A person can experience stress in a world full of hassle where people are busy in their jobs, and sometimes it may lead to anxiety.
In some cases, this stress tends to appear in your stomach, which can also lead to extra weight gain. This type of belly fat that is stored in the stomach is called stress belly and is very common among people.
Stress belly usually occurs when an individual takes too much stress and, in response, the body starts producing cholesterol and stores the fats as part of a fight response.
In this regard, we have mentioned all the effective methods that can be used to reduce stress and belly fat as soon as possible.
What Are The Top 8 Ways To Reduce Stress Belly Fat?
Learn how to effectively combat stress-related belly fat using these eight well-proven strategies. Discover how to prevent stress-related weight gain and achieve a healthier, smaller waistline with focused exercises and mindful practices.
1. Understand The Symptoms Of Stress Belly
You can find numerous reasons behind rising cholesterol levels; therefore, it is essential to identify the correct symptoms of stress belly.
A person with an adrenal belly may often experience hunger and feel constantly overwhelmed.
If you are experiencing such type of symptoms, then there is a strong possibility that you must be suffering from stress belly.
2. Rethink About The Food You Eat
After identifying the symptoms of stress belly, it’s time to rework your diet as it is mainly caused due increased cholesterol.
Choose food that has B vitamins, like green crunchy vegetables, including lean meat and fish, to get relief from stress.
Additionally, avoid high calories and high carbohydrate food to reduce cholesterol levels in the body.
3. Involve In Physical Exercise Everyday
Apart from having a balanced diet, it is also essential to indulge in various physical activities and simply exercise every day.
This activity will help you shed extra fat from the body and promote healthy weight gain.
You can also take walks for 10 to 15 minutes occasionally throughout the day during your work, which can help strengthen and tighten your abdominal muscles.
4. Improve Your Sleeping Pattern
Recent studies have found that people usually take 4 to 6 hours of sleep, which could be due to workload and even the introduction of social media.
According to research, individuals aged 18 to 50 must sleep for almost 8 to 9 hours per day.
Not having enough sleep can raise cholesterol levels, which can increase the risk of stress in the belly.
5. Monitor Your Psychological Health
As we have discussed previously, not having enough sleep can cause stress which can impact your psychological health.
This health can impact the overall health of the body, which can lead to stress and belly fat.
Therefore, it is essential to monitor your psychological health to reduce the increased belly fat within a few months.
6. Practice A Breathing Exercise
Additionally, you can also practice breathing exercises to stay away from stress and maintain your mental health.
Breathing exercises are a great way to calm your mind during stress and get relief from overwhelming. So next time you get nervous, take a deep breath 10 to 15 times to calm your mind and body.
7. Consult A Doctor When Experiencing Abdominal Pain
In some cases, abdominal pain may occur due to stress belly fat that is stored in the stomach. In this case, it is a good idea to consult a doctor to get it treated as soon as possible.
The professional healthcare professional may recommend medication to get relief from pain and even reduce the storage of fats.
8. Drink Less Alcohol And Quit Smoking
Last is the most important point as it can help you recover from all the health issues that are occurring due to stress. If you are habitual of extreme alcohol consumption or smoking, then immediately quit it.
Alcohol consumption can increase the cholesterol level and may affect the digestion process of the body.
How To Prevent Stress Belly?
It is always a good idea to prevent the symptoms of a stress belly rather than treat them when they become chronic.
To do so, it is essential to follow a proper diet and be involved in physical activities as much as possible.
But most importantly, you must control your emotions and monitor your psychological health to get rid of stress and anxiety.
Additionally, it is also essential to avoid high-calorie food that contains too little or no nutrients.
Instead, you can choose green leafy food, including fatty fish and lean meat, to gain all the nutrients required for the body. This may help you maintain your brain function and calm you in stressful situations.
You can also find different ways to reduce and cope with your stress as, ultimately, it may decrease the cholesterol level in the body.
Here, breathing exercises can be a great way to deal with such types of problems when you feel stressed.
If you face anxiety more frequently, then you should consult professionals who can help you decrease your overthinking.
Lastly, immediately quit smoking and alcohol consumption if you are habitual in it. Instead, you can follow a healthy lifestyle by following a healthy diet and drinking lots of healthy drinks and even water for proper functioning of the brain.
To some extent, you can drink alcohol moderately on very few occasions, but it will be good to quit for a healthy life.
By following a healthy lifestyle and taking all the precautions, you can prevent your stress belly and keep yourself from anxiety and depression.
Conclusion
Stress stomach is a common medical condition that usually occurs when an individual takes too much stress.
This stress raises the cholesterol level in the body, which results in increased belly fat and affects overall activity.
The person suffering from stress belly can go through depression and anxiety, which can affect the overall health.
References:
- Goyal M, et al. (2014). Meditation programs for psychological stress and well-being: A systematic review and meta-analysis. DOI:
https://dx.doi.org/10.1001%2Fjamainternmed.2013.13018 - Hairston KG, et al. (2010). Sleep duration and five-year abdominal fat accumulation in a minority cohort: The IRAS family study. DOI:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/20337186/ - Stress and your health. (2019).
https://www.womenshealth.gov/mental-health/good-mental-health/stress-and-your-health
