Under Pressure: Stress and Weight Loss
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Trying to lose weight is stressful on its own.
It may be an even harder task to accomplish if a person is already feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders. As with everything, there is a science to stress and weight loss.
Maybe you’ve heard of a hormone called cortisol. It regulates blood pressure, glucose metabolism, and immune function. It’s also known as the “stress hormone” because the body secretes more of it when that body is put in a stressful situation. On one hand, that’s good. It gives a boost of energy, jogs memory, and reduces sensitivity to pain.
The problem arises when a person always feels stressed, when most hours of their day feels like a crisis. If the body never gets a chance to calm down, the adrenal glands will keep making cortisol throughout this stress. Feeling like you’re always in the danger zone has plenty of drawbacks: high blood pressure, lowered immunity, poor cognitive function, and oddly enough, increased belly fat. That last one leads to a lot of other issues, which won’t make you feel any calmer.
Here are some things that will:
Meditation
You don’t need to be a mystic to try this. It’s as easy as breathing, literally. Just find fifteen minutes in your day and a quiet place. Sit down, and clear your mind. Concentrate on nice deep breaths. Push away any stressful thoughts for this. It’s that simple.
Exercise
Being in an agitated state means you have some energy built up, but not necessarily an outlet for it. You don’t need a gym to work out, just a bit of time devoted to moving. Take a walk or run around the block. Play some music and dance. Find an activity that’s actually active and you enjoy. There are a million things you can do with your body. Try some! You’ll be glad you did.
Detoxification
Your body isn’t just dealing with all the hard thoughts; it’s also trying to process the chemicals we consume in a day, which may be contributing to that anxiousness you’re feeling. We often comfort ourselves with things that aren’t the best for our bodies. Some people like a martini or two, while others need a greasy burger. These things are the wrong things for fueling a healthy body. Maybe it’s time to clean out your system.
A good one for the whole body can be found here: http://www.zencentralcleanse.com/