Stressed and Gaining Weight? 4 Ways To Fight Both!
If you are a normal functioning human being, you are likely feeling an increase in stress due to Hurricane Florence. If you are like me you have a 100 questions running through your head, “Will it hit us? How much rain is going to come? Will my house and property get damaged? Are they blowing this out of proportion?” The list could go on and on.
I personally am a touched stress just because I have no idea what to expect. The fear of the unknown is always the worst I think and can cause stress in your life and stress is terrible when your goal losing weight. I am on Week 1, Day 4 and have lost 3.5 lbs. With the stress of the unknown questions rolling around my head it will likely slow down. Plus, you can prep and prep but at the end of the day is it enough? Will it even matter? Under these kind of conditions it is easy to get stressed and NOT lose weight.
All that being said, you owe it to yourself to keep your stress under control as much as possible. I know…easier said than done. When your body is under stress, chemical reactions occur in your body and it is quite common for these changes to lead to food cravings and thus weight gain. As if stress wasn’t bad enough ;-(.
How does your body react to stress?
When you experience stress, your body releases a hormone called cortisol. Think of cortisol as Darth Vader, he started out a good guy (Sweet Anakin) and then, when fueled by the “Dark Side” aka stress, he became an evil throat choking jerk.
Cortisol, in small quantities is not a problem. However, when stress is ongoing, such as during a Hurricane week for example, the amount of cortisol (The Dark Side) in your body stays elevated, which is not ideal and can come with some undesirable results.
When your cortisol levels are elevated and your body is under the influence of the Dark Side, you will crave foods that will give you quick energy, such as candy bars and potato chips. Not bueno! Plus, the presence of cortisol will cause many of these extra calories to be stored as abdominal fat. Double not bueno!
As if things couldn’t get any worse while being consumed by the Dark Side, you may also find it hard to eat in moderation while stressed (eating more calories), because cortisol can interfere with the chemicals in your body that control appetite. Yes, we are at triple no buenos and counting.
However, there is Hope, not a “New Hope” but hope…and it is not Luke Skywalker 🙂
You will never be able to get rid of all the stress in your life Hurricane or no Hurricane, but there is much you can do to keep the Dark Side under control and temper its effects on you. I suggest you try the following “Jedi,” Yoda approved tips to outsmart stress in your life.
- Exercise. You can reduce cortisol levels in your body by exercising just thirty minutes each day. To get the biggest “bang” out of your workouts I suggest intervals. Alternate between lower and higher intensity periods of effort, this allows you to achieve an overall more challenging workout than exercising at a consistent pace, plus it will burn more calories and won’t be as boring…or at least that is my opinion : ). See below for a workout you can do.
- Eat Well. During times of stress, when the Dark Side is really putting a pounding on your body, fuel your body smartly. Eat like an adult ;-), foods such as vegetables, fruits, lean protein and (SOME) nuts. Eating these foods will help keep your blood sugar levels steady and make it less likely for you to cave to the Dark side and pound a box of Cheez Its.
- Don’t skimp on sleep. Get at least 7 – 8 hours of sleep each night. Simply doing can reduce your cortisol level by more than half, when compared to people who get less than six hours. So get 7 – 8 hours of sleep and skip the extra episode on Netflix, it will still be there tomorrow!
- Make time to relax. I will be the first to admit that I suck at this, but that does not mean it is any less true. Taking time to unwind is not a luxury; it is a necessity if you are going to master your stress. Find something that makes you laugh and smile, I like to play with my kids. Which ironically, leads to something getting broken, but you get the point. Maybe a massage would be better :-).
Please, see these stress-busting tips to get you through Hurricane Florence unscathed from the Dark Side!
Now go and be awesome!
KELLEN LAKE – Praying for the Carolinas :-).
PS – See the workout below and be safe!
Warm-up with 5- 10 minutes of light cardio, then dynamic stretches (leg swings, arm circles, etc.). After the workout, cool down with light cardio (walking, etc.) to bring down the heart rate, and then stretch.
2 Rounds.
20 Walking lunges (1-1)
30 sec Kettlebell swings
20 Prisoner squats
30 sec Kettlebell swings
15 Push-ups
30 sec Kettlebell swings
10 x 1-Arm, 1-Leg kettlebell (stand on one leg, and “row” with opposite arm) (10/side)
30 sec Kettlebell swings
Core Finisher, 30 seconds each:
Windshield washers
V-Sit Hold
Bicycle Crunches
Reverse Crunches
Spiderman Planks
Hip Bridges
