Don`t you hate it when you step on your scale and the numbers don`t seem to change in your favor? This happened to me about two months ago. I used a “Medical Food” as a meal replacement which completely decreased my desire to snack. So for the first 4 weeks I didn`t eat any cookies or cake. Then I checked my weight and it decreased just by a few pounds. I was ready to give up and I pitied myself “all this good eating and no results.”. Luckily I have the ability to have my body fat percentage checked in my clinic. It turns out I lost an incredible amount of fat, but my body weight didn`t decrease too much. This means I must have gained (or better regained) muscles. So how can we successfully loose fat? I can tell you this: Trying to loose fat can be stressful. Actually we make it stressful. Think about it: when we were kids we exercised. We did exactly what was fun. We rode bikes, ran climbed, jumped, etc. – and we did it without even trying to work out. But now we “need” to be active so we can loose fat and suddenly it isn`t fun anymore. Sure, the results are fun, but the process isn`t. And that`s because of stress. By the way, 75% – 90% of all medical visits are in some way related to stress. When you are “stressed”, large amounts of Cortisol (produced in the adrenal glands of the body) are released in response to physical and psychological stress. This chemical increases blood sugar and promotes weight gain. It converts protein to blood sugar and basically increases fat from excess glucose. One great way of decreasing the effects on our bodies is what is called “Diaphragmatic Breathing”:
- Inhale through nose and exhale through mouth
- Breath deeply into your abdomen, feel it expand to a count of four
- Pause for a count of one
- Exhale slowly to a count of four, allowing tension to release
- Repeat until you feel relaxed
You can do this anywhere, especially when the stress is really getting to you. So the next time when you sit in traffic and you feel like yelling, kicking and screaming – just try your new breathing technique. It will calm you down and it will help you with your fat loss. Obviously there are more things one should do in order to loose fat, but this might be a good start.
Disclaimer – Dr. Stein nor Stein Chiropractic LLC guarantee any results. Consult your medical professional in all matter. The entire contents of this email are based upon the research and clinical opinions of Dr. Stein. They are not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with another licensed health care professional, and they are not to be construed as medical advice. Dr. Stein is a licensed doctor of chiropractic in Arizona. THE INFORMATION DESCRIBED IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE.
