To many people permanent weight loss seems like an unattainable goal. They might get very close to achieving their desired weight only to cave in a moment of weakness and lose all their hard work. Often they will have actually gained weight after the whole ordeal. If you are one of these people, read for some insights as to why this happens over and over.
Stress hormones have been with us from the very beginning. They are produces when we are faced with a threat – perceived or real – which can not be immediately dealt with. As a result, we can experience exhaustion, irritability, increased muscular tension, increased heart rate and a variety of other physiological reactions.
When faced with long term stress, we start craving rich and unhealthy foods. This is actually a coping mechanism of our bodies trying to deal with stress. What’s worse, is that if you are overweight, chances are you’ve gotten into a habit of comfort eating – You eat to feel better.
This means that if you feel insecure about your weight you can get trapped in a negative spiral. You’ll feel bad and stressed for weighing more than your environment tells you to weight, and as a result you comfort yourself by eating more, worsening the situation.
If you feel you are trapped in such a spiral, there are a few things you can do to turn things around:
1 – Be aware of your bad habits
In order to deal with them, you have to know them. Be honest to yourself and write them down. One helpful trick is to keep an elastic band around your arm. Flick it against your arm whenever you catch yourself falling back to a bad habit. Your brain will associate the tiny pain impulse with the bad habit.
In order to deal with them, you have to know them. Be honest to yourself and write them down. One helpful trick is to keep an elastic band around your arm. Flick it against your arm whenever you catch yourself falling back to a bad habit. Your brain will associate the tiny pain impulse with the bad habit.
2 – Find other ways of comforting yourself
Take up a new hobby or sport that fits in your comfort zone but leads you away from the bad habits you are used to. You might take a dog so you’ll be forced to take walks in the park with him.
Take up a new hobby or sport that fits in your comfort zone but leads you away from the bad habits you are used to. You might take a dog so you’ll be forced to take walks in the park with him.
3 – Eliminating Other Stress Factors
If there are other stress factors – Trouble at work, for example – you should strive to eliminate them by dealing with them. Do not get into a habit of looking away, running and hiding, but face the situation head on and give it your best.
If there are other stress factors – Trouble at work, for example – you should strive to eliminate them by dealing with them. Do not get into a habit of looking away, running and hiding, but face the situation head on and give it your best.
4 – Stop expecting miracles
Do not make the mistake of hoping to lose all that weight quickly. Losing your excess weight permanently will require you to change your bad habits into good habits, which takes time.
Do not make big changes overnight – You will not be able to cope and fall back into your old habits again.
Make small changes instead: Start taking the stairs instead of the escalator. One lump instead of two lumps. Again: Gradual change is your key to succes!www.fatlossfactor.com
Do not make the mistake of hoping to lose all that weight quickly. Losing your excess weight permanently will require you to change your bad habits into good habits, which takes time.
Do not make big changes overnight – You will not be able to cope and fall back into your old habits again.
Make small changes instead: Start taking the stairs instead of the escalator. One lump instead of two lumps. Again: Gradual change is your key to succes!www.fatlossfactor.com
How Stress Affects Your Weight Loss Goals
People are slowly developing an understanding of how their level of stress can impact their progress toward their weight loss goals. Numerous studies have identified the link between the type of the consumed calories (e.g. protein, fat, carbohydrate) and the success of a weight gain or loss objective. But relatively little has been done to associate body chemistry with weight loss.
Our bodies have evolved very little from the body that our cave dwelling ancestors had in their lifetimes. Sure, we have computers, cell phones, commercial flight and many other advances that our ancestors couldn’t even dream about but we still have pretty much the same body we had in the cave dwelling days.
Imagine a time where you were the hunter and the hunted. You constantly had your senses up and aware of any danger as you walked about in search of food. If you wanted to eat, you had to first find something edible, hunt it down and then prepare it for consuming. Your body was in a state of stress because it was trying to save the food stores (i.e. “body fat”) it had while trying to supply your muscles with enough energy to support the hunt. This was a tricky balance in that letting go of too much body fat could lead to starvation whereas not releasing enough would lead to becoming fatigued which would lead to a failed hunt which would also lead to starvation.
Now consider our current lifestyle. We no longer walk for miles to get our next meal. We can just drive to a local fast food joint or grocery store and try to decide from the plethora of options being offered. The result is that we do not engage in the exercise of our ancestors to obtain our next meal and so we do not dig into our food energy stores (i.e. body fat) to support the hunt. Burning fewer calories means less body fat lost.
Our current stress is caused by our jerk boss and trying to pay the bills. Our bodies treat these stressors in the same fashion as our ancestors. Our body’s response to this stress is to get back on the tightrope to balance between parceling out the calories and holding on to them. Since we don’t walk for miles to pay our bills, we no longer have the physical exertion to burn off the calories and so our bodies are able to hold on to more of the body fat stores.
When we reduce our caloric intakes, the little caveman inside our bodies perceives this as a return to the fields of scarcity. This causes it to hold on to all the body fat it can to survive. If we stress our body with less food or jerk bosses then we are telling our bodies to KEEP the fat instead of lose it.
Reducing your stress levels as you exercise will allow the caveman within to work with you instead of against you.www.fatlossfactor.com
Our bodies have evolved very little from the body that our cave dwelling ancestors had in their lifetimes. Sure, we have computers, cell phones, commercial flight and many other advances that our ancestors couldn’t even dream about but we still have pretty much the same body we had in the cave dwelling days.
Imagine a time where you were the hunter and the hunted. You constantly had your senses up and aware of any danger as you walked about in search of food. If you wanted to eat, you had to first find something edible, hunt it down and then prepare it for consuming. Your body was in a state of stress because it was trying to save the food stores (i.e. “body fat”) it had while trying to supply your muscles with enough energy to support the hunt. This was a tricky balance in that letting go of too much body fat could lead to starvation whereas not releasing enough would lead to becoming fatigued which would lead to a failed hunt which would also lead to starvation.
Now consider our current lifestyle. We no longer walk for miles to get our next meal. We can just drive to a local fast food joint or grocery store and try to decide from the plethora of options being offered. The result is that we do not engage in the exercise of our ancestors to obtain our next meal and so we do not dig into our food energy stores (i.e. body fat) to support the hunt. Burning fewer calories means less body fat lost.
Our current stress is caused by our jerk boss and trying to pay the bills. Our bodies treat these stressors in the same fashion as our ancestors. Our body’s response to this stress is to get back on the tightrope to balance between parceling out the calories and holding on to them. Since we don’t walk for miles to pay our bills, we no longer have the physical exertion to burn off the calories and so our bodies are able to hold on to more of the body fat stores.
When we reduce our caloric intakes, the little caveman inside our bodies perceives this as a return to the fields of scarcity. This causes it to hold on to all the body fat it can to survive. If we stress our body with less food or jerk bosses then we are telling our bodies to KEEP the fat instead of lose it.
Reducing your stress levels as you exercise will allow the caveman within to work with you instead of against you.www.fatlossfactor.com
Simple Tips To De-Stress Your Weight Loss Efforts
Did you know that some people lose weight when they are under stress? It’s true. The rest of us pack on pounds like crazy, and then get even more stressed out because we’re gaining weight. It’s natural to turn to “comfort foods” and tv when you feel like you can’t handle your life right now. But this doesn’t help you to eliminate stress, and can create more.
Presumably you’re pretty much always under some stress, but you want to be a healthy weight in spite of that. How do you do that?
First, don’t let your weight goals cause you even more stress! That would make things harder for you, and so would be self-defeating! Instead, think of your attempt to maintain (or to achieve) a healthy weight as a chance to take care of yourself. There isn’t some state of perfection that you have to reach – you just need to balance your life, and that includes a little bit of caring for your body.
Second, in the spirit of taking care of yourself, find activities that you enjoy, and make time for them. Even as stressed out as you are, and as rushed as you feel, give yourself permission to take care your yourself by exercising a little. Take a few deep breaths, then a 5 minute walk around the block. Slow down and take the stairs at work, instead of the elevator. Sign up for a weekly yoga class, and really go. This is time for you! The little bit of time you lose here or there won’t make things any worse, and might make you feel a little better.
Third, exercise reduces stress. There have been many studies that show a strong connection between regular exercise and reduced stress. Even depression is sometimes eased by exercise. The time you take for yourself, to do some physical activity that you enjoy doing, will make you more productive later. You’ll feel better, you’ll look better, and you’ll even work better.
Food choices are a little tougher. I know how tempting comfort foods are when I’m under stress. The thing to bear in mind is that even if you choose comfort foods, you can still be careful not to eat to much. Ask yourself, “Am I hungry enough to eat an apple?” If the answer is no, then you aren’t really hungry, so don’t eat.
Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is really just a matter of taking care of yourself. No matter how much your child wants to stay home from school every day, you wouldn’t be taking good care of her if you let her goof off like that. Similarly, no matter how tempting it is to be sedentary and eat lots of junk food, you have to take care of your long term interests a little, by exercising and eating right (or at least by not eating too much).www.fatlossfactor.com
Presumably you’re pretty much always under some stress, but you want to be a healthy weight in spite of that. How do you do that?
First, don’t let your weight goals cause you even more stress! That would make things harder for you, and so would be self-defeating! Instead, think of your attempt to maintain (or to achieve) a healthy weight as a chance to take care of yourself. There isn’t some state of perfection that you have to reach – you just need to balance your life, and that includes a little bit of caring for your body.
Second, in the spirit of taking care of yourself, find activities that you enjoy, and make time for them. Even as stressed out as you are, and as rushed as you feel, give yourself permission to take care your yourself by exercising a little. Take a few deep breaths, then a 5 minute walk around the block. Slow down and take the stairs at work, instead of the elevator. Sign up for a weekly yoga class, and really go. This is time for you! The little bit of time you lose here or there won’t make things any worse, and might make you feel a little better.
Third, exercise reduces stress. There have been many studies that show a strong connection between regular exercise and reduced stress. Even depression is sometimes eased by exercise. The time you take for yourself, to do some physical activity that you enjoy doing, will make you more productive later. You’ll feel better, you’ll look better, and you’ll even work better.
Food choices are a little tougher. I know how tempting comfort foods are when I’m under stress. The thing to bear in mind is that even if you choose comfort foods, you can still be careful not to eat to much. Ask yourself, “Am I hungry enough to eat an apple?” If the answer is no, then you aren’t really hungry, so don’t eat.
Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is really just a matter of taking care of yourself. No matter how much your child wants to stay home from school every day, you wouldn’t be taking good care of her if you let her goof off like that. Similarly, no matter how tempting it is to be sedentary and eat lots of junk food, you have to take care of your long term interests a little, by exercising and eating right (or at least by not eating too much).www.fatlossfactor.com
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