I've been working with Kelly since the beginning of this year. She has made incredible progress in all areas of her health and wellbeing - inch loss, shape change, a better understanding of her nutrition, ensuring her exercise regime is consistent.
However, the latter part of this year her inch loss was slowing down. She was doing everything the same - on track with her food, and her movement and weight training regime hadn't really changed. So we looked into what else was happening in her life, and it became apparent that there had been an increase in her stress levels, for lots of different reasons. Stress, unknowingly to most people, can hinder fat loss.
How stress affects fat loss When many of us are stressed it impacts our sleep. A sleep-deprived body will produce more of the stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol triggers the reward centre in your brain and can make you crave food, which many feel the need to satisfy.
Stress can also make fat loss more difficult for many people, as cortisol can also hang onto that body fat which makes it harder to lose weight, especially around the tummy. I know this affects me, and many of my clients.
So how can you get this under control?
· Reflecting on what is making you stressed and putting in coping techniques
· Eating a well balanced diet with filling, nutritious food
· Sleeping well
· Trying relaxation techniques
· Taking up a hobby
· Learning to unwind
· Laughing and having fun
· Exercising regularly
Through my conversations with Kelly we worked out what was stressing her out and put some techniques into place to help her cope when certain situations arose. We also changed her morning and evening routines to ensure she started and ended her day stress-free.
Implementing these small changes, and being consistent in maintaining them, has seen a real step change in how Kelly now copes with stressful situations. And on her last measure she lost 4” off her tummy. A sure sign that she was producing cortisol which was holding onto that body fat! Another massive step in her journey.
Need help managing your stress levels? Want to learn some coping techniques to help with those stressful situations? Then contact me via fitclubwithel@gmail.com.