HOW TO ELIMINATE STRESS AND PREVENT WEIGHT GAIN

17 Highly Effective Stress Relievers

We are living in uncertain times

and now on top of ongoing life challenges and work demands there is the uncertainty and negativity brought on by coronavirus and this may be causing you constant stress.
What you may not be realizing is that this constant stress is adding an extra layer of fat deep in your belly which is unsightly, unhealthy and difficult to get rid of.

Belly fat releases chemicals which trigger inflammation.

In turn, this increases the likelihood that you will develop heart disease or diabetes.
Cortisol is a steroid hormone, commonly known as the stress hormone, produced by the adrenal glands and it is released when your body senses stress.
It takes a few minutes for you to feel the effects of cortisol in the face of stress, because the release of this hormone takes a multi-step process involving two additional minor hormones.
First, the part of the brain called the amygdala has to recognize a threat.
It then sends a message to the part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which releases corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). CRH then tells the pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH),
which tells the adrenal glands to produce cortisol.

Problems arise when you are in a constant state of stress

the body continuously releases cortisol. Like other hormones, it’s vital to survival but chronic elevated levels can lead to overeating, weight gain and more serious issues.
Too much cortisol can suppress the immune system, increase blood pressure and sugar, decrease libido, produce acne, contribute to obesity and more.
When cortisol production kicks into overdrive, it affects the entire body in a breakdown process that basically ages people before their time.
Another connection to weight gain is cortisol’s effect on appetite and increased cravings for high-calorie foods.
Continual stress leads to a constant state of excess cortisol production, which stimulates glucose production.
This excess glucose gets converted into fat, ending up as stored belly fat.

Alongside the stress and the resulting chronic overload of cortisol, you also feel tired and listless.
You reach out for high carb foods to renew your energy and comfort yourself, with the end result of even more extra inches accumulating around your belly.

It is generally accepted that stress-induced cortisol weight is usually gained around the waistline, because fat cells in this area are more sensitive to cortisol. The fat cells in your abdomen are richer in stress hormone receptors, are particularly sensitive to high insulin and are very effective at storing body fat.

Unfortunately, this is the most dangerous place to gain weight, as it can lead to metabolic syndrome, diabetes and heart disease.

Signs of Cortisol Induced Weight Gain

Weight gain particularly around the abdomen and hips
Difficulty in losing weight
Bloating or Water retention
Headaches
Mood swings
Irritability
Sluggish metabolism
Stomach problems
Foggy thinking, memory loss
Feeling tired or dizzy
Trouble sleeping/insomnia

How to Decrease the Hold Stress Has on Your Body

If you change your reaction to stress, or change what causes stress, you can completely change your body’s chemistry, lose weight and improve health.

Pay attention to lifestyle improvements that allow you to take time out and look after yourself.
Adopt attitudes of forgiveness, letting go, positive attitudes and feelings of gratitude.
Step away from toxic family and friends that may be causing undue stress in your life.
Follow a balanced, real food-based diet. Follow the food charts given at the start of the program.
Do not eat on the run, at your desk, standing up or when you are feeling high levels of stress, this interferes with the absorption of the nutrients.
Don’t cut calories to extremely low levels. When you are under stress the need for nutrients is greater.
Research has shown that when listening to soothing music, cortisol doesn’t rise as much.
Try and get a good night’s sleep.
Get a pet, even if it is a goldfish!

Yoga and Meditation for Stress Release

Practicing meditation can significantly reduce cortisol production. Most things that are in your control when it comes to healing with stress include relaxation techniques, yoga, exercise and meditation.
When the source of stress is ongoing marital or sexual problems, specific counseling may be required.

The Breathing in Flow training program will trigger your optimal performance and catapult your performance levels by 300% while simultaneously boosting testosterone, improving recovery time, curing performance anxiety, fatigue, sleep problems, respiratory conditions and controlling weight gain issues.

Yoga is one of the best practices you can do if you need help to relieve stress. We all have stress in our lives, but what we do with that stress, and how we let the stress affect our life, is the real issue that needs to be addressed.

Essential oils for reducing Cortisol

Adrenal™ : These small, triangular-shaped glands secrete cortisol to regulate energy production and storage, control blood sugar, immune function, heart rate, muscle tone, and other processes that enable you to rapidly respond to stress.
The health and resilience of the adrenals (along with the hypothalamus and hippocampus) help to determine our tolerance to stress. To help keep your adrenals balanced and not over releasing cortisol,
apply 1- 2 drops of the Adrenal™ on the adrenal glands (lower mid-back, one fist above the 12th rib on each side) upon waking, before bed and throughout the day as needed.

Hypothalamus™ : This pearl size region of the brain located just above the brain stem serves as control center for neural and hormonal messages received from/sent to body, including signals to trigger the release of cortisol.
The ability of the hypothalamus to receive clear messages from the body is critical as all outgoing endocrine and neural signals are based on the clarity of these incoming signals, including the ability to put the brakes on cortisol release.
To optimize the ability of the hypothalamus to send and receive signals, apply 1 drop of Hypothalamus™ on forehead slightly above the third eye up to 6 times daily.

Circadian Rhythm™ : Our sleep/wake cycle, known as our circadian rhythm, requires the release of melatonin, a hormone crucial to sleep.
Melatonin has an antagonist relationship to the stress hormone cortisol and the two hormones in conjunction help regulate our circadian rhythms.
This means that when cortisol is high, melatonin is low. Chronic and prolonged stress triggers the adrenal glands to release cortisol and throws off the body’s natural cortisol/melatonin rhythm.
Cortisol should be high in the mornings when you wake up and gradually taper off throughout the day so you feel tired at bedtime and can fall asleep.
High levels of cortisol at night, drive down melatonin and make it difficult to fall asleep. To return the circadian rhythms to balance and put the brakes on the night time release of cortisol,
apply Circadian Rhythm™ above ears, on top of skull and very back of the head before bed.

Vibrant Blue Oils Stress Support Kit™ contains three powerful oils – Adrenal Balance®, Hypothalamus™ and Circadian Rhythm® – that when used in combination with healthy lifestyle changes , helps support the body’s systems of stress management.

Have you found yourself under stress lately? What did you do to relieve the stress in your life?
Or, perhaps this is the first time you have been made aware of how stress can impact your life.
I would love to know what changes you made to help you be more aware of the stress in your life,
and what you did to help cope with it. Please share your experience in the comments below.