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Have you been all so dedicated to your workout regimen, eating healthy, maintaining a calorie deficit, yet still can’t seem to lose your belly fat? Do you often feel overwhelmed, tired, and extremely hungry throughout the day? Then you might have a stress belly, the extra weight found around the abdominal area that is oh so difficult to get rid of.
Can stress make my belly bigger? It definitely can. But how is this possible? And how can one get rid of the unwanted fat around the midsection area?
A stress belly is an extra weight that accumulates around the abdominal area due to prolonged or chronic stress.
While belly fat may be caused by many things, including genetics, a stress belly is caused by the actions of a hormone called cortisol, which you will learn about below.
Read More: 5 Types Of Bellies And How To Get Rid Of Them
The cortisol stress belly fat association is way deeper than you may expect. In fact, this hormone, which is produced by the adrenal glands, could be responsible for the accumulation of belly fat due to stress. But how is this possible?
Cortisol, as aforementioned, is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands in the body. The hormone helps to control metabolism and blood sugar levels in the body. Cortisol also gives us motivation and helps us to stay focused and elevated on a certain situation or threat. It is for this reason that levels of cortisol are elevated in the morning and why the hormone is released in plenty during exercising and periods of acute stress.
Together with other hormones in the body, cortisol activates the fight or flight response. In a crisis, for example, the stress response reduces unnecessary bodily functions so that you can focus on the threat. Once the threat passes, things go back to normal.
However, during periods of prolonged stress, the stress hormone levels are elevated, together with blood sugar and blood pressure.
During periods of stress, the adrenal glands release cortisol. This, in turn, fills the body with glucose to give our muscles enough immediate energy to deal with the threat. A constant elevated level of cortisol can also lead to increased blood glucose levels. At this point, insulin is also released, hereby preventing the conversion of glucose into fat, making it easily accessible to the muscles that require energy to deal with the threat.
Once the threat or stress is dealt with, hormone balance is restored (12). But this is not always the case, because, as humans, we go through so many stressing situations and come across many stress-factors that lead to prolonged periods of stress. These periods of prolonged stress then lead to a stress belly.
But how? An imbalance of cortisol in the body causes excess belly fat because:
One study by scientists at the University College London revealed that people with higher levels of cortisol had larger waist measurements and higher BMIs than those with low cortisol levels (12).
In the same vein, another study proved that high cortisol levels are associated with an increased risk of obesity (8).
Further research has also proven the fact that cortisol is indeed associated with abdominal obesity. However, this does not mean that every obese person struggles with higher levels of cortisol (5, 13).
While the accumulation of belly fat may be multifactorial, like genetics, a poor diet, or a lack of exercise, there are some signs that indicate that what you could be dealing with is stress causing belly fat. These signs include:
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Here are some tips that will come in handy when dealing with that stubborn stress belly:
As stress is the main cause of this type of belly, the number one thing you should do is try to avoid stress as much as possible. You may also opt to learn how to manage stress better, such as through meditating, yoga, performing breathing exercises, and more (10).
Like it is with any type of fat in the body, to get rid of stress belly fat, you need to work out and maintain a calorie deficit. Exercising will not only help you lose the extra fat, but it will also boost your mood, which is a big deal as this type of fat is caused by a negative mood.
Aim to perform at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise on most days of the week, and on the other days, focus on strength training, which will help convert the fat into muscles.
Fiber is known for its role in aiding digestion. This makes it a welcome addition to the diet of anyone who is stressed. This is because stressed people often suffer digestion problems such as constipation or indigestion. The addition of fiber-rich foods such as beans, chia seeds, and bran cereal will help to deal with these issues.
Read More: High Fiber Diet: What To Eat To Ensure A Smooth-Running Digestion?
Consume a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole foods, and whole grains. Eat foods rich in vitamin B since it is known for its potential property to help relieve stress. Some good sources of vitamin B include chicken, dark green leafy vegetables like kale and spinach, bananas, avocados, and fish.
Still, on the issue of your diet, you need to avoid foods with added fructose, trans fats, and high carb high-calorie foods that are low in nutrients (17).
This is because high-intensity workouts might actually elevate the levels of cortisol in the body and cause further stress rather than reducing it.
Not only is alcohol very high in calories, but also, when you consume alcohol, your body stops turning fat into energy and instead, begins to metabolize the alcohol (naturally, the body burns alcohol before actually burning other sources of energy). This then means that you end up using alcohol for energy rather than the fat stored in your body.
Going on a walk will help you to stay in shape, and will also help alleviate stress. The walk will also help you to clear your head by boosting the levels of serotonin and dopamine in the brain. Furthermore, it is also recommended that you walk at least 10,000 steps each day to be considered active.
Ensure you get seven to nine hours of good quality sleep each night to avoid increasing the levels of cortisol in your body.
In one study on adults between the age of eighteen and sixty-five, it was discovered that those adults who slept for less than six hours each night and those who slept for more than nine hours each night had more visceral fat than the control group (2).
Another study produced the same results, but with a test group of adults 40 years and younger (11).
Apart from getting the required amount of sleep each night, it is also important that you set up a sleep schedule and follow a consistent sleep routine every night.
Instead of consuming high-carb, low-nutrient foods, opt for green vegetables, fruits, beans, lean proteins, black tea, black coffee, green tea, and healthy fats such as avocado, coconut, and olive oils.
Several studies have shown that smoking cigarettes can be linked to an increased risk of abdominal obesity (3).
A hot bath will help to lower the levels of cortisol in the body. Furthermore, as the body temperature rises when taking a bath, the levels of endorphins in the brain rise as well, hereby boosting your mood instantly.
Protein has a more filling effect than other foods, this means that when you consume enough protein, you will actually be working towards eliminating food cravings (1).
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In one study from the University of Harvard, men who did twenty minutes of strength training each day had less age-related abdominal fat than those who spent the same amount of time (twenty minutes each day) on doing cardio (18).
To deal with stress belly fat, try to do more compound exercises like squats, pullups, and kettlebell swings, which work the entire body as a whole.
A 2016 review revealed that exposing animals to sunlight could lead to a decline in weight gain and metabolic dysfunction as well. More research still needs to be done to find out if the same effect can be witnessed in human beings.
There are many factors that affect how quickly one can burn belly fat. Among these factors are age, gender, genetics, and daily activity. As such, the amount of time taken to burn belly fat differs from person to person.
All in all, it is recommended that while working to get rid of belly fat, aim to lose one to two pounds of fat a week, as this is the more sustainable approach, rather than losing so much within a short amount of time.
Prevention is always better than cure, right? There are a few things that you could do to ensure that you do not develop a stress belly in the first place. These include:
A stress belly is an extra weight that accumulates around the abdominal area due to prolonged or chronic stress.
A stress belly could be impacted by the actions of two hormones: cortisol in conjunction with insulin.
To get rid of stress fat, do the following:
For prevention, try to:
There are two types of belly fat:
A stress belly can be just that, stressful. This is especially true when you really don’t know what is causing it and how to get rid of it for good. Luckily, there are many remedies and ways to prevent the formation of this type of belly fat in the first place. As a rule of thumb, whenever you are trying to lose weight/fat in whatever part of the body – one technique you can try is improving your eating habits and exercising more.
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not address individual circumstances. It is not a substitute for professional advice or help and should not be relied on to make decisions of any kind. Any action you take upon the information presented in this article is strictly at your own risk and responsibility!