The Truth About Weight Loss: Why Being Fat Isn’t Your Fault

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The Link Between Stress and Fat Loss

I’ve been studying nutrition and the effects food has on the body for close to 17 years and I can assure you; losing fat and getting to a healthy weight is about SO much more than “calories in – calories out”.
 
Food is definitely important, but your lifestyle choices and what’s happening in your life on a day-to-day basis can either make or break your weight loss efforts.
 
I bounced up and down on the scale FOR YEARS before I figured this out and believe me, I felt like a total FAILURE every single time that scale went up again.
 
I felt like it was all my fault because CLEARLY, I didn’t have the dedication or will power to reach my goals. I felt stuck. I felt frustrated and my weight loss attempts always left me feeling utterly hopeless…….

What’s the point in trying if we always end up feeling disappointed, right?
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• Do you feel like a failure because you’re doing everything “right” and STILL gaining weight?

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• Are you bouncing back and forth from “eating perfectly” to late night “binge fests” because eating healthy isn’t bringing you that thin body you were hoping for anyways?

• Are you “running out of steam​” mid-day and reaching for a coffee and “sweet treat” to keep you awake at work?

If you’re nodding your head yes, you’re definitely going to want to keep reading.
 
Last week, I talked about the importance of getting adequate sleep (it’s crucial if you want to reach your weight loss goals), but did you know that stress, anxiety and being overwhelmed can actually stop your weight loss efforts in their tracks?
 
Stress fat is real, people!
 
I struggled with it for years, so I know from experience.

Strategy #2 - Reduce Stress

I realize it’s not easy to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, but you have to get a handle on this if you want to finally reach your weight loss goal and, more importantly, STAY THERE. 
 
Having high-stress levels, is not only harmful to your health, it’s harmful to your waistline and if you’re like me and you also happen to be an HSP (highly sensitive person) – look out stress belly!
 
When you are constantly under stress, your hormone levels, such as cortisol and insulin are elevated.  The elevation of these 2 hormones sabotages your weight loss efforts and can actually cause you to GAIN WEIGHT.
 
Say, what Carmen?
 
I’m not kidding.

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“Feeling stressed can create a wide variety of physiological changes,
such as impairing digestion, depleting valuable nutrients,
decreasing beneficial gut flora, and decreasing your metabolism.
It also raises triglycerides, cholesterol, insulin, and cortisol levels.” 
                                                                                                                                                                   – Mercola.com

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Frightening, right?  

But at the same time, I hope you feel a little better knowing this.

​Stop blaming yourself for your failed weight loss attempts, okay?
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It’s not your fault!
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You just didn’t know that how you were FEELING was actually the underlying problem.
 
You’re likely doing an excellent job eating right and exercising and if you aren’t, it’s probably your feelings of stress and overwhelm that are causing you to overeat.
 
So how do we fix it?
 
You need to get control of your emotions.
 
This doesn’t happen overnight and that’s why it’s a huge part of my “stress-free weight loss system”, but there are two things you can start doing today to help you get closer to your weight loss goal.

1. Acceptance.
 
You need to learn to accept who you are and how you operate. 
Your feelings and thoughts matter. They are real and they have purpose.
 
Just because you spend more time than others thinking things through and analyzing the future doesn’t mean you’re “broken” or have a “disorder”.

You’re a thoughtful, conscious, introspective person and that’s a GOOD thing!

​For the next week, I want you to be mindful of your thoughts and accept them for what they are. Don’t fight them or push them away and don’t ignore it when something doesn’t feel right.  
 
Honor yourself this week and appreciate that you have a mind that actually cares about what happens to you in the future.
 
The truth is, a lot of our anxiety and stress is caused by other people telling us that we need to be different………

2. Evaluate.
 
Buy a notepad and keep it with you at all times this week because whenever a stressful or anxious thought enters your mind, I want you to write it down.  
 
I want you to write down your thoughts and feelings because it’s important to know WHERE they are coming from and WHY they are distressing to you.
 
Sometimes our anxiety is justified in the moment, but most of the time we feel stressed and anxious because we have some unresolved issues that are lingering from our past.
 
Once you have your concern(s) written down, I want you to ask yourself, “why does this bother me” and continue to ask that question until you get to the root cause.
 
For Example: 

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​Stressful thought: I’m going to be late for work.
 
Why does this bother me?
Because I have a meeting this morning.
 
And why does THAT bother me?
Because everyone will stare at me when I walk in the board room.
 
And why does THAT bother me?
Because I don’t like being the center of attention.
 
And why does THAT bother me?
Because I’m not comfortable with people looking at me.
 
And why does THAT bother me?
Because I’m afraid people will see how fat I look in these pants.
 
And why does THAT bother me?
Because I don’t want people to see me as a “fat person”.
 
And why does THAT bother me?
Because I know I’m better than the way I look and I’m embarrassed when people see me looking this way.

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Bingo! Now we are getting somewhere……
 
Do you see how it works?
 
Being stressed and anxious is rarely about what we think it is (i.e being late for work). It’s usually due to some unresolved feelings we have about ourselves or past experiences (i.e being embarrassed that we “look fat”) so this exercise is a really great way to get to the bottom of your true feelings.
 
These are big steps and they take practice so I want you to start there and let me know how it goes.
 
I also want you to know that I’ve been where you are and you are not alone.
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If you get stuck, or have questions, head over to my Facebook Page and let me know how I can help.

https://www.facebook.com/HealthyHappyHolistic/

Did you miss Part 1 of the New You Blog series? Check it out HERE


​Til next time,

Carmen Lisa