To Lose Weight, Calm Down

Stress doesn’t do any good for the body. It gets your heart ramped up, your head spinning, and will even interfere with your weight loss goals.

That’s right. Chronic stress can prevent you from losing weight. So the next time you’re caught up with thinking about the many things in life that stress you out, take a deep breath and consider how your stress levels may be interfering with your medical weight loss plans.

Stress and Metabolism

From a biological perspective, the reason that stress interferes with weight loss comes down to metabolism. Stress puts a lot of pressure on your body, and this pressure will cause your metabolism to slow down. So when you’re feeling a large amount of stress your body starts slowing down how well it can burn calories. In turn, it diminishes your natural ability to lose weight.

Of course, telling yourself to calm down when you are stressed out isn’t always the most effective way to get rid of stress. But if you want to keep yourself on track to meet your weight loss goals, then you need to do something.

Here are a few strategies you can use to calm down when you are feeling particularly stressed out:

• Write in a journal. Sometimes processing your thoughts by writing about what is going on can help you gain perspective and calm down.
• Talk to a close friend. Much like writing, the sharing of your concerns with a friend or family member can be helpful in easing stress.
• Go for a walk or run. In addition to being a great tool for weight loss, exercise is actually great for helping the body calm down in periods of stress.
• Meditation or yoga. Peaceful and serene movements coupled with deep breathing routines and clearing your mind of stressful thoughts are great tactics in overcoming stressful situations.

Unfortunately, stress will cause many people to engage in unhealthy behaviors that do not at all contribute to weight loss and can actually lead to weight gain. Binge eating and alcohol consumption are two of the biggest examples of how stress can lead to negative behaviors.

If you are feeling stressed out, do your best to find a healthy activity that will help you calm down. Practicing strong stress management tactics can help you stay on track for success in your medical weight loss program.

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