De-Stress Your Weight Loss Program To Lose Belly Fat | Lifestyle

De-Stress Your Weight Loss Program To Lose Belly Fat

by Dr.GeorgeBest

One of the most common areas of weight gain - the lower belly "pooch" can be a huge source of frustration from those who are working hard through their diet and exercise programs to get rid of it. In most cases, the frustration comes from the fact that restrictive diets and intense exercise may actually be contributing to the development of belly fat rather than helping to burn it.

To understand why belly fat is such a common problem and why the harder you try to eliminate it, the worse it gets, it is necessary to have a little background in physiology. From a hormonal perspective, the belly fat problem is an issue of overworked adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are small organs that sit on top of each kidney that produce a variety of hormones. With regards to weight control, the two adrenal hormones that are of most importance are adrenaline and cortisol. The levels of these two hormones are reactive to the body's exposure to stress, both mental and physical.

To keep things simple, suffice it to say that adrenaline stimulates fat burning and cortisol stimulates fat storage, particularly around the lower abdomen. In short-duration stress, there is a balance between the fat burning effects of adrenaline and the fat storage effects of cortisol. As the duration of stress gets longer, the production of adrenaline begins to "burn out" but the cortisol levels will remain high for much longer. This means that the longer one remains under stress, the more likely it is that the fat storage effects of cortisol will overtake the fat burning effects of adrenaline.

So, to sum things up, chronic stress leads to excess cortisol, and cortisol causes your body to store fat in the lower abdomen. If you have belly fat accumulation as your primary pattern of weight gain, chances are it is at least largely related to your body's reaction to stress. As I mentioned earlier, stress can be both mental and physical. You may be well-aware of the mental stress you are under, such as you work, family responsibilities, traffice, crime, etc.. Those are things you may or may not be able to do anything about, but have you considered the self-imposed physical stress your weight loss program may be causing?

A healthy diet and a moderate exercise program will not significantly increase cortisol levels, but some people go overboard with their weight loss efforts. If you get too restrictive on your diet and/or get too intense with your exercise program, these can result in significant stress on the body. This undue stress can not only prevent you from losing belly fat, it could actually cause you to put on even more!

If we consider diet first, when you cut back your calorie intake too severely, the body senses that as starvation. The body considers starvation to be a highly stressful state and it reacts strongly to it. So, how do you know if you've restricted your calories too much? The simplest way to tell is if you feel hungry all the time or develop hypoglycemic symptoms (dizziness, feeling faint, headaches, moodiness, etc). Now hunger is different from cravings for specific types of food. What I'm talking about actual hunger pangs and/or low blood sugar reactions. If you are getting hungry all the time, it is a signal from your body that you need to eat more and/or more frequently - such as having snacks. This may seem counter-intuitive but as long as you stick to healthy foods, eating enough to prevent feelings of hunger will make it easier to lose weight than depriving yourself of adequate food will.

As with not eating enough, exercising too much and/or too intensely will stimulate cortisol release and tend to cause fat storage in the lower abdomen. In people with belly fat, high intensity workouts will only lead to feeling tired and getting frustrated with the failure to lose any weight. For people trying to lose belly fat (as the main location of their weight gain), low intensity, and longer duration exercise is best. Aerobic activities like walking, bicycling, and other low-impact and low muscular effort exercises are best. The recommended duration and intensity is to exercise for about 30 to 60 minutes continuously at a pace at which you have enough breath to carry on a conversation without gasping. A freqency of 3 to 4 days per week will provide the best results. Individuals who carry their extra weight in areas other than the abdomen may benefit from a more intense exercise program, but the less intense exercise approach will reduce cortisol release and help those with belly fat burn it off.

With reducing the stressfulness of your weight loss regimen, you will actually find it easier to get rid of that annoying belly fat and you'll likely have more energy while doing it. Some people are scared they'll gain even more weight on this "less is more" approach. I say at least give it a try for a few weeks and see what the results are. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with how much easier your weight loss is and how much better you feel.

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.

To find out how lose weight programs can often be counter-productive and to get your free weight loss plan and report visit Dr. Best's lose weight help website. This and other unique content 'weight loss' articles are available with free reprint rights.