Hey! Its been a long while since i last wrote anything in here. Today i found something new to share with you. I have been trying to lose some belly fat for sometimes already. I do aerobic exercises and now starting on a low carbohydrate diets as well. Then i found this information that really surprised me. I can do all those exercises and dieting but if i continue to allow stress be in my workbook as well, then everything i do might as well go down the drain.
Information i gathered from 'Shape' magazine says so.
It says that, whenever we have stress, the cortisol level in our body will increase. Cortisol causes more fat to be deposited in the abdominal area as they are more cortisol receptors at that area.
So what is cortisol?
Cortsiol is a stress hormone. It is a steroid hormone produced by our body whenever we feel stress up. It actually helps to produce glucose in out body using different resources apart from carbohydrates...it should be good. However prolonged high cortisol level may cause craving for comfort food and overeating. Too much cortisol in the blood too will reduce our immune response.
No wonder, stress is one of the contributors for many diseases. And....chronic high cortisol levels also kill neurons in the brain and interfere with production of feel good chemicals (serotonin and dopamine) leading to depression and more stress.
So, in short, we have to control our stress level hence controlling level of cortisol. This will help us turn away from comfort food, and yes, helps reduce belly fat.
'Shape' also suggests six simple ways to shrink stress (excerpt from David D Burns, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy):
1. Eat more foods rich in Omega-3 fats
2. Do vigorous walk or bike ride.
3. Go on Mediterranean Diet
4. Relax everyday...deep-belly breathing, meditation, muscle relaxing therapy.
5. Limit stress-fueled noshing
6. Think positively
Let us all stay away from stress and have that fantastic abs!
No comments:
Post a Comment