How Your Diet Can Reduce Anxiety

It’s the reason why so many diets fail: We don’t always eat just to satisfy hunger. Many of us also turn to food to relieve stress or cope with unpleasant emotions such as sadness, loneliness, or boredom. And after eating, we feel even worse. Not only does the original emotional issue remain, but we also feel guilty for overeating. No matter how powerless you feel over food cravings, though, there is an answer.

By practicing mindful eating, you can change the emotional habits that have sabotaged your diet in the past, and regain control over both food and your feelings.

What is emotional eating?

Emotional eating (or stress eating) is using food to make yourself feel better—eating to satisfy emotional needs, rather than to satisfy physical hunger. You might reach for a pint of ice cream when you’re feeling down, order a pizza if you’re bored or lonely, or swing by the drive-through after a stressful day at work.

Occasionally using food as a pick-me-up, a reward, or to celebrate isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But when eating is your primary emotional coping mechanism—when your first impulse is to open the refrigerator whenever you’re stressed, upset, angry, lonely, exhausted, or bored—you get stuck in an unhealthy cycle where the real feeling or problem is never addressed.

Emotional hunger can’t be filled with food. Eating may feel good at the moment, but the feelings that triggered the eating are still there. And you often feel worse than you did before because of the unnecessary calories you’ve just consumed.

No matter how powerless you feel over food and your feelings, it is possible to make a positive change. You can find healthier ways to deal with your emotions, learn to eat mindfully instead of mindlessly, regain control of your weight, and finally put a stop to emotional eating.

Ask yourself these questions

• Do you eat more when you’re feeling stressed?
• Do you eat when you’re not hungry or when you’re full?
• Do you eat to feel better (to calm and soothe yourself when you’re sad, mad, bored, anxious, etc.)?
• Do you reward yourself with food?
• Do you regularly eat until you’ve stuffed yourself?
• Does food make you feel safe? Do you feel like food is a friend?
• Do you feel powerless or out of control around food?

The difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger.

Emotional hunger can be powerful, so it’s easy to mistake it for physical hunger. But there are clues you can look for to help you tell physical and emotional hunger apart.

Emotional hunger comes on suddenly. It hits you in an instant and feels overwhelming and urgent. Physical hunger, on the other hand, comes on more gradually. The urge to eat doesn’t feel as dire or demand instant satisfaction (unless you haven’t eaten for a very long time).

Emotional hunger craves specific comfort foods. When you’re physically hungry, almost anything sounds good—including healthy stuff like vegetables. But emotional hunger craves junk food or sugary snacks that provide an instant rush. You feel like you need cheesecake or pizza, and nothing else will do.

• Emotional hunger often leads to mindless eating.

Before you know it, you’ve eaten a whole bag of chips or an entire pint of ice cream without really paying attention or fully enjoying it. When you’re eating in response to physical hunger, you’re typically more aware of what you’re doing.

• Emotional hunger isn’t satisfied once you’re full.

​​​​​​​You keep wanting more and more, often eating until you’re uncomfortably stuffed. Physical hunger, on the other hand, doesn’t need to be stuffed. You feel satisfied when your stomach is full.

• Emotional hunger isn’t located in the stomach.

Rather than a growling belly or a pang in your stomach, you feel your hunger as a craving you can’t get out of your head. You’re focused on specific textures, tastes, and smells.

• Emotional hunger often leads to regret, guilt, or shame.

When you eat to satisfy physical hunger, you’re unlikely to feel guilty or ashamed because you’re simply giving your body what it needs. If you feel guilty after you eat, it’s likely because you know deep down that you’re not eating for nutritional reasons.

Ways to combat emotional eating

Identify your emotional eating triggers.

What situations, places, or feelings make you reach for the comfort of food? Most emotional eating is linked to unpleasant feelings, but it can also be triggered by positive emotions, such as rewarding yourself for achieving a goal or celebrating a holiday or happy event. Common causes of emotional eating include:

• Stuffing emotions – Eating can be a way to temporarily silence or “stuff down” uncomfortable emotions, including anger, fear, sadness, anxiety, loneliness, resentment, and shame. While you’re numbing yourself with food, you can avoid the difficult emotions you’d rather not feel.
• Boredom or feelings of emptiness – Do you ever eat simply to give yourself something to do, to relieve boredom, or as a way to fill a void in your life? You feel unfulfilled and empty, and the food is a way to occupy your mouth and your time. At the moment, it fills you up and distracts you from underlying feelings of purposelessness and dissatisfaction with your life.
• Childhood habits – Think back to your childhood memories of food. Did your parents reward good behavior with ice cream, take you out for pizza when you got a good report card, or serve you, sweets, when you were feeling sad? These habits can often carry over into adulthood. Or you’re eating may be driven by nostalgia—for cherished memories of grilling burgers in the backyard with your dad or baking and eating cookies with your mom.
• Social influences – Getting together with other people for a meal is a great way to relieve stress, but it can also lead to overeating. It’s easy to overindulge simply because the food is there or because everyone else is eating. You may also overeat in social situations out of nervousness. Or perhaps your family or circle of friends encourage you to overeat, and it’s easier to go along with the group.
• Stress – Ever notice how stress makes you hungry? It’s not just in your mind. When stress is chronic, as it so often is in our chaotic, fast-paced world, your body produces high levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol triggers cravings for salty, sweet, and fried foods—foods that give you a burst of energy and pleasure. The more uncontrolled stress in your life, the more likely you are to turn to food for emotional relief.

Find other ways to feed your feelings.

If you don’t know how to manage your emotions in a way that doesn’t involve food, you won’t be able to control your eating habits for very long. Diets so often fail because they offer logical nutritional advice which only works if you have conscious control over your eating habits. It doesn’t work when emotions hijack the process, demanding an immediate payoff with food.

In order to stop emotional eating, you have to find other ways to fulfill yourself emotionally. It’s not enough to understand the cycle of emotional eating or even to understand your triggers, although that’s a huge first step. You need alternatives to food that you can turn to for emotional fulfillment.

 

Alternatives to emotional eating.

If you’re depressed or lonely, call someone who always makes you feel better, plays with your dog or cat, or look at a favorite photo or cherished memento.

If you’re anxious, expend your nervous energy by dancing to your favorite song, squeezing a stress ball, or taking a brisk walk.

If you’re exhausted, treat yourself with a hot cup of tea, take a bath, light some scented candles, or wrap yourself in a warm blanket.

If you’re bored, read a good book, watch a comedy show, explore the outdoors, or turn to an activity you enjoy (sports, group activates, book reading, painting, etc.).

What is mindful eating?

Mindful eating is a practice that develops your awareness of eating habits and allows you to pause between your triggers and your actions. Most emotional eaters feel powerless over their food cravings. When the urge to eat hits, you feel an almost unbearable tension that demands to be fed, right now. Because you’ve tried to resist in the past and failed, you believe that your willpower just isn’t up to snuff. But the truth is that you have more power over your cravings than you think.

Take 5 before you give in to a craving.

Emotional eating tends to be automatic and virtually mindless. Before you even realize what you’re doing, you’ve reached for a tub of ice cream and polished off half of it. But if you can take a moment to pause and reflect when you’re hit with a craving, you give yourself the opportunity to make a different decision.

Can you put off eating for five minutes?

Or just start with one minute. Don’t tell yourself you can’t give in to the craving; remember, the forbidden is extremely tempting. Just tell yourself to wait.

While you’re waiting, check in with yourself

How are you feeling? What’s going on emotionally? Even if you end up eating, you’ll have a better understanding of why you did it. This can help you set yourself up for a different response next time.

Learn to accept your feelings—even the bad ones

While it may seem that the core problem is that you’re powerless over food, emotional eating actually stems from feeling powerless over your emotions. You don’t feel capable of dealing with your feelings head on, so you avoid them with food.

Allowing yourself to feel uncomfortable emotions can be scary. You may fear that, like Pandora’s box, once you open the door you won’t be able to shut it. But the truth is that when we don’t obsess over or suppress our emotions, even the most painful and difficult feelings subside relatively quickly and lose their power to control our attention. To do this you need to become mindful and learn how to stay connected to your moment-to-moment emotional experience. This can enable you to rein in stress and repair emotional problems that often trigger emotional eating.

Emotional Eating: Your Questions Answered

1. Does the Mediterranean diet protect against depression?

We already know that a Mediterranean diet full of vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, fish, and olive oil reduces inflammation and may be beneficial for heart health. But eating a Mediterranean diet can also protect against and prevent depressive disorders.

If you aren’t going to Spain or Greece anytime soon, pretend you’re there by copying their diets. Add more veggies to your potlucks, or shake on the herbs and spices to reduce inflammation.

2. Will eating fast food lead to an increased risk of depression?

Eating fast food like hamburgers, sausages, and pizza, as well as commercial baked goods such as muffins, doughnuts, and croissants, have been shown to be associated with an increased risk for depression.

Do your best to balance out your food choices with some healthy, fresh options whenever available.

3. Will being in a positive mood lead to eating more?

It’s not just a bad mood that can lead to eating more food. Negative mood and positive mood BOTH lead to more food intake.

This research doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be in a good mood! Try to find balance in your moods, keeping steady and stable without the extreme peaks and valleys that could cause you to overeat

4. Can you eat yourself into a bad mood in just two days?

A study revealed that the more calories, saturated fat, and sodium people ate, the more negative mood they reported two days later. The researchers suggest that food causes mood shifts.

If you find yourself in a bad mood, look at what you are eating. You can make some immediate changes that will translate into quick lifts in your mood.

5. Can snacks affect your well-being?

Consumption of fruit is associated with lower anxiety, depression, and emotional distress than consumption of chips/chocolate. Similarly, scores for somatic symptoms, cognitive difficulties, fatigue were greater with chips/chocolate consumption.

Take note of your snacking behaviors during the holidays! If you find yourself eating too many cookies or indulging in lots of chocolate, shake up your snacking routine by getting some fresh fruit. Your mood will thank you for it (and those around you will, too!).

6. Can your emotions change how foods taste?

A study came out recently that assessed taste and emotions of people who attended hockey games. There were a total of eight games: four wins, three losses, and one tie. The researchers found that positive emotions during the winning games correlated with enhanced sweet and diminished sour intensities while negative emotions lead to heightened sour and decreased sweet tastes.

Take time to taste your food and have an awareness that the emotions you are feeling are not only influencing what you are eating but how things taste. If you take your time to eat mindfully, you’ll be more at the moment, and, as the studies suggest, you’ll likely eat less and feel.

7. Can being bored drive you to eat?

Those prone to being bored and lacking emotional coping skills can lead to inappropriate eating behavior, like eating when bored or in response to negative emotions.
Being bored is probably the least of your worries during the holidays; however, you may have more downtime which means that you could be looking for things to do. Fill your time with healthy physical activity to keep you pleasantly busy.

8. Does the personality you have, drive you’re eating habits?

The brought to light many findings of the relationship between one’s personality and eating, including:

• High openness to experience was associated with higher fruit, vegetable, and salad and lower meat and soft drink consumption.
• High agreeableness was associated with low meat consumption.
• Conscientiousness promoted fruit consumption prevented meat consumption and intake of sweet and savory foods and of sugar-sweetened soft drinks.
• Neuroticism promoted consumption of sweet and savory foods by promoting emotional and external eating.

Perhaps we can’t change who we are, but we can become more aware of our actions. If you find that you are always on edge and feeling neurotic, try to put yourself in the space of agreeableness and openness, which will contribute positively to your eating habits.

Learn more about my diet plans that are designed to match your daily habits and routines.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has become the “it” way to work out over the last few years, with studios and gyms capitalizing on the quick-but-effective way of training that alternates between bouts of intense activity, like sprints, with periods of less-intense active recovery or complete rest. Fans of this super-efficient workout swear by its ability to torch calories, burn fat, and build muscle, all in much less time than, say, a 5-mile moderate-intensity run.

Another purported benefit of HIIT is your body’s ability to stay in fat-burning mode long after your workout is finished, which is music to the ears of anyone who follows their Saturday sweat sesh with a boozy brunch. Known as the afterburn effect, this process is said to rev up your metabolism and torch calories for up to 24 hours after exercise. It’s a theory many HIIT-based studios tout as a major health benefit of their workout, promising you’ll reap the rewards of their one-hour workout for days.

But are these benefits too good to be true? Here’s what the science has to say about it.

What is the afterburn effect, anyway?

The process is scientifically known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). It refers to the oxygen your body needs to restore itself to the pre-workout state (your resting metabolism). Your body uses oxygen to produce fuel (scientifically known as adenosine triphosphate, or ATP) needed for your muscles to fire up during exercise, but it can also call on stored energy sources that don’t require extra oxygen. HIIT workouts typically utilize the latter more so than steady-state exercise, and will also require more oxygen post-sweat session—this is why these short bursts of intense, taxing exercise are associated with the afterburn effect. (Interesting right? Read more on understanding this science.)

“Those [oxygen and calorie burn] go kind of hand in hand after exercise.

“Your metabolism stays up for a period of time after exercise.” Although your body continues to burn calories after a workout, it’s usually only 6 to 15 percent of the total calories you burned while exercising. So if you burned 300 calories during your workout, your afterburn would only be about 18 to 45 calories. (Exercise isn’t the only way to maintain a high metabolism, btw. Eating a sufficient amount of protein post-workout will also help.)

EPOC is not limited to HIIT workouts—it’s present after all aerobic exercise—but the level of exercise intensity does play a role in just how many calories your body burns post-sweat. That for low-intensity activity, say a treadmill jog, you can expect a lower afterburn effect (about 6 percent calorie burn, toward the lower end of the range), but with HIIT workouts and things like Tabata and speed drills, you could reap an afterburn closer to that 15 percent mark.

There are a few other factors that alter your individual afterburn rewards as well: weight, fitness level, and muscle mass all play a role. “People who are more aerobically fit, their bodies are going to be better fat burners as a whole,” says Keating. You can expect these people to have a more sustained afterburn effect.

The 24-hour idea is a stretch.

The claim that your body continues to burn calories for up to 24 hours afterward is deceiving. Although people who are more physically fit may derive longer benefits from the EPOC effect, it’s usually only up to a couple of hours, tops.

A study evaluated participants who performed sprint interval training and then measured their post-workout calorie burn. Although the results did show energy expenditure within 24 hours after the workout (it should be noted that your body is constantly burning energy/calories, even at rest), most of the calorie burning was seen during and just after exercise, with the numbers dropping significantly from there.

So does that mean the 24-hour EPOC effect is just a fairy tale? “Never say never. There might be a really heroic exercise program that can do it.” “But your typical high-intensity sprint interval stuff that’s being recommended now, like four 30-second bursts or something gentler like 10 one-minute bursts, probably aren’t going to give people that big 24-hour afterburn.”

HIIT benefits go beyond the afterburn effect.

Even though HIIT is one of the most effective workouts to burn fat, the potential afterburn effect is just part of the puzzle. During high-intensity workouts, your body produces more epinephrine and human growth hormone (HGH), which both have fat-burning capabilities; one study found that a 30-second sprint on the stationary bike resulted in a nearly 450 percent increase in HGH production. Other reported benefits of HIIT are improved insulin sensitivity and blood pressure, along with simply being an efficient way to work out.

Interval training is also better at preserving lean body mass, and the more muscle you have, the more calories you’ll burn while at rest. Plus, as you get more fit, you’ll increase your VO2 max, which is a number that indicates how efficiently your body uses oxygen during exercise.

The bottom line: While HIIT exercise is a great way to get in shape, be wary of fitness studios promising to transform your body into a magical fat-burning machine long after you towel off. That doesn’t mean you should ditch your favorite boot camp (remember, HIIT training still improves endurance and body composition), but keep in mind that the afterburn effect isn’t a free pass to binge on junk food for two days.

1. BE PROUD

Whether your new to exercising or experience starting training for a specific goal in mind celebrate the fact that your exercising. Science agrees dating back to decades suggests that those who exercise are less angry and more optimistic than those who are sedentary.

​​​​​2. BE PATIENT

Exercising rewards consistency and dedication. Not everyone will feel great but trust that the benefits whether it’s weight loss, confidence, stress relief, or a health scare the benefits will add up in time.

3. REMEMBER THE FUN

It’s important to remind yourself that exercising can and should be fun. Focusing more on your short term goals and fitness instead of your long term goal and weight loss will ultimately help to enjoy the experience. In frantic lives exercising represents a rare opportunity to de-stress. Thinking of exercising that is great for boosting motivation and commitment.

4. TREAT YOURSELF

Weather it’s a new outfit or slap up dinner on the night after a great month of training and results. A reward is a great way to drive your efforts.

5. INCORPORATING EXERCISE INTO YOUR DAILY SCHEDULE

•Walking or riding instead of driving whenever possible.
•Taking the stairs instead of the lifts.
•Family activities outdoors/sports days.
•Morning, afternoon or evening workouts.

6. FOOD PREP

•Less chance of cheating.
•Saves money.
•Huge time saver.
•Helps meet your fitness goal.
•Gives great variety

Visceral fat is technically excess intra-abdominal adipose tissue accumulation. In other words, it’s known as a “deep” fat that’s stored further underneath the skin than “subcutaneous” belly fat. It’s a form of gel-like fat that’s actually wrapped around major organs, including the liver, pancreas, and kidneys.

When people talk about wanting to burn belly fat, they are actually referring to two different types of fatty tissue: visceral fat (sometimes called active fat) and subcutaneous fat. Subcutaneous fat is stored directly below your skin and is the type of fat where you can “pinch an inch” from your belly, arms, thighs or just about anywhere else on your body. Visceral fat, on the other hand, is much harder to identify, as it’s stored around your internal organs in your abdominal region, including your liver, pancreas, and intestines.

The Problem With Too Much Visceral Fat

Too much visceral fat can interfere with how your liver functions and to interrupt normal hormonal communications between your vital organs. This can lead to insulin resistance (the beginning of diabetes), high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and a higher risk for developing heart disease. High visceral fat storage has also been linked to breast cancer, colorectal cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia.

Not only that, but an larger waistline, combined with high blood pressure, high triglycerides (fat in the blood), low HDL (“good”cholesterol) and rising blood sugar characterizes Syndrome X, which starts with high visceral fat stores. But there is something you can do to stop and reverse the accumulation of this dangerous fat. Lifestyle changes including diet and exercise will help promote usage of visceral fat and lower your risk factors for developing heart disease.

Diagnosing and Solving the Problem

So how do you know if you’re at risk? The only way to tell for sure that your problem is visceral fat is to have an MRI or CT-scan, which are expensive both and often not medically necessary. However, if you have a waistline greater than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, that’s an indicator that you are carrying too much belly fat, even if you’re a relatively healthy weight and generally in good health.

4-Step guideline to a healthy lifestyle

1. Follow a Healthy, Balanced Nutrition Plan

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Work with a dietitian to design a nutrition plan for you that focuses on improving your health and helping you to lose weight. The American Diabetes Association suggests you limit your total daily fat intake to 20 to 30 percent of your total calories, keep saturated fat (animal fats, palm oils, and processed snacks and desserts) to less than seven percent and try to eliminate harmful trans fats altogether.

Your nutrition plan should contain lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, lean protein and complex carbohydrates such as beans, lentils and sprouted grains for energy and fiber. In addition, try cooking with olive, canola, peanut, safflower or sesame oils, as they contain monounsaturated fats, the “good fats” when used in moderation. You can also try healthy vegetable oils for cooking like coconut, sunflower, olive, avocado, and grapeseed oils.

2. Increase the Amount and Intensity of Your Exercise

Try to exercise at least 30 minutes every day, which helps you burn calories. A weight loss of five to 10 percent of your total body weight can help reduce visceral fat stores. To achieve that, your daily caloric balance (calories consumed minus calories burned) needs to be negative. More specifically, in order to lose a pound a week, your calorie deficit must be 500 calories per day. That means you have to exercise.

Try circuit training, brisk walking, biking or any activity that gets your heart rate up and you moving for an hour. Additionally, try incorporating some high-intensity interval training into your routine. A 2009 University of Virginia study found that this type of exercise total abdominal fat, including visceral and subcutaneous fat.

3. Stay Motivated and on Track

Weight loss takes time. Don’t expect to lose weight overnight — you didn’t gain it overnight, after all. Just a modest amount of weight loss will improve your visceral fat stores and other medical complications you have. Use that as motivation to stick with your eating and exercise program. Try tracking your meal and logging your progress in a journal or an app like “MyPlate Calorie Tracker”.

You can also reach out to supportive friends or family members and ask them to help encourage you on your weight-loss journey. Studies have shown that people who have someone to be accountable to are more likely to reach their goals.

4. Practice Healthy Lifestyle Habits

In order to improve your overall health, stop smoking, drinking, being inactive and eating high-fat, processed foods. Choosing healthier lifestyle choices will improve your quality of life and will show up in inches lost as stated in the Guidelines for Overweight and Obesity. Also, make sure you get plenty of sleep and take time to de-stress.

Researchers have found that the stress hormone, cortisol, significantly increases the storage of visceral fat. So do some deep breathing or yoga or take a bath or quick walk.

Key learning points: whether using low or high loads, the most important factor for maximizing hypertrophic responses is total volume and, probably, exertion. Low loads lead to hypertrophy due to metabolic stress as the main feature, so fatigue is a very important factor to consider.

Other aspects:
– Velocity and exertion of the 39th rep of a 40 reps set (to failure) is about the same than the 4th rep of a 5 reps set (to failure). So you still need to get tired, even when using low loads.
– Given that total work volume is the key aspect for hypertrophy, e.g. 50 total repetitions using low loads vs. high loads, the training session will be shorter when using low loads, since rest periods will be shorter between sets.

It all comes to the final goal desired. Do I want greater muscle cross-sectional area in order to increase force production, or just for aesthetic reasons? The two interventions will have different outcomes: (a) with the same total work volume, low loads won’t have the same impact on neural adaptations as high loads do, so increases in strength, power and speed will necessarily be different and (b) low loads/high repetitions involve different energy pathways, with greater emphasis on local muscle endurance.

When selecting the best method to maximize hypertrophic responses, we should analyze the following aspects, by descending order of importance:

(1) Chronical and training age
(2) General population vs. athletic population vs. Rehabilitation process
(3) Sports requirements
(4) Training supervision vs. individual training
(5) Type of exercise selected
(6) Desired training weekly frequency
(7) Time available for each training session
(8) Equipment available

#Bridgingthegap #Hypertrophy #Strength #Power

We’re going to start with a disclaimer here – if you’ve been eating a lot of high-carb foods and not getting any exercise, you’re bound to put on some pounds depending on your metabolism. But what if you’ve been a steady weight for years and leading the same lifestyle, and you find the scale creeping upwards?

There are a number of reasons you could be increasing in weight, and some of them could be tied to underlying health problems that can be addressed separately. Let’s take a look at eight of them…

1. Depression

More specifically, depression medications can cause you to bloat a bit, according to Prevention.com. The site actually says you can expect your weight to spike from 5 to 15-pounds, “with continued gradual accumulation over the years”. Changing meds could be one solution, it explains.

Even if you’re not taking medications to manage your mood, you may still see some weight gain from depression, adds the source. It cites a 2010 study that explains people who are “sad and lonely” gain weight more readily than those who are emotionally more stable.

2. Hypothyroidism

This is a condition when your thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough hormones, and one of the results is a lower metabolism that leads to more weight being retained, according to WomenToWomen.com.

Even when some women are dieting by cutting calories, they can still experience weight gain if their thyroid is underactive, it adds. This is because the “metabolic burn continues to fall as calories are reduced,” explains the source. Women are more susceptible than men to hypothyroidism, due to hormonal fluctuations and other factors, it adds.

3. Lack of Fiber

This essential component of foods helps move matter through your system for regular elimination. However, it you’re “backed up” (constipated), you may put on some pounds, according to Prevention.com.

The key is to eat more fiber-rich foods and stay hydrated, it explains. You should also focus on improving the quality of your gut flora – taking probiotics (or getting it from a source like yogurt) is one way to achieve a more healthy gut.

4. Vitamin Deficiencies

Livestrong.com notes that a lack of certain vitamins and nutrients could be adding to your weight gain issues. The source says a 2012 study shows many subjects with obesity also demonstrated a lack of certain vitamins.

The source says both water-soluble vitamins (vitamins B and C) and fat-soluble vitamins (such as D, E, A and K) should be part of your regular diet to prevent a deficit in your system. Lack of Vitamin D, which comes from the sun, limited foods (fish, cheese, eggs) and supplements, can make you feel tired and less active which could contribute to weight gain.

5. Excess Stress

Some people tend to lose their appetite when they’re stressed, but for many others, “stress eating” is a way to deal with negative feelings. WebMD explains that when “life’s demands get too intense, our bodies go into survival mode”. It also means an increase in the stress hormone cortisol, which is linked to an increase in appetite.

High-calorie “comfort foods” are a way that many people deal with stress, and it’s no secret many of these types of foods are loaded with unhealthy fats. “This combination is a perfect breeding ground for weight gain,” it explains. Try turning to other stress management techniques – like meditation or exercise – instead of eating your feelings.

6. Age

Unfortunately, you can’t avoid this one – and one of the “side effects” of getting older is that your metabolism (basically your body’s rate of burning calories) slows down. Your rate of natural calorie burning is slower at age 40 than age 20, explains Prevention.com.

The fix? Taking in more lean proteins when you’re getting older is a great way to satisfy your appetite without all the extra calories, and it will help your body burn calories more efficiently, notes the source.

When it comes to losing weight in middle to later-years, exercise may actually be more important than diet for weight control, it adds.

7. Cushing’s Syndrome

This syndrome is very rare, but if all other causes of weight gain have been rules out by a medical professional, there’s a chance this could be the culprit. MedicalNewsToday.com calls it a “complex hormonal condition” that can occur when cortisol (stress hormones) are too high.

While this syndrome carries a variety of symptoms ranging from thinner skin, bruising, higher blood that your doctor rules out this syndrome through blood and urine tests, as it can be fatal, according to the source.

8. Pregnancy

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This one is fairly obvious, but it may be overlooked if you weren’t planning to become pregnant and are worried about sudden changes to your body. It’s pretty much a given that you’re going to put on weight when you’re pregnant, but the gain can start earlier than some women think – even before you know you’re carrying.

This early gain is not from the fetus itself – which is still tiny. Although Livestrong.com says most women gain less than 5-pounds in the first 3-months of a pregnancy, it notes fluid retention from increased progesterone (a steroid hormone) levels and increased breast size can tip the scales upwards early on. A change in appetite and eating habits (“eating for two”) can also pack on pounds in the first month, it adds.

You either love it or hate it, in my case

“I love it!”

There are some great benefits I can receive from running such as reducing heart disease and risk of getting cancer.

However the other benefits I can also receive from running is the feeling of freedom I get whether it’s outdoors, especially in nice weather with the fresh air passing me by as I run.

Also the unknown conditions of the streets, roads, fields! Making each run slightly different to the next or Indoors using a treadmill for interval running trying to improve on my fitness levels enabling me to push myself further with increased sprint times, pace or inclines.

The fact that I can just get up and go, all that’s needed is running clothes, trainers and nowadays with the technology we have to track running times, distance and calorie loss progress “i currently use running app RunKepper”

www.runkeeper.com

With that nothing else needed but to just “RUN!”

It’s something I can do alone, as a pair or in a group with not much organization needed apart from a meeting point, a start and finish point.

The feeling of knowing after each run my fitness levels, stamina, endurance and health are all improving giving me that feel good feeling.

The joy, the freedom, the peace that a run brings with the after feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.

The planned treadmill running sessions of high intense sprints working up a sweat, burning high amounts of calories.

When and where did it start? For me I recall as a youngster, like many others playing football having the fitness ability to be able to cover more ground than any other player remembering seriously annoying the opposition players with my none stop running!! It was from then I released that I enjoyed running way more than others loving the fitness aspect of sports having that overwhelming feeling of wanting to be the fittest player not only in my team but also the fittest player on the pitch on a Saturday afternoon.

Annoying team mates with the happiness of looking forward to pre-season football training, all the running drills.

Being selected at a very young age to run cross country at school.

Part of me would like to say its solely me that’s made me such a good runner with the love of running coming from within. But I do believe that some of it comes from genetics think I inherited the ability to just run, pushing my ability trying to take it to the next level!

Not all of us enjoy running but I’m one of a few that do.

The more active and fit you are during pregnancy, the easier it will be for you to adapt to your changing shape and weight gain.

It will also help you to cope with labour and get back into shape after the birth.
Keep up your normal daily physical activity or exercise (sport, running, yoga, dancing, or even walking to the shops and back) for as long as you feel comfortable.

Exercise is not dangerous for your baby – there is some evidence that active women are less likely to experience problems in later pregnancyand labour.

Exercise tips for pregnancy:
Don’t exhaust yourself. You may need to slow down as your pregnancy progresses or if your maternity team advises you to. If in doubt, consult your maternity team.

As a general rule, you should be able to hold a conversation as you exercise when pregnant. If you become breathless as you talk, then you’re probably exercising too strenuously.

If you weren’t active before you got pregnant, don’t suddenly take up strenuous exercise. If you start an aerobic exercise programme (such as running, swimming, cycling, walking or aerobics classes), tell the instructor that you’re pregnant and begin with no more than 15 minutes of continuous exercise, three times a week. Increase this gradually to at least four 30-minute sessions a week.

Remember that exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous to be beneficial.

Exercise tips when you’re pregnant:
Always warm up before exercising, and cool down afterwards try to keep active on a daily basis: half an hour of walking each day can be enough, but if you can’t manage that, any amount is better than nothing.

Avoid any strenuous exercise in hot weather drink plenty of water and other fluids if you go to exercise classes, make sure your teacher is properly qualified, and knows that you’re pregnant as well as how many weeks pregnant you are.

You might like to try swimming because the water will support your increased weight. Some local swimming pools provide aquanatal classes with qualified instructors.

Find your local swimming pool exercises that have a risk of falling, such as horse riding, downhill skiing, ice hockey, gymnastics and cycling, should only be done with caution. Falls may risk damage to the baby.

Exercises to avoid in pregnancy:
Don’t lie flat on your back for prolonged periods, particularly after 16 weeks, because the weight of your bump presses on the main blood vessel bringing blood back to your heart and this can make you feel faint.

Don’t take part in contact sports where there’s a risk of being hit, such as kickboxing, judo or squash.

Don’t go scuba diving, because the baby has no protection against decompression sickness and gas embolism (gas bubbles in the bloodstream).

Don’t exercise at heights over 2,500m above sea level until you have acclimatised: this is because you and your baby are at risk of altitude sickness.

Exercises for a fitter pregnancy:
If you are pregnant, try to fit the exercises listed below into your daily routine. They will strengthen your muscles so that you can carry the extra weight of pregnancy. They’ll also make your joints stronger, improve circulation, ease backache, and generally help you feel well.

Stomach-strengthening exercises:
As your baby gets bigger, you may find that the hollow in your lower back increases and this can give you backache. These exercises strengthen stomach (abdominal) muscles and may ease backache, which can be a problem in pregnancy.

Start in a box position (on all fours) with knees under hips, hands under shoulders, with fingers facing forward and abdominals lifted to keep your back straight.

Pull in your stomach muscles and raise your back up towards the ceiling, curling the trunk and allowing your head to relax gently forward. Don’t let your elbows lock hold for a few seconds then slowly return to the box position.

Take care not to hollow your back: it should always return to a straight/neutral position.

Do this slowly and rhythmically 10 times, making your muscles work hard and moving your back carefully only move your back as far as you can comfortably go.

Pelvic tilt exercises stand with your shoulders and bottom against a wall keep your knees soft pull your tummy button towards your spine, so that your back flattens against the wall: hold for four seconds and release repeat up to 10 times.

Pelvic floor exercises:
Pelvic floor exercises help to strengthen the muscles of the pelvic floor, which come under great strain in pregnancy and childbirth.

The pelvic floor consists of layers of muscles that stretch like a supportive hammock from the pubic bone (in front) to the end of the backbone.

If your pelvic floor muscles are weak, you may find that you leak urine when you cough, sneeze or strain. This is quite common and you needn’t feel embarrassed. It’s known as stress incontinence and it can continue after pregnancy.

You can strengthen the muscles by doing pelvic floor exercises. This helps to reduce or avoid stress incontinence after pregnancy.

All pregnant women should do pelvic floor exercises, even if you’re young and not suffering from stress incontinence now.

How to do pelvic floor exercises:
Close up your anus as if you’re trying to prevent a bowel movement at the same time, draw in your vagina as if you’re gripping a tampon, and your urethra as if to stop the flow of urine at first, do this exercise quickly, tightening and releasing the muscles immediately then do it slowly, holding the contractions for as long as you can before you relax: try to count to 10 try to do three sets of eight squeezes every day.

To help you remember, you could do a set at each meal as well as these exercises, practise tightening up the pelvic floor muscles before and during coughing and sneezing.