Weight Loss - What you need to know

Every week in my blog, I'll give you vital info for losing weight and keeping it off. Don't expect diets or exhortions to do more ab crunches - instead, you'll find information that will make a difference for you. This week's topic is stress and how it causes weight gain and prevents weight loss.


Stress packs on the pounds as fast as high-glycemic foods. High-glycemic foods are white and fluffy starches: muffins, bagels, white breads, white potatoes, rice crackers, cookies, cakes, etc. Here's why: When you're stressed, your body has high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which increases your body's level of insulin, which is the hormone that stores body fat. When you eat the high-glycemic foods, insulin increases, which increases cortisol, making you more stressed. If this sounds like a vicious cycle, it is.


Control your stress by using stress soothers as a "stress-interrupt" every day to melt away the pounds. The first step: stop stressing about your weight. It will come off more easily if you relax about it. Review my list of stress-soothers at http://www.weightloss-wellness.com/emotional-and-spiritual-support/stress-soothers.aspx. Try some and find the ones that work best for you. If yoga's not for you, how about hot baths, hobbies and crafts, or using the back roller at home? Prayer and meditation work, too.


Plus, reduce your intake of high-glycemic foods to lower cortisol levels and break the eating-stress vicious cycle.


All the best,
Lucy Beale