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March 15, 2009

In This Time of Economic Upheaval, Has Your Weight Loss Stopped? If So, Stress Not the Diet Could Be the Culprit.

The economy is playing havoc with my client's weight loss. Why? Stress. This article talks about the effect stress has on weight loss and offers tips on reducing stress so weight loss will return.

Lately many of my clients have seen a slow down in their weight loss. Their diets and exercise programs are the same, but the fast weight loss they were experiencing is coming to a sudden stop.

When I delve deeper to uncover what is really going on, the underlying reason seems to be today's economy. Afraid of losing their jobs, their homes, or even their faith in the solvency of their country has put them on edge. That off-tilt sense of security is playing havoc with weight loss.

Stress is devastating to the body. Not only does it cause things like shingles (something I know first hand), but it changes your body chemistry. We have all heard the word cortisone these past few years, and although we think, oh just another way to sell drugs to the obese, the fact is: stress is a very powerful emotion when it comes to disrupting the body's ability to function properly.

That disruption also plays a hand in weight loss. How can your body respond correctly to a diet when it is working so hard to keep your immune system from failing due to the high level of stress and it is releasing adrenal steroids into your bloodstream? What you cannot do, what you must not do is add to the stress by worrying over your weight loss slow down. You must see this slow down as a temporary set back. Instead of exercising harder or eating less, which will cause more stress for both you and your body, find ways to minimize the stress.

Here are a few tips:

• Stop watching the news!

  That sounds horrible I know, but if you cannot handle what you are hearing and are putting your health at risk, you must minimize the scare. The economic downturn is great for media ratings, and their scare tactics are abundant, but my opinion is, if something is physically hurting you then you must turn away.

• Determine what you can control and what you have no control over.

  I hear reasons for stress every day. I even had some clients who cheated on their diets because their choice for president did not win. They had done their part, the elections were over and yet here they were still stressing over something that they had absolutely no control over. I have another client who has a lot of young children. In our talk on stress she said that if something breaks and she can fix it, she doesn't worry. If she can't fix it, then they will live without it. These things just aren't worth stressing over. You need to do the same thing. If you can fix something, then fix it. If you can't, then you have to stop worrying about it.

• Start looking for ways to shore up your finances so you feel more confident in your ability to survive the economic downturn.

  Being pro-active always relieves stress. When you feel as though you are doing your best to prepare, you will be less likely to worry.

•  Don't take on other people's drama.

  This happens all the time with my clients. They know someone who is having a hard time and they let that other person's stress become their own. You cannot do this and stay healthy. Helping someone is one thing and will actually alleviate your own stress, but becoming consumed by other people's stress is only going to increase yours.

•  Learn to meditate.

  Learn to take ten to fifteen minutes once or twice a day to just sit still and let your mind find peace. Think of those periods of quiet as healing times to get through the next year or so until economic recovery.

• Exercise

  Without a doubt exercise is the best stress reducer out there. When you work hard, your body produces endorphins, those feel good neurotransmitters released after a hard laugh or good time in the bedroom. That sense of euphoria may only be temporary, but if you are over stressed, any amount of feel good time you can create is worth it. The other aspect is that you get to be in total control of when, where, and how long you work out. Knowing that you are in control of anything during this time of economic upheaval might just give you that added boost you need to get that weight loss going again.

The economy is not going to be fixed overnight, it could take a couple of years. If you are trying to lose weight, then my advice to you is to work as hard on alleviating stress as you do on your diet and exercise program. Instead of focusing on the scale, let the idea that you are doing healthy things for your body be the shining force behind your diet and exercise program. When the stress lessens you will reap the benefits of having stuck with your program. 

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