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How Your Stress Interferes with Losing Weight

You feel like you are doing all the right things, but you are still not losing weight - what's going on?  STRESS: Cortisol, Betatrophin and your brain are working against you.  

In this article "Why Does Chronic Stress Make Losing Weight More Difficult" By Christopher Bergland, Psychology Today, some fascinating facts are revealed, providing sound scientific evidence and support for the importance of meeting your well-weight goals with mindfulness, movement and healthy eating.

I love the whole article, and recommend reading it beginning to end, but the two main points I want you to consider:

#1  "What can be done to break the chronic stress and weight-gain cycle? I would recommend a dual-pronged approach of stress management through mindfulness meditation and regular
exercise to burn fat. Kick-starting an exercise routine will burn calories and also lower stress
hormones.  Obviously, to reduce body fat and lose weight, you have to balance your calories in-calories out by exercising more and not overeating. Luckily, by becoming proactive about mindfulness, exercise, and stress reduction simultaneously you can create an upward spiral that increases metabolism and facilitates weight loss."

#2  "In 2011, Elissa Epel, who was one of the original researchers to identify the link between cortisol secretion and abdominal fat, conducted a study on the benefits of mindfulness meditation, lowering cortisol, and reducing body fat. Her findings suggest improvements in mindfulness,  stress management, and lower cortisol were associated with reductions in abdominal fat.  Mindfulness, meditation, and exercise appear to be an effective triad for minimizing stress and improving your ability to successfully lose weight."

Wellness is a complete and total concept. Your body and its' systems want to operate in balance and you have to be the one to help yourself - yoga, fitness, nutrition.