress is in your
life, you CAN control how you manage it.
Here are some ways to start chillin' out:
1. Smile! - A recent study out of the University of Kansas
shows that smiling, even under stress actually reduces stress and helps us feel
better.
2. Meditation - Sounds woo-woo but it works - for dream
bodies and so much more.
3. Regular exercise. Anything and everything. Just move your
body!
4. A whole food diet rich in dark greens and other
chlorophyll-containing foods.
5. Yoga
6. Cultivate a positive attitude
7. Connect with nature
8. Learn to say "no"
9. Avoid getting into arguments
10. Take time off
11. Connect with friends and family. Cultivate
relationships.
12. Positive thinking and deep breathing
13. Laughing
14. Crying
15. Dancing
16. Sex
17. Massage therapy
18. Music therapy
19. Omega-3 supplements - Reduces cortisol levels influenced
by mental stress.
20. Magnesium supplement - after aerobic exercise. Good for
runners and triathletes.
21. Vitamin C - Great for mental and physical stress
22. Black tea - May hasten recovery from a high cortisol
condition
Learning stress management skills and adopting a healthy,
more calm lifestyle and mindset will help you find your happy weight and stay
there!
"Just smiling goes a long way toward making you feel
better about life. And when you feel better about life, your life is
better." -Art Linkletter