Is Stress Making You Fat?
Do you rush around busy from the time you get up until the time you go straight to bed, over-run with work & responsibilities? If so, you may be experiencing the kind of stress that can cause the body to store fat around the midsection.
Stress can take many forms including physical & mental stress. However there’re a whole host of other factors that add stress to the body. There is a enormous amount of physical stress placed on the body from poor posture. And so… So far so good. When the body structure isn’t in proper balance, breathing, muscle function, joint health, circulation & internal organ support are compromised.
When was the last time you checked in on your thinking? Are your thoughts positive or negative? Are you focusing on what you do not want or are you focusing on the life of your dreams? When you’re stressed, a fight-or-flight response is activated causing the stress hormone cortisol to be elevated in the body. Extra cortisol in the body tells the abdomen to open its fat depots & store more fat than it otherwise would. The equation is simple: the more you stress?> the more your body pumps out cortisol to handle your stress?> & the more fat you store.
Research confirms that unrelenting chronic stress is a factor that promotes weight gain. New research performed at Laval University in Quebec shows that chronic stress causes our fat cells to become resistant to fat loss, especially fat cells around our abdomens. Cortisol activates fat cells?all fat cells?to store fat! But those that are called central fat cells, found mainly deep in the abdominal wall, have four times the cortisol receptors on their cell membranes. Each time you’re stressed the cortisol-fat mechanism turns on & your body stores more fat to handle all the stress you’re experiencing.
What are potential solutions?
Reduce the physical stress on your body by enrolling in a pilates class. Pilates works specifically to improve posture & best movement patterns in the body so that the body can move with ease & efficiency throughout the day.
Consider taking a yoga class. Yoga offers a perfect way to de-stress. There is more. Thirteen separate research studies demonstrated that the practice of yoga reduced body weight by as much as 13.6% for participants, not because they were involved in an all-out, sweat-induced workout, but because it gave them time to relax.
Work with a lifestyle coach. Lifestyle coaches can assist you identify key areas of stress in your life & work through strategies to reduce stress in all areas of your life.
Melissa West, Ph.D. Melissa West is a lifestyle & coach yoga & pilates instructor who practices yoga daily as a way of coping with day- to-day stress. For lots more information check out the lifestyle coaching & pilates & yoga DVDs available through http://www.melissawest.com
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