Changing this one thing helped me lose weight

Changing this one thing helped me lose weightChanging this one thing helped me lose weightLike many women, body image is something that crosses my mind fairly regularly. It happens for a variety of reasons As a trained Health Coach and health and wellness enthusiast, Im constantly trying out new things to feel and look my best.Im pretty hard on myself about my body wanting it to be a certain shape - I am working on being kinder to myself.I unnecessarily compare myself to other people who are completely different than I am.As hard as it can be and as vain as it feels to say that I care about how my body looks, if Im being honest with you (which I am), I do care. In some ways, this has a really positive affect on my life - I eat nutritious food and move my body on a regular basis. But in other ways, it can actually be detrimental to my mental health and totally exhausting.For the longest time, I couldnt quite wrap my head around weight fluctuations. Some days I would feel great and c onfident, and other days Id feel like I didnt want to catch a glimpse of myself in the store window, bloated, and like I welchesnt even living in my body. There are weeks and months where I feel weightless and others where it feels like everything I eat sticks straight to my you know what.So what gives - why do we feel like weight comes off us effortlessly sometimes and is such a struggle others?I took a step back and started being a bit of a detective to gain a broader perspective of what was happening and why. Heres what I noticed, and maybe you can relate I realized that when Im on vacation, feeling happy, and generally content in my life, weight isnt a problem nor is it something I think about very much. On the flipside, when Im feeling overloaded, like Im losing control, or anxious, not only do I want to eat for comfort, but weight also seems to stick to me.After digging around for awhile, talking to my integrative medicine doctor, working with my acupuncturist, and doing a lo t of reading, I realized it was best explained by stress and feelings of anxiety.Yes, weight gain and stress are directly relatedWhen we start feeling stressed, our brains essentially start sounding a fire alarm triggering distress signals. This is a primal instinct as a result of adrenaline, and we go into fight-or-flight mode. While our bodies have adapted and evolved from our primal beginnings, our brains mucksmuschenstill register that fight-or-flight trigger as an indicator that we dont have enough food, sending our bodies into fat reservation. This was necessary for our ancestors because food was scarce and the body knew it needed to tap into reserves in order to survive. However, for many of us today, food is abundant, and we can access what we need at the snap of a finger. But because our bodies still register this primal instinct, reverting to fight-or-flight starvation mode can happen every time you have a stressful day or experience a stressful situation, which Im guessin g is a lot.On top of tapping into our energy reserves, our bodies also release cortisol, which tells your body that you need mora energy in the form of calories - which makes you feel falsely hungry. When we feel this schriftart of ravenous hunger, were more likely to reach for foods that arent the best for us. If youve found yourself reaching for a box of gummies or something sugary before a stressful meeting or presentation or want the biggest sandwich youve ever had in your life for lunch because you skipped breakfast, youve already met your new enemy - cortisol.Considering the fact that stress, for some awful reason, has become sexy and a commonplace indicator of success in our society, this spells trouble for our waistlines.Due to the high levels of stress in our society with the pressure of work and balancing other commitments, many of us are operating with adrenal fatigue and constantly pumping high levels of cortisol through our bodies. When cortisol is developed, testoste rone slows down, which decreases your muscle mass and calorie burning potential.When I discovered the science behind all of this, it made complete sense - but was really scary at the same time During this time of my life, I didnt feel like I had control over my own body or the things that made me feel stressed or anxious - stress was just parte of life.However, I discovered that I do have control over my reactions to situations and how I let things affect me. It didnt happen overnight, and eliminating all stress, worry, and anxiety isnt possible - life happens - but there are simple things we can do every day to balance our stress and hormone levels.Here are six ways I manage my stressMoveyour bodyPhysical fitness is crucial for stress reduction. When you exercise, your body starts pumping out endorphins, which I like to think of as happy hormones. These hormones tell the rest of your body and your brain that you feel good and happy. When you exercise for stress management, it s hould be something that makes you feel good, not something that adds more stress to your body. Keep in mind that this is different for everyone. For me, I love to mix it up depending on my mood with running, yoga, pilates, and spin. Some people like really intense workouts while simple walks work best for others - you do you Exercise has also been reported to improve sleep, and lets be honest, were all better people with a solid 7-9 hours of REM.Practicemindfulness and slow down.When I first started meditating, I thought there was no way it was going to work for me. I figured it was a bunch of hocus pocus, a new fad, and something I wouldnt be good at. I started small with just five minutes a day usingHeadspace. Over time, I noticed really profound changes in how I approached my day. My anxiety about things that would normally make me feel incredibly anxious werent nearly as high, my attitude towards others was way more positive, and I moved through the day with a bit more grace an d positivity.Through meditation, I learned actions I needed to take when things started feeling stressful. For me, I take a step back, remove myself from the situation, and gain a different perspective on whats going on. Ill take a few deep, quiet breaths, and return myself back to the situation or event. This has helped me improve my work efficiency, productivity, and relationships.Understanding how to slow my body down during stressful times gave my nervous system the break it deservedEat slowly.Trying to slow down in general is definitely one way to reduce stress, but incorporating it into your eating practices can be beneficial for your body and your mind. I know I can speak for myself when I say Ive finished a meal with Instagram in one hand,Real Housewiveson TV, and my computer on my lap - and not even remembered eating. Not a good situation. This is just another time when our brain is on overdrive doing too much at once, and it can cause our digestion to be less effective - leaving us bloated, foggy, and feeling just plain awful.A meal is also a great time to socialize with friends, laugh, and be present, which allows us to feel like were part of a community and increase our happiness.Make yourself a priority.Many of us often overlook our own needs because were so busy taking care of others. Whether its children, a significant other, friends, or co-workers, it can seem like theres very little time for our own needs during our busy day. However, self-care is an important factor for stress reduction. When youre operating from an empty vessel, you have nothing left to give others, which leads to burnout and increased stress levels.I love to indulge in hot Epsom salt baths, getting into a good book, a yoga class, journaling, massages, and even just simple alone time aka Netflix and chill.Take a new perspective.Does your view of life or the expectations you set for yourself stress you out? I know mine sure do Ive started adjusting my expectations and persp ective by setting challenging yet achievable goals for myself. This often comes in the form of saying NO to events, deadlines, and people.For the longest time, I would say yes to everything, realistic or not. This added so much stress to my life because once I commit to doing something, theres no way Im backing down. I was literally burning myself at both ends from sunrise to sundown, and it wasnt sustainable. As a people pleaser, this has been incredibly hard to embrace. I was afraid people would be upset with me for saying no. Lo and behold, they werent. In fact, they actually respected me more for standing up for my own needs.Utilize herbal support.If youre on Instagram or read any wellness websites, youve surely seen the craze of adaptogens. While Im not one to spend a lot of money on superfluous smoothie add-ons, I do utilize a few herbs here and there for natural stress support. I really like taking Ashwagandha and Adrenal Support, but deciding to take a supplement is definite ly a personal choiceThis article was originally posted on TheEveryGirl.