Hey Hey Curvy Girls! It’s that time of year where the stress builds up, even when we don’t want it to. It doesn’t matter if you are all mistletoe and magic and love the season, the stress will creep up on you when you least expect it. The problem for curvy plus size girls and stress is that you will never lose weight (If that is your goal), have the health you dream of when you are stressed.
Why?
Stress will make reaching your health goals almost impossible. First of all, stress increases cortisol production. That increased cortisol is associated with weight gain, especially in the belly. The problem is that you could be eating 1200 calories a day (I hope not! (See my blog on breaking the diet binge cycle here.), turning out a grueling working out 7 days a week (Yuck, No Fun!), and still have the inability to lose weight. Who wants that? Grab my guide Curvy Woman’s Holiday Stress Guide Here!
Just check out just a few of the things stress can do to the body:
- Decreased nutrient absorption
- Increased nutrient excretion
- Healthy intestinal bacteria are destroyed by stress, which can lead to immune problems, skin disorders, nutrient deficiencies, and digestive distress.
- Increase in salt retention which can lead to high blood pressure.
- Your ability to burn calories is diminished.
- Increase in blood cholesterol: Stress by itself will raise LDL levels which increases blood cholesterol.
- Decrease in sex hormones: Can mean lower sex drive, low energy, decreased muscle mass.
- Increase in inflammation in the body: The basis of many significant ailments, including brain and heart disease.
- Increase in gastric emptying time: Can lead to constipation; also a risk factor in diseases of the colon.
- Decrease in gastric emptying time: Can lead to diarrhea and larger food particles prematurely entering the small intestines, a probable factor in food allergies, sensitivities, and various disease conditions.
- Insulin resistance increases: Chronic low-level stress may cause target cells to become unresponsive to insulin, a factor in diabetes, weight gain, heart disease and aging.
- Gastric reflux increases (also known as heartburn).
- Increase in risk of osteoporosis: Bone density has been shown to decrease in stresses and depressed women; stress increases urinary excretion of calcium, magnesium and boron.
- Decrease in mitochondria: These are the energy powerhouses of the cell; when the number of these tiny cellular organelles are diminished, we literally produce less energy; can lead to chronic fatigue.
Realizing the negative effects of stress on the body is a motivation to keep stress down. But how? You can’t avoid it in daily life situations and rarely the holidays are stress free. Between shopping, family (drama), financial stress, the over busy days of trying to get it all in, the holidays can feel more like burden than a celebration. So how can we reduce the stress and enjoy even the busiest of holidays.
Check out these 6 Quick tips
(Download the complete and more detailed 12 tips guide here):
- EXERCISE – We have all heard this before, but if your like so many curvy plus size women this is a hard one. We don’t always want to “exercise”. It can be hard and uncomfortable. I get it. So to this one I would say just add some type of movement that brings you pleasure. Dance in the kitchen, stretch out and just feel your muscles move, take a walk in your favorite park, or do you favorite yoga video on YouTube.
- WRITE IT DOWN I’m a believer in keeping a journal. It can help relieve stress and anxiety, especially when you focus on the positive. Try writing down 3-5 things you’re grateful when you wake each day and 3-5 things that went well each evening, and keep a notepad by your bed to “brain dump” anything that’s on your mind before hitting the hay at night.
- LAUGH Yep, laugh. Nothing reduces stress like a good belly laugh. So watch a comedy on movie night, catch a funny cat video, or grab a fun loving novel to help you laugh and relax.
- CONNECT WITH FRIENDS & FAMILY Even though the holidays are a busy
time, make sure to schedule some quality time with your besties and get some well- deserved stress relief! - LEARN TO SAY NO Honoring yourself through saying no will help feel more empowered and less overwhelmed. If you really don’t want to do something or if you really don’t have time, then give yourself permission to say no.
- TURN UP THE TUNES Feeling stressed? Turn on your favorite music, whether
it’s show tunes, classical, or the latest from Rihanna. Research shows that hearing music you love can relax blood vessels and increase blood flow…meaning it’s calming, soothing, and good for your heart!
Bonus:
WORKING WITH A HEALTH COACH especially one that understands being a curvy plus size woman, can help you identify what your personal health and wellness issues are, how they affect you, and develop strategies
to overcome them. Click to read what others have discovered working with me.
As a health coach, I help you reduce and manage your stress more effectively by helping you change your mindset and behavior (and by extension, improve your life). If you would like a free 1 time 45 -60 min. coaching call to help you:
- Uncover what’s been stopping you, slowing you down or keeping you from having the body you want
- Develop a powerful vision for your Body Transformation, and what it will mean you and for your life
- Discover which foods and lifestyle habits are bringing your body down…and what to do about it
- Get crystal clear on a step-by-step plan to create a Total Body Transformation in 90 days or lessSchedule a free 60 min. Discovery Session to see if this health coaching program is a fit for you. Click here!
DID THIS BLOG HELP YOU? IF SO REACH OUT: EMAIL, PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, OR COMMENT! I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU.
Blessings Friends!
~Angela Naumann The Curvy Woman’s Health Coach
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