The past few weeks have been very stressful for me at work and i’ve noticed it’s had a flow on effect to my training, where my mind isn’t 100% there and also to my sleep where it’s not quite long enough and frequently distrubed.
I also noticed a bit of excess bloating, which was a bit abnormal as my diet and food choices hadn’t changed.
So I started looking into it a bit further, the effects of stress on the body.
Here’s a pretty good summary and explanation that I found on LiveStrong.com:
Cortisol can be your best friend or your sworn enemy. The steroid hormone, which is produced by your adrenal glands, plays a role in the fight-or-flight response — the physiological loop that gears your body up to fight against danger or run for your life. This is vital when faced with immediate danger, but increases in cortisol also occur in response to chronic, everyday stress. When cortisol is too high for too long, it can increase the amount of fat you hold in your belly — also called visceral fat. Because cortisol increases due to stress, you have to combine diet with stress management to reduce excess weight from cortisol, [full article: http://www.livestrong.com/article/182548-how-to-get-rid-of-cortisol-fat/]
I read more blogs, listened to more podcasts and I found a few common themes amongst the health professionals that I am going to start implementing into my own daily routine. From what I found, here are some ways to reduce your cortisol levels and consequently reduce ‘visceral fat’:
- Manage your stress
Depending on what is causing your stress learn how to manage and reduce that stress. For me it’s been work, competing and relationships. I’m working at destressing myself with all aspects, particularly by switching up my training and focus while i am in an offseason, slowing down while at work and learning how to say no. - Sleep
Getting enough sleep and getting a quality sleep. So turning off, or putting the phone away and out of reach so you are not inclined to check it through out the night or delay falling asleep. If you struggle sleeping there are supplements you can take. There are natural remedies at your local supermarket or supplements at any sup store (I have ShredTime from ASN). - Diet
Ensuring you’re eating a wide variety of wholesome foods to achieve your daily macro and micronutrient goals and obviously factoring in treats so as not to exceed your daily requirements. Easy done when ordering from MyMuscle Chef. - Excercie
Daily movement, get the body moving and release some endorphins! - Reduce caffine (less observed recommendation)
I’m going to start and continue practising the above, for me it’s mostly the stress and sleep aspects that i need to really focus on.
I hope this helps!
Roxy x
