One of the most important steps you can ever take to lose weight is to lower your stress.
Why is this so important?
When you are stressed, the cortex of your two adrenal glands on top of each of your kidneys release a steroid hormone called cortisol.
- Cortisol raises your blood sugar.
- Cortisol mobilizes your fat deposits so that you store fat around your abdomen.
- Cortisol aids baby fat cells to grow up to become mature fat cells.
- Cortisol affects CRH (corticotrophin releasing hormone), leptin, and neuropeptide Y (NPY), which cause your appetite level to go up.
- Humans who were given cortisol injections in lab tests had increased appetite, weight gain and increased sugar cravings.
You release cortisol when:
- You skip meals or fast.
- You are inflamed.
- You are sleep deprived.
- You are sick, in pain or psychologically stressed. To find out exactly how stressed you are, look at the Holmes and Rahe stress scale.
How can you lower your cortisol naturally?
- Meditation.
- Yoga, tai chi and qi gong. See the videos on how to do this at these links.
- Deep breathing exercises. See the videos on how to do this at this link.
- Eat an anti-inflammatory diet, as inflammation in the body causes the release of cortisol. Take Biodetox, which lowers your inflammation naturally.
- Take Omega Plus. Order your bottle of high quality fish oil at this link.
- Eat five mini meals every day to keep your blood sugar under control.
- Never skip meals, as fasting causes your body to release cortisol.
- Reduce or eliminate caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, sugar and fried foods, all of which cause your body to release cortisol.
- Resolve your core emotional issues. You can set up an appointment for a session with me by emailing catherine@unlimitedenergynow.com or calling 678-612-8816 or setting up an appointment on Skype at catherinecarrigan.
- Go to bed no later than 10 p.m. If you have trouble sleeping deeply, set up an appointment with me to resolve your sleep issues.
- You may benefit from adaptogens. Order Destressing Formula, which contains a synergistic combination of vitamins B5 and B6, cordyceps sinesis, rhodiola rosea, PABA and panax ginseng.
- Drink half your body weight in ounces of water every day, as dehydration will cause your body to release cortisol.
- Spend time in nature. Mother nature knows how to heal you!
- Resolve digestive issues. Chronic uncontrolled GI problems cause the release of cortisol.
- Give or receive massage. You can download a FREE printout on how to perform a self lymphatic massage on my Pinterest board at this link.
- Moderate daily exercise.
- Set up an appointment with me to determine which stage of adrenal stress you are in. If you are highly stressed, you may need to adjust your exercise program. Your body releases cortisol in high intensity aerobic exercise where your heart rate exceeds 100 beats per minute.
- Avoid severe low calorie diets. If you want to lose weight for good, set up an appointment with me to learn how you can balance your nutrition, exercise and stress management to heal your metabolism and be thin for life.
- Avoid marijuana. Although you think it may make you more laid back, smoking weed has been proven to raise cortisol.
- Avoid angry outbursts, as getting angry for as little as 5 minutes has been proven to raise your cortisol for 6 hours.
One of the sure signs that you have high levels of cortisol is a high waist to hip ratio (WHR). The waist to hip ratio is a measure of your waist divided by the circumference of your hips. In general, the risk is high for men when your WHR is greater than .96 for men and .84 for women.
This body shape is also a sure sign you are at increased risk for diabetes and heart disease.
If you have been feeling stressed and tired, have a high level of abdominal fat and have been unable to lose weight, don’t just go on the next fad diet, starve yourself or sign up for a boot camp and expect to get good results.
Now that you understand how cortisol works, you know those choices will only backfire for you in the long run.
Set up an appointment with me to resolve your core issues and discover how good it feels to say goodbye to stress fat forever. Call 678-612-8816 or email catherine@unlimitedenergynow.com or Skype me at catherinecarrigan for a FREE 15 minute consult.