Just One Thing for Excess Belly Fat
Chronic Stress, Belly Fat, and Cardiovascular Disease
Stress isn't just mental—it's physical too.
Unmanaged stress in midlife can lead to excess belly fat…not to mention seriously increased health risks.
When stressed, your body activates the “sympathetic nervous system” (aka fight-or-flight response), causing more shallow & short breathing, increased cortisol production, muscle tension, and increased blood sugar levels.
Living in a state of constant stress is one of the biggest contributing factors to not only excess belly fat (visceral fat), but also higher incidences of cardiovascular diseases.
Chronic stress can result in conditions like…
- Adrenal fatigue- Significant visceral fat accumulation
- Chronic inflammation that leads to joint pain and fatigue
- Chronically high blood sugar levels that lead to insulin resistance and diabetes. (In fact, stress-induced diabetes is a very real thing), and more.
The cherry on top of your ‘stress sundae’?
These effects are even more pronounced during perimenopause and menopause due to declining levels of hormones that normally counteract cortisol released when you're experiencing stress.
All that to say - Managing stress is crucial for maintaining a healthy body composition and overall well-being.
Your goal?
Switch on your “parasympathetic nervous system” (the opposite of the fight-or-flight response) as often as possible.
JUST ONE THING
Your JUST ONE THING to help manage stress is to practice Rhythmic Breathing.
By focusing on a rhythmic style of breathing, you can calm down your “sympathetic nervous system” and have a few moments every day where your body actively settles into the “parasympathetic” state, allowing your body to relax.
It seems so simple, but it works!
How you do it:
Rhythmic Breathing (the 3rd exercise shown in the video below)
- 5-5-8 rhythm - Inhale for a slow count of 5, hold the breath in for a count of 5, exhale gradually for a full count of 8.
- Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth - As you get better, only use your nose.
- Place your hands on your belly with your thumbs touching your bottom ribs. As you inhale, try to pull the air into your hands and that thumb.
Extra tip: Stick with it and do at least 5 full cycles. If you’re really stressed, the 5-5-8 pattern will seem extremely challenging at first. But by the 5th cycle, your body WILL relax - you’ll feel it!
Did You Know...
- Rhythmic breathing is so powerful it can actually lower your blood pressure for a period of time!
- All 3 exercises shown in the video above are excellent for decreasing stress-related muscle tension.
- Once your body is pulled out of its stressed-out state, all of your other fat-reducing efforts (i.e. diet & exercise) can actually create effective change.
No Spa, No Problem
While we can't completely eliminate stress from our lives.
And most of us can't take a Spa Day every day to relax our body...
We can all take a few minutes daily to manage stress and lower blood pressure by giving our nervous system a break with Rhythmic Breathing.
Try it out this weekend and let me know how it goes!
Until next week... Be strong
