Stress can be a large contributing factor to increased fat gain, heavily affecting your goals.
Without boring you too much with the breakdown of stress, how cortisol and insulin are formed and work together to aid in your unexpected bodyfat increase we’ll hit you with some key points.
When experiencing stress our body goes into ‘Fight or Flight’.
Our bodies then produce cortisol (hormone produced by the adrenal glands) to help manage the increased energy we need to deal with the stress.
Usually, when stressed, we don’t actually need the energy produced for anything strenuous such as working out, therefore the increased energy (insulin) is stored as fat.
I’ll admit, I have always overlooked stress and it wasn’t up until learning how it aids in increased bodyfat levels and muscle tissue breakdown that I really paid more attention to it, not only in myself but heavily within clients.
So what are some simple steps to help reduce stress?
Supplementing Magnesium/ZMA before bed helps you to relax and promotes deep, peaceful sleep.
Aim to get around 7-8 hours of peaceful sleep per night.
Pinpoint where your stress stems from and have a plan in place on how you can reduce/remove it.
Always have some ‘Me’ time each week. Time in which you can just relax, focus on yourself and do what makes you happy.
Reassess what is important to you. Also, take a look at your attitudes and how you seem to react to any stressful situations.
Not everyone shows signs of stress which is why it is so important to try and build a bond with in your fitness or lifestyle circle,its good to talk remind each other that every now and then you can chat
about anything other than just fitness and getting summer ready!