Sound too good to be true? Well read on…
Stress can come in many forms:
- Physical stress – e.g. Exercise
- Chemical stress – e.g. Medication
- Electromagnetic stress – e.g. Computers/mobile phones
- Psychic or Mental stress – i.e. How you interpret stress
- Nutritional stress – e.g. Poor diet
- Thermal stress – e.g. Extreme heat/cold
The above can be broken into two types – internal stressors and external stressors.
The more stress your body is under from either internal or external stressors, the more stress hormones it will produce. When your body is over-burdened from producing and coping with stress hormones, it is not able to produce adequate levels or repair hormones to keep your body healthy and slim.
There is now a proven link between producing excess stress hormones (Cortisol) and gaining abdominal fat.
Tips to reduce stress – and therefore reduce your body fat:
- Remember to breathe properly. When you think of it try to remember to take diaphragm breathes. You will get more oxygen in to feed every cell in your body. This will also help to decrease your cortisol levels.
- Stay hydrated – drinking less than the recommended daily amount of fluid allows your body to become dehydrated. This will add to your body’s physical stress, in turn raising your internal stress levels.
- Reduce the amount of artificial stimulants you consume, especially after 2pm. Coffee is very high in antioxidants but consuming it too close to bedtime is detrimental to your health particularly if you are trying to lower your stress levels. One coffee = minus 3 glasses of water.
If you are dehydrated you will feel the need for more stimulants, try having some water first, it may help you to feel better. These stimulants will otherwise raise your cortisol ‘stress’ hormone.
Remember – Internal stressors only serve to magnify external stressors!
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