IS STRESS MAKING ME FAT?!

In a word... YES!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but stress is the number one reason for health problems. These problems include illness, disease, chronic pain, insomnia, and it all starts with.... you guessed it, weight gain.

The biggest reasons people say they stress include death, marriage, separation or divorce, work, school, children, holidays and even vacation (my hubby was a little stressed on ours!!!!!) 

Whether good or bad, it seems that change seems to be the biggest cause of stress on our lives.

We all go through constant changes. For example, when I moved from Southern Utah to Ellensburg it was a BIG change! While living in Southern Utah I LOVED going to the gym!!! I worked out daily taking other great instructors classes, and I also taught many of my own. The gyms I attended had child care, swimming pools, tons of activities, that's what "we" did, we hung out at the gym!!!!

Moving to Eburg, I found myself in a community, where the access to a gym was not just steps from my door. There were not quite as many child care options, my beloved year round indoor pool with water slides was no where to be found, and I couldn't just slide into my favorite booth at the health food restraint, across the street, and grab a clean meal after class!

So, I told myself I couldn't work-out.... after all I didn't have MY GYM anymore!  HOW COULD I WORK OUT?!?!  Right?

I started stressing over starting my business ALL OVER in Washington state, Helping my son adjust, putting a messy divorce behind me... etc etc....

I noticed that I started feeling bloated and a little heavier than usual. Lack of exercise and stress was taking it's toll. When we are under stress, our body over produces the cortisol hormone. This hormone is important to regulate energy, however cortisol also has the ability to control how we store fat.... Studies have shown that under high levels of stress our body's cortisol levels cause us to store fat in our deep abdominal tissue.... oh no, a stress belly!

So how do we combat the feelings of stress? It's virtually impossible to avoid stress & change. Here are my top 6 suggestions to relieve stress:

Get More Sleep: I confess, Sometimes I love to stay up late watching my fav shows with my husband Dan, but times when I'm susceptible to stress it's even more important to get a good nights sleep. TURN THE TV OFF!

Eat Healthy Foods: Think healthy fats (like avocados), protein, and vegetables.

Workout: Try taking a Yoga class if you can't bring yourself to do anything else!

Take a Day Off: Sometimes it seems like the absolute last thing you should do. But when you get away from whatever situation is causing stress, you will be able to see the big picture. 

Breathe & think: Sometimes we just go full steam ahead and stress like crazy and never slow down to think about it! Stop, take some deep breaths!!! Think, "ok, really.... can I change this?" If you can't, no point in stressing. 

*Personal example time: (very personal) remember that messy divorce I mentioned, well my X spent a little time stalking and threatening me.... UM, OK TRY LIKE 4 YEARS! I used to stress sooo much about it a was developing weird ticks, couldn't sleep, the stress knots in my back were so bad they were causing pain in my spine, my stomach hurt all the time, I was gaining weight.... I mean CRAZYYYY stuff was going on inside me!!!!! Finally I realized, as much as I want things to be different, I can ONLY CONTROL MYSELF AND HOW I DEAL WITH THINGS. I cannot control my X. I could continue to stress like crazy and destroy my health and my well being, or I could do whatever I could to help myself, and then just not stress over what he chose to do. There was nothing I could do about it anyway. 

Scary?..... YES!

But, if he was going to show up somewhere, I couldn't stop it, so why constantly look over my shoulder everywhere I went?  He'd either show up, or not.

Now, I'm not saying to be passive and not take action! I took ALL the action I could, and because of that action,  finally got to a safe place in my life. But being in that situation in the 1st place was out of my control.  And, I had to do a lot of things that were hard, scary, and stressful that I would have rather not done. But I did it!!! And I'm better and stronger for it!

Finally, Be Thankful:  Think of ALL the great things you have in your life!  Write them down if you need to!  And do some service for those who are less fortunate than you!  Nothing snaps you back to the reality of how GREAT your life is like helping someone who really has some challenges!

Overall, we must learn to accept the things we cannot change and have faith that everything will work the way it's supposed to. I believe in a God who has an awesome plan for my life. A plan that's far beyond anything I could ever imagine. And don't worry, when you reduce your stress levels with a healthy diet and workout plan, you're belly will be back to flat in no time. 

xoxo

-e