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There’s been a recent spurt in paid advertisements on reducing belly fat using powders and tablets, some of which allege they are based on precious herbs.
One sees great graphics, tempting discounts and testimonials from people who have been saved from fat and are now living envious lives. Normally one sees these ads on television late at night, but daytime and even in leading newspapers?
Something is up.
Caveat emptor let the buyer beware!
There is more to weight management than popping pills hoping that those awful 20 kilos will melt away like butter in a warm saucepan. There are also a number of reasons why a person may put on weight and then face an uphill challenge getting rid of that excess fat.
This post looks at one aspect – the role of stress on your belly fat and how we can try to overcome it.
The Culprit behind Belly Fat
Signs of Stress manifest long before one reaches the stage of exhaustion with full blown symptoms like heart problems, diabetes and changes in personality. Subjected to stress, the first instinct is that of fight or flight.
It is ideal to nip stress at that point but many of us don’t. Then the body starts to cope with the situation on its own. Resistance manifests, quite often with weight change particularly around the belly – that is stress speaking.
The culprit here is the hormone called cortisol or Stress Hormone that is produced when a person is under stress. Cortisol increases the urge to eat foods that are high in fat and sugar content.
If you’re not already doing regular exercises, the calories begin to pile up on the body especially on the belly.
I suggest maintaining a balanced diet but know from experience that when one is under stress or pressure, eating junk food or even skipping meals is common.
The focus shifts to wolfing down food and getting back to work rather than thinking about whether one‘s intake of essential nutrients is being met.
So the weight saga continues. It gets worse if you do crash dieting thus further weakening the body’s resistance to stress.
Some of us start to drink more coffee. This gives the required adrenalin boost but tires us out once the effect of the coffee is gone. In addition hormones related to sleep cycles, mood and food cravings get aggravated under the influence of excessive caffeine in the system.
Tips to reduce stress belly
There’s no quick fix to stress and weight management but some precautions and pre-emptive strikes against stress and belly fat can be taken.
Consciously make the effort to reduce your coffee intake. Try to replace it with anti-oxidant rich herbal tea or warm water. The latter is used for weight management in Ayurveda and helps flush out toxins that impede weight loss.
Ensure that you get proper doses of Vitamin A, Vitamin B complex, Vitamin C (which lowers the amount of cortisol in your body) and magnesium (which helps to reduce anxiety) in your diet. Protein intake helps to repair the body and provides much needed energy.
A bonus food (my personal favorite) is the delicious humble apple. Great to snack on, supportive of weight management, it also helps to release ingredients into our body which my GP calls ‘happy hormone supplements’ and when one is stressed that is one bonus we all need!
Do you have any tips for stress-related weight gains on the belly? Please do share and help all of us fight the battle of the stressed out belly bulge!
PS. Want to learn how to manage stress using Chakra Balancing Exercises that will also keep your stress hormone under control?
If yes, then my ebook Stress Management with Chakra Balancing Exercises with extra resources is just what you need.
Click the image and learn more (a new window will open on your browser with details of the ebook and how you can acquire it).
Written By: Vatsala Shukla
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Very interesting and useful tips! I didn’t realise how excessive coffee drinking leads to weight gain. At the office one tends to drink copious amounts! Thanks for sharing this, Vatsala.
You’re welcome, Vanita. Too much of any beverage is bad, including coffee! A better drink is good old water or herbal tea, especially Tulsi tea.
That has been very helpful, thank you. I realize that my problems have a reason (too much stress, unxiety, rundom sleepyness, too much belly fat, dificulty in consentrating) and if there is a reason, there is a solution as well. I will start with the apple idea, I am downloading the ebook, and we will see how it will go.
I’m happy you’ve found the information useful, Vassia. The apple idea does work and its one that I recommend as immediate SOS help when stressed out. The other is to drink water which helps the Sacral Chakra and emotions that get amplified when we are under stress. Thank you for purchasing my ebook. You will find it very useful.
Great article, Karmic Ally! It is amazing what stress can do to our bodies. Great news about the humble apple! My favorite right now is the Gala. Thank you for sharing your expertise on this!
Thank you Robin. Apples are truly the unsung heroes/heroines of health.
Great article! Thanks for the info about stress going to your belly! 🙂
You are most welcome Daniele. Wishing you a great week ahead!
I never realised that apples had so much goodness in them. And fortunately for me I have an apple tree in my garden bursting with fabulous little beauties! Think I may have to check out my vitamin intake too. Great article Vatsala
Lucky you! You have a gold mine of goodness in your backyard! Apples are great food for a variety of reasons. When I was a kid, my Mom used to pack a n apple in my lunch box for school and I am so glad that she did. There is truth in the saying “An Apple a Day keeps the Doctor Away”!
So interesting! I must admit I belong to a group of people, who become very slim under stress… as the food is the last thing on my mind, when something like that happens.;) Well we all need to undertand that stress is unhealthy way of being… thank you so much for sharing this.
Thank you Solvita and welcome to my blog! Stress is unhealthy and skipping meals is not good in the long run. The bonus tip of eating an apple seems very popular. Do at least eat that even if you are not hungry when stressed out. And do vote for my blog, I need all the support I can get.:)
Ain’t that the truth. I have to start eating more apples! Jeepers… Great article.
Thanks Norma. Here is a super bonus tip about apples that I learned years ago as a student. Apples also help to clean the teeth and aid in the fight against cavities. Snoopy Dance for the delicious Apple!
Yes, Karmic Ally, everyone should have their thyroid levels checked. Even though you feel normal and healthy, the thyroid can be affected by the radiation blast from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station during the tsunami that struck Japan in 2011. And yes, stress increases the extra secretion of cortisol, turning glucose into fat. This is why meditation, tai chi and qi gong are very helpful, and there are more ways. Thank you for this informative article.
Thank you Barbara for sharing important information with the readers, and me!