Obesity is one of the leading causes of death.
According to Our World In Data, deaths from obesity rose to 4.7 million in 2017.
A big leap from 2.1 million in 1990.
Is there a link to the stressful world we live in today to the increasing amount of obesity?
Can we get belly fat from stress?
If we can, how can we stop stressing out?
Destroy belly fat from stress
Workplace stress has increased by 20% in 3 decades, according to Forbes.
More people are eating junk reported by CDC. During 2013-2016, 36.6% of adults consumed junk food.
Since the world is busier than ever, lack of sleep is common among working individuals.
Loss of sleep, eating junk food, and stress increases cortisol levels.
The higher the amount of cortisol that you produce, the more you’ll increase your glucose levels.
The longer your glucose levels spike, the more fat you’ll store, leading to obesity and other metabolic diseases.
[source: Stress, cortisol, and obesity: a role for cortisol responsiveness in identifying individuals prone to obesity.]
Stress from work
One of the questions I failed from a job interview was, “How do you handle stress?”
My stupid answer was, I don’t get stress. EVER.
She kept asking the same question in different ways, but I kept giving her the same answer.
Not surprisingly, I didn’t get the job.
I didn’t know then that stress is a big part of the workplace.
You get stress from deadlines, co-worker stress, the boss on your back stress, and more.
How to handle stress from work
I’m not an expert when it comes to workplace stress management, so take this advice with a grain of salt.
There will always be conflict at work, either with your boss or your work colleagues. Here’s how you can address the situation.
Confront the person, talk about it, what’s the problem? It’s probably just some misunderstanding.
I believe that there is much goodness in people, and a little straight conversation can go a long way.
After talking one on one and you still haven’t found a solution, I suggest taking the matter to the higher-ups.
Workplace harassment, bullying, or any conflict shouldn’t exist, but sadly it does.
If you don’t like your workplace, you won’t perform at your best. It’s in the best interest of the company to keep you productive.
Deadlines! I hate them. If you are in a tight spot, how about asking your co-workers for a hand? You don’t know how people are accommodating, primarily when you work with them.
If you are always short on time, maybe it’s time to work on your time management skills. Yes, stop leaving things to the last minute.
When it comes to your boss, it’s hard. When you are dealing with the worst boss in the world, you can only love them or leave them.
If you choose to do the former, you can try to get inside their minds. What makes them tick? What do they like? What stresses them out?
When you know your boss’s personality, you will know the best way to avoid their bad side.
Also, make sure your boss knows how valuable you are to the company.
Stress from lack of sleep
High levels of cortisol are caused by a lack of sleep.
When you have so much work to catch up on, your boss on your backside, or you just love to keep working overtime, you could be losing sleep.
Getting enough sleep will help your body function, perform better, and improve cognitive capacity.
[source: Sleep loss results in an elevation of cortisol levels the next evening.]
Your body is more effective at repairing damaged muscles in sleep mode.
Moreover, a Chinese study of more than 10,000 University students concluded that sleep is crucial to muscle growth.
[source: Relationship between sleep and muscle strength among Chinese university students: a cross-sectional study]
Not getting enough sleep will also make you eat more. You have more uptime to snack and eat your comfort foods.
Stress plays a vital role in your sleeping habits. Therefore, handling stress is crucial to a good night’s sleep and keep your weight in check.
How to handle stress from lack of sleep
It’s funny how stress can lead to a lack of sleep, and lack of sleep can lead to stress.
So, to handle stress from lack of sleep is to have a better grip on stress.
If you lack sleep, make sure you catch up after work with a nap. You can do this on your commute back home.
Don’t catch up on sleep while driving though, that’s just plain silly and dangerous. Have a quick nap after work when you get home.
That’s how you can handle a lack of sleep by getting more sleep. Simple yet, people don’t do it.
How I handle stress
There are many causes of stress. Stress from loved ones, death, financial burden, and many more.
I’m not the expert on this subject, but there is a direct correlation of having belly fat from stress.
I do recommend seeing someone qualified to get a firm grasp on stress.
In saying that, this is how I handle stress.
- Exercise
- Time management
- Acceptance
Exercise
Exercising is a great place to start to handle stress. Some people may not feel like exercising after having a stressful day. As for me, I exercise regardless of how my day went.
The following are articles about exercises you can do at home or at the gym:
Exercising does not deal with stress directly. But, regular exercisers have shown that they are more capable of dealing with minor stress.
I know for a fact when stress is coming from somewhere profoundly emotional, I do tend not to have the motivation to do anything.
In times of high stress, seeing a professional is recommended.
[source: Regular exercise is associated with emotional resilience to acute stress in healthy adults]
Time management
Time management is my weakness, and it is a work in progress.
How many times have I left things to the last minute and stress out? So many.
Being organized and knowing to manage your time better will go a long way to a less stressful life.
Acceptance
Accept that Julie was the worst hire you’ve done, and it’s your fault.
Accept that you’ll bever be YouTube famous.
Accept that the last piece of cheesecake is gone.
Once you accept that everything is not under your control, the sooner you’ll be free of stress.
How I kicked out stress and melted belly fat by tenfold
This might help you out if you are struggling from stress, sleep, and belly fat like I was.
My friend made me aware of this product early last year. She may be an annoying friend at times but thank god she called me a fat boy and revealed what she uses to keep her figure. She still reminds me, EVERY TIME!
Using a 100% natural supplement helped me relax, sleep, and lose belly fat. No joke, I lost 15 kilos using this product.
I don’t know how good their customer service is but they are offering 2 months’ worth of guarantee. You can return the product within 60 days from purchase and you’ll get your money back. I never returned mine but ordered 3 more instead.
I’m not saying you will get the same experience. It might not even work on you. This is when you can take advantage of their money-back guarantee.
Before purchasing this supplement, I did my own due diligence and research everything about the founder and company. Needless to say, they checked out.
From experience, I don’t think they are a scam. Why would they offer a generous guarantee it if they don’t have confidence in their own product? I know if I had defective goods, I wouldn’t be offering any guarantees.
You can read all about this product and my experience by clicking on this link.
Belly fat from stress: the short story
Modern society has made our lives stressful. And studies have shown that you can get belly fat from stress.
One of the significant stressors in regular adult life is work. There are many sources of stress from work. Some of them are co-workers, the boss, and the work itself.
Knowing how to handle stress better is crucial to getting a good night’s sleep and having a healthier life.