freethefat

Could Stress be making you fat???

Stress in our environment (fear, anger, shame, anxiety, urgency) and toxins in our food trigger our adrenal glands to release stress hormone cortisol.

This keeps us ready to react to the stressor in a way that our body thinks may save our lives. It's an outdated formula and with modern fast pace and high stimulation, the very chemicals that kept our ancestors alive, are keeping us fat.

 

Digestion is harmed

When we're stressed, we can't digest our food properly and we don't absorb all of our nutrients. Our body shoots it through to ditch any blood flow distractions not necessary to get us out of that jam. Hence why people in super scary situations have the sudden intense urge 'to go'.

High Cortisol = Tummy Fat retention

Beyond our body not metabolizing our food, chronically high cortisol goes from being a performance enhancer, to a serious liability. The body holds onto tummy fat in the presence of cortisol incase it needs future caloric energy reserves and as a protective buffer for our organs.

Cortisol may save our lives in extreme situations, but it doesn't help get us ready for bikini season. The body releases fat stores when it's calm, breathing in oxygen, and sending the messaging to the brain that everything is A-ok.

Toxins stress the body & are stored in fat cells!

If you're sleeping, meditating, breathing, and chilling but the weight isn't releasing, look at internal trapped toxins that could be creating a state of constant inflammation.

Chronic high inflammation reads as stress to the body. The body releases cortisol to manage the inflammatory incident. Inflammation, when acute is quite healing. But longterm, it's extremely damaging. It's a sign to the body that there is something to fight, something wrong. Chronic inflammation puts the body in a state of internal war as immune system soldiers get mixed signals and often friendly fire bringing on autoimmune diseases. The body often holds onto protective fat. 

The body also manages toxins (chemical stressor) by getting them out of circulation and stored away IN FAT CELLS. This means the more toxins, the more the body holds onto fat cells as protective cubbies keeping toxins from damaging parts of the body.

The body is not going to burn important toxin cubholes (fat cells) when you exercise. It does not want to re-release toxins into the system. People that have stored toxins and lose weight too quickly often see a panicked body recruit even more fat cells and quickly put weight back on to get those toxins again out of blood circulation. Resulting in EVEN MORE WEIGHT GAIN!

Here's the GetHSH Weight Release Program I wrote to address this 20th century stress syndrome and give us a real chance to be our body type's ideal happy, healthy weight.

Stress releasing slimming system with the 9 free recipe, workout, and mood enhancing bonuses

Stress releasing slimming system with the 9 free recipe, workout, and mood enhancing bonuses

Exercising harder doesn't work when our hormones are off and our toxins are being stored in fat cells. Let this book show you how to lower your stress & systemic inflammation and release trapped fat.


BONUS VIDEOS:  Stress keeps us tired & fat

Dr. Steph from Functional Medicine SF breaks down what stress really does to you, what Adrenal Fatigue is, and what you can do about it. Get HealthySexyHappy interviews top experts to help us look & feel our best.

We know how important sleep is and it's frustrating to miss out on essential healing, restoring beauty zzz's. Dr. Steph from Functional Medicine SF breaks down what's been getting in the way between you and a blissful night's sleep.


What I learned creating a weight loss program.

I wrote my first wellness book in 2016. I wanted to understand the digital marketing process and had a partner focused on the weight loss arena. I had a suspicion that the same things that were adding weight to us were also causing depression and fatigue.

I spent 6 months writing FreetheFat - a stress reducing slimming system. Another 3 months building the website, established a corporation, legally tying to a business partner, hiring a rad spokesperson, shooting a commercial and exercise video... the whole deal. It took most of my focus and I all but ignored this blog.

And it didn't go as financially planned.  Here are 4 things I learned:

1. Follow your passion, seriously

I got talked out of writing the mental health and relationship health books I am passionate about in favor of the weight loss genre. Because time and energy are so valuable, it only makes sense to only go big in areas we really care about. When it gets tough, we stand strong on the hills we're willing to die on.

I'm really passionate about how our inner monologue and external relationships affect our perspective and happiness. The weight loss follows faster when we're happy and relaxed. We eat less to fill a hole or avoid a scary task and more to enhance productivity and pleasure. We rest enough living in faith that the important stuff will get done.

2. Certain fats are really important & sugar is the enemy

While researching FreetheFat - a stress reducing slimming system, I learned how important good fats are. Omega3s help with mental health, weight loss, and feeling satisfied.  I smear everything with avocado, organic butter, flaxseed oil, or coconut/MCT oil now.

I learned weight loss is highly up to our individual genetic makeup but sugar is bad for pretty much all of us. Like really bad. From the stress hormone release to turning on fat storage mode, sugar jacks us up. But fiber helps and sleep is the master reset. Anything that calms and heals get us lean. Anything that spikes cortisol adds to weight gain mode.

So I made very little money but learned how to manage the stress of that - including how to not turn toward my favorite vice - sugar. Well, at least without fiber and plenty of water to balance.

3. We can do it!

We really do have the tools to do the things we're meant to do on this planet. Anything too good to be true really is just that. My business partner didn't end up knowing how to do most of the things he thought he could - but what a cool experience to show myself I could do/learn/find most myself.

And wow did my community show up and spread love and support. That alone was worth the frustration. In the end, I found a new bestie tech team member, wrote 300+ pages, and learned to manage disappointment. I even had the time to experiment with nutrient combinations finding success with amino acid therapy.  Check out my findings:

All that nutrient research showed that intestine absorption is tricky business and supplement sourcing matters. I couldn't align with those lucrative but suspect supplement providers.

After the initial business partner frustration, I connected with a medical grade supplement supplier my doctor friend uses and didn't have to feel morally conflicted in suggesting questionably sourced, profit-focused vitamins.

If things had gone as planned, I would have deferred to early advisors and accidentally become another shady vitamin pusher. Talk about losing my mission. The universe kindly led me instead to trusted brands at discount.

 
 

 

4. Count the wins & only the wins.

Staying engaged with our journey and proud of our attempts is winning. Staying focused on these wins is essential for a positive mindset and a life we're excited to show up for.

I will forever turn to sleep, morning fasting, lymphatic movement, certain herbs, and deep breaths when I want to get bikini ready. I won't attempt to lose weight by spiking my cortisol, destroying my joints, and breaking down my body. Devoting a year to writing a program - even if for only me - is worth what I learned.

Finishing something is huge for my perfectionist brain. If nothing ever feels good enough, saying something is done is damn near impossible. But the 1st draft is done!!! I needed to get my first book done so I could get the rest written. I'm proud of creating these and I'm choosing to count the wins.

I put together 8 guides, 7 supplement bundles, 1 large book, produced a voice recording, and a website. Peter Diamondis is right about "Fail often and fail forward." (His book Bold is fantastic btw). I can be really hard on myself and 2017 is all about celebrating every win keeping the mind in a state of empowerment and excitement.

Another win was the psychological growth. The experience drudged up all sort of old emotional baggage that I needed cleared. I was really disappointed and fighting my brain's cruel attempt at tying this timeline "failure" to all future failures. Old disappointments, false programming, and anxieties needed to see the light so they could be addressed. Super grateful to have new awareness around what those inner sabotaging voices quietly say all day long. No wonder it's tough to get stuff done.

Plus, when I got really frustrated, I hopped a plane to South Africa where I read two more fantastic health books, had the trip of my life, climbed Lion's head, and supported a dear friend who is changing the world for women's safety. I would never have been so trigger happy if not so desperately disappointed.

The biggest win is the progress on the depression book.  I couldn't ignore the correlation between food and pleasurable escape. My mental health focus just had to look at which foods make us sad and how hard it is to give up a sugary pleasure source when we are depressed. So I ended up writing a 56 pager about my actual passion anyway.

I grew my compassion for this losing battle. If we can't address our depression, we're going to have a hard time saying no to pleasurable food and drinks. And feeling shame around that is both unfair and damaging. 

Despite so many things not going as planned, I love the wellness research that came out of this writing exercise and the information in the Free the Fat: Stress reducing slimming system

The real reason we're tired & how it's keeping us fat.

The real reason we're tired & how it's keeping us fat.

We're tired, our wounds don't heal as fast, our hangovers are worse and last longer, and we have stubborn weight that doesn't fall off like it used to. What's going on?