Your Diet Won’t Work Unless…
Raise your hand if you’re stressed. I can almost see a
sea of hands going up. I doubt that there are many
people who claim not to be stressed. At home or at
work, it can sometimes seem that the world is a very
stressful place.
But could this stress be the cause of your weight
gain? Absolutely. Most people know that stress
psychologically make you want to eat more. But did
you know that stress actually causes you to release
certain hormones which may cause you to gain
weight even if you eat less and exercise more?
One of the stress hormones is a steroid called
cortisol. Steroids cause weight gain through many
complicated pathways. They can cause you to feel
more. They can also cause you to store more fat.
So the obvious solution is to reduce stress in your life.
But how do you do that?
First you have to figure out what exactly is stressing
you out. Then you need to figure out if it is a situation
that you can change or if it is something that you need
to learn to cope with better.
For example, the stress may be certain habits that you
have fallen into - not getting enough sleep, drinking on
a regular basis, racking up debt, smoking or using
drugs. The key is to of course change your habits.
With major stressors like these, you’re unlikely to be
able to lose weight and keep it off.
On the other hand, if the stressor is a person a family
member, teenager, boss, coworker, spouse or other
person), you may not be able to change the situation.
This may be a person you need to deal with on a
regular basis and just need to deal with better.
Here’s are some tips on how to deal with
unchangeable situations:
Breathe deeply. This is one of the
principles behind yoga and meditation (and even
smoking). Learning to breathe properly can help you
to relax instantly. Take a moment right now to focus on
your breathing. Is it shallow or deep? Here’s a hint:
You’re abdoment should come out when you take in a
deep breath. Try breathing in for a count of 8, hold your
breath for a count of 8 and breath out for a count of 12.
Take several breaths like this and see if you feel more
relaxed.
Laugh more. My personal favorite method of
relaxing. Recently, I started to listening to a stand-up
comedy station on XM (satellite) radio and darn it all if
the same bad drivers and traffic didn’t bother me so
much. You can purchase comedy CD’s to play in your
car or during breaks. Or just go to your local library
which is chock full of them. Try Ray Romano’s ‘Live at
Carnegie Hall’, Jerry Seinfeld’s ‘I’m Telling You for the
Last Time’, or Ellen Degeneres’s ‘Taste This’. Great
classic stand-up includes Bill Cosby and Woody Allen.
If you don’t mind profanity, try Chris Rock.
Chill out with music. Just like energetic
music perks up your energy levels (imagine if they
played opera music at a dance club), calming music
can cause your relax. Try jazz, classical, soft rock/pop
or muzak (elevator music).
Other techniques. Dance, walk, talk to a friend
or do any other activity that normally relaxes you. Or
you can try autogenic training, progressive muscle
relaxation, guided imagery or hypnosis.
The point is that we can all use a little (or a lot) of
destressing. While you’re problems may still be there
when you get back, you’ll be in a better frame of mind
to handle them and you’ll be less likely to gain weight
over them.