Discover how to lose weight gained from stress with some actionable steps that go a long way in managing stress levels and helping you lead a happier, healthier life.
Stress is a part of many people’s lives, and it can have both positive and negative effects on your health.
And when this turns into chronic stress, the body produces the stress hormone cortisol in response to fight-or-flight hormones like adrenaline.
In some cases, this leads to weight gain or unwanted belly fat—but what are the best ways to manage stress? And what is the best way to lose weight gained from stress?
Continue reading for some simple strategies that you can use today!
What Is Stress?
Stress is a natural part of life, and it’s something we’ve all been through at some point and will go through many more times throughout the rest of our lives.
It can be caused by various factors, including financial instability, problems with social relationships, and the ongoing pressures of work.
Stress is basically an emotional or physical reaction to external threats that make us feel threatened or in danger.
And if it’s something that you experience regularly, it can have a negative impact on your way of life.
How To Identify Stress
As there are many different types of stress, identifying it can often be easier said than done. So, try to think about what has been happening when you’ve started feeling stressed.
And if it’s a lot of things, then that could be the problem – you’re dealing with too many threats at once!
To help identify which types of stressors are causing your most difficult reactions, ask yourself questions such as:
- What time during the day does your stressful experience occur?
- How long did these feelings last?
- Did you have any bodily changes like headaches, difficulty breathing, or increased heart rate from this experience?
Take the time to think about your answers to the above, and this will help you identify which type of stress is the most intense for you.
Types Of Stress
Imagine you were asked to name the top three causes of stress. Most people would probably think of work, family, and money, since stress is pretty much inevitable when these three areas of life are involved.
However, many other things can create stress in our lives that don’t get as much attention in popular discussions of the subject, like stress caused by personal goals, for example.
Whatever the case, it’s clear that stress comes in many forms, and it can be hard to know when you’re experiencing one type versus another.
But here are some responses to stress that people often experience:
- anxiety and depression
- anger, irritability, or aggression
- difficulty paying attention
- headaches
- insomnia or sleep deprivation
- gastrointestinal complications (1)
These signs and symptoms of stress can be caused by various issues, including long-term unemployment, significant life changes or crises such as an illness or death in the family, and chronic pain that isn’t addressed with treatment, among many other things.
Luckily, it doesn’t have to be this way, and you’ll learn how to manage your stress levels better later in the article.
How Stress Affects Weight Loss
If you’re someone who is dealing with a lot of stress in their life, you’ll probably find that it’s inevitable that you’ll gain weight.
Weight is gained due to the body storing excess energy as fat for times when food isn’t available, and when there are a lot of stress hormones in your system, it will cause an increase in appetite, with some people eating more than they normally would.
Ultimately, this can lead to overeating as you may use food as a coping mechanism for dealing with stress.
Luckily, incorporating healthy coping mechanisms will help to reduce the effects of stress-induced weight gain.
A great way to start would be to learn how to manage your diet and get enough exercise to deal with any potential problems before they spiral out of control.
This means avoiding high-calorie foods, otherwise known as comfort foods, which can lead to overeating and getting in plenty of exercise weekly so you can burn extra calories and reduce your stress levels.
Even as something as simple as a short daily walk can make a huge difference as will help clear your head!
Best Ways To Deal With Stress
Stressful situations arise in many forms, but there are a few ways that you can deal with them more effectively to minimize the effects on your physical and mental health.
Here are some of the best ways to manage stress to avoid putting yourself at risk:
- Exercise regularly by taking time for fitness each day or week; try something like yoga, walking, swimming, etc.
- Meditate, take a bath, or do something else you enjoy.
- Create and stick with your plan of action when dealing with difficult situations that cause you anxiety. This will help to prevent the build-up of too much stress.
- Set realistic goals so that you can work on reducing your stress in baby steps as opposed to overwhelming yourself.
Final Thoughts: How To Lose Weight Gained From Stress
As you’ll now know, stress is something that everyone will experience at some point in their life, and this can often turn into high stress and eating too much food if you aren’t careful.
But if you take on board the tips I’ve outlined in this article, you’ll be able to manage your stress levels better, and this will hopefully promote weight loss.
Managing your diet and getting in enough exercise each week will undoubtedly make a huge difference, but you must first identify the things that are causing elevated stress levels to identify the root cause.
Whatever the cause may be, the best thing you can do is start today!
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