Stress is a natural response to life’s immediate challenges. It can be acute such as what happens when a sudden storm knocks a tree branch onto your front porch barely missing your puppy. Or it can be chronic, like when you’re battling an illness which requires intensive medical treatments. Our bodies secrete hormones in times of crisis which over time may lead to weight gain.
Cortisol produced by the adrenal gland promotes the secretion of insulin by the pancreas which triggers fat storage. And ghrelin, secreted by the stomach promotes hunger and cravings for comfort foods. These physiological responses to real issues may not always be avoidable. So I’d like to share 5 tips to help you to avoid stress-related weight gain.
1.Practice Mindful Meditation
Practice deep breathing exercises to send messages to your brain to calm down and relax
2. Pencil in Workouts
The release of endorphins will lower stress and help you to look and feel better in the long run
3.Express your emotions and don’t use food to soothe them
Someone I love once told me that allowing oneself to feel sadness or grief or disappointment is a human expectation. It’s when we try to escape these feelings that we start to get into trouble
4. Let Go and Let God
There’s only so much you can do and then there’s God. I would venture to say, it’s all up to God and when we trust him more, we tend to worry less anyway.
5. Find creative outlets
Explore new hobbies such as knitting, word puzzles and painting.
These five strategies will help you avoid stress-related weight gain and get you back into your skinny jeans in no time. Follow me at AskDrGoldieMD.com for healthy tips and weight loss hacks to help you live your best life- not just well but by design!
