We now know that chronic stress is a major contributing factor to weight gain and can be keeping people from losing the weight they want, or it might make losing weight a bit more difficult than what it should be. In fact, 
studies show that stress causes people to consume more calories, have more trouble being motivated to exercise, and even experience changes in their bodies that make it harder to lose weight.
One of these changes in the body is the production of our chronic stress hormone cortisol. Too much cortisol slows down the metabolism and promotes fat storage. This Blog might shed some light on the relationship between weight loss or weight gain and stress.
It is not just important to manage stress for losing weight or keeping a healthy weight, but more for our overall health and well-being.
And if you’re in the 91% of people who struggle with stress every day, naturally you’re probably wondering what you can do to take care of your stress and get rid of it once and for all.
Stress comes in many forms and interestingly enough, it is how we perceive situations, work, and life in general that either causes us to be stressed or not. Your stress levels might be high or not so bad, but no matter how they are, it is best to do something about the stress in your life.
It might be that you struggle with your energy at certain times of the day, are in a state of constant worry, have trouble sleeping, feel tired in the mornings, or even experience periods of panic and concern.
I understand that sometimes it is very difficult to admit that we are stressed. In fact, we might even feel guilty admitting it. But please don’t let our egos override our problems and let’s look at what we can do to be less stressed.
Learn how to relax and rest. Relaxation techniques such as tai chi, qui gong, yoga or meditation can help to control stress and improve your well-being. Find a class and a teacher that you like. Going to bed early and getting enough sleep is essential too. You can also download a relaxation or meditation app onto your I-pad, I-pod, phone or tablet and use it daily. Or you can learn to meditate here. Whatever way you do it will be great and a step forward! And for some people it might be to go for a relaxing nice walk.
Another thing that can be so good for us and is great to learn no matter what age we are is mindfulness. There is a brief introduction to mindfulness here and info on my online mindfulness course here.
If you like to read and find out more about mindfulness Here are 5 book tips on mindfulness from Annabel Candy.
And here is one of my previous blogs on how to manage and deal with Stress.
I hope you find some of these tips above helpful. Please contact me if you would like some help to get off the stress rollercoaster so you will feel better.
Be well and relax.
Jamila