Is Stress making you Fat?

A mental emotion it may be, but the known symptoms of: headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke are bad enough, without now understanding that it also leads to fat gain and muscle loss. Whatever the cause of stress, the internal re-action in the body is the same. The body releases a hormon named cortisol.

How does cortisol influence fat gain? Cortisol stimulates fat and carbohydrate metabolism for fast energy, and stimulates insulin release, which then increases? appetite.

Worse, cortisol causes the body to deposit the fat on the tummy!

Doctors have shown that stress and elevated cortisol tend to cause fat deposition in the abdominal area rather than in the hips. This fat deposition has been referred to as “toxic fat” since abdominal fat deposition is strongly correlated with the development of cadiovascular disease including heart attacks and strokes.

So what can you do?

Yoga and meditation helps to bring down stress by focussing the mind away from the mentally disturbing thoughts through our body into this basic “fight or flight responce”, as can simple things like counting to 10 when you feel strong emotions coming on.

Interestingly, the educogym® system, has all the benefits of meditation and yoga, its focused exercise, as you employ all of your mind to the muscle you are working, AND has the added advantage that it stimulates Growth hormone release that burns fat and increases lean muscle tissue. Regular training in our gym keeps stress levels at bay, fat away, and people report that their day goes better after a training session.