The Invisible Enemy of Weight Loss– Stress
Show me someone who has struggled with weight loss for a while and I show you someone who is stressed up to their eyeballs.
Stress is the killer of weight loss progress, and your health as well.
We have stress coming from work, there can be relationship stress, and then there is also the stress that comes from exercise. Yes, exercise is stressful to the body.
If we do not do anything about stress, then weight loss becomes very difficult.
Well, how do you manage stress? Just take it easy? Don’t worry, be happy?
That is an element of it. But we probably need something more practical too.
Here are a few stress reduction methods to routinely incorporate into your lifestyle.
Meditation
It's scientifically proven to bring down stress levels.Laughter
It releases feel good hormones in the body.Balanced diet
Carbs control cortisol by increasing insulin, and a nutrient rich diet makes you more resilient to stress.Mindful walks
Intense exercise increases stress levels, low impact exercise like mindful walking in nature does the opposite.Reading
Reading can be a relaxing activity that also takes the mind off of the stressful things you have experienced that day.
This is why with my clients, one of the things we tick off a checklist every day is a stress management/wind down practice.
Stress is an invisible thing that we often forget has a huge impact.
