Could Stress be Making You Fat? 10 Easy Ways to Minimize Stress.

Is your life out of balance? Are you a Type A personality? Are your finances, relationships, or job creating added stress to your life? Have you had physical or emotional trauma recently? Are you going through a divorce, menopause or other life transitions? These are all circumstances that could lead to added or chronic stress and weight gain.

I know that stress was the prime reason I gained so much weight through menopause. I put weight on around the middle that I’d never had before, and found it challenging to lose no matter what I did. This can certainly be a factor in why so many people, over 90%, fail to lose weight no matter which of the multiple diets they use.

Chronic stress raises your levels of cortisol, a hormone that triggers extra fat storage, especially belly fat. The adrenal glands aren’t picky when it comes to what creates cortisol release. The stress can be physical trauma, environmental, emotional turmoil, or even created by our thoughts.

The human brain is automatically hard wired with fight or flight responses to protect the body from perceived harm. Those responses cause the adrenal glands to get larger and secrete additional adrenal cortical hormones. Unfortunately, our fast-paced lifestyles bring us multiple triggers in a day that can lead to these becoming chronic responses. Over time, these different sources of stress become cumulative, which can lead to adrenal stress and what is called the metabolic syndrome. Typically, because of the cumulative damage, this is even more of an issue for the baby boomer population.

But beyond weight gain, stress can literally kill you, so it’s time to take note and make some changes if you want to lose weight and get healthy.  Here are 10 simple stress reducers that you can fit into your life with ease.

1. Laugh at least once a day. See a funny movie, read the comics, but try to incorporate it into your life every day. I’ve found a great You Tube video of a toddler laughing that is contagious. Any time I need a laugh I watch it.
2. Music therapy is a great way to unwind, and you can incorporate it into walking or other stress reducing activities for added benefit. Certain kinds of music can lower blood pressure and calm your mind. Listening to nature sounds is relaxing, and classical music has been shown to aid weight loss by causing people to eat less and digest more easily.
3. Aromatherapy uses essential oils, the pure essence of a plant, found to provide both psychological and physical stress relief. You can use essential oils in a diffuser for inhaling or added to other natural ingredients like sea salt for a relaxing bath. Be sure to use pure oils and check ingredients to avoid synthetic chemicals or perfume fragrances, which do not provide true benefits.
4. Walking 15 – 30 minutes daily is all you need to see the benefits of this affordable and easy to incorporate activity. Any exercise is good for lowering stress and producing those feel good chemicals, called endorphins, in the brain, but make sure you do it at least 5 times a week for the best benefits in minimizing chronic stress. Consistency is key!
5. Breathing a few deep breaths every hour and for 10 minutes before bed will oxygenate the blood, refresh the mind, and relax the muscles. This is also a great activity when you feel anger, anxiety, and other negative emotions…remember the count to ten before responding advice you got from your mom? Just take a few deep breaths for the same benefit.
6. Sex, if you have a loving partner to enjoy it with. Some good cuddling and affirming conversation beforehand helps. Too often, people avoid sex when stressed out instead of engaging in this healthy activity.
7. Drink less caffeine as it adds further stimulation and stress to the adrenals. Limit yourself to a cup a day and avoid it altogether as a pick me up since that is the worst time to force your overtaxed adrenals to operate in overdrive.
8. Journaling is the perfect activity for getting out the pent up emotions that keep us chronically stressed. Expressing yourself on paper is freeing and great for personal growth, too.
9. Serving others is a great way of taking your mind off your own problems and helping relieve someone else’s stress, as well. Sometimes being aware of other people’s challenges and offering a helping hand gives you a better perspective on your own…even minimizing them.
10. A day of refreshment. The Creator set aside a day for both spiritual and physical rest. Studies have shown that more is accomplished in 6 days when rest is incorporated into our lifestyles, than if we work 7 days without rest. Take a break from worries and work, and spend a day with loved ones having fun. It’s important to get at leas 7-8 hours of sleep daily, too.

Stress is unavoidable in today’s busy world, but we certainly can learn to add purposeful activity and healthy nutrients that will counteract stress and provide health building and weight loss benefits.

Do you have stress reducing tips that have worked for you? Please share by posting them in the comment box.

Enjoying life together,

Leta