Did the Buttons of Your Jeans Start to Social Distance From One Another? Here’s How Stress Gives You that Belly Fat During COVID-19 Lockdown
Are you exercising and still noticing that abdominal fat? Blame it on stress. Yes, stress can impact your metabolism and give you that belly fat. Read on to know how you can prevent that paunch.
No matter how much you may try, it may not be possible for you to avoid stress during these trying times altogether. While self-care and exercise can help you cope with stress, it may not be enough with the COOD-19 news doing rounds on social media and television the whole day. High levels of stress can impact everything from a good night's sleep to the amount of fat being accumulated in your abdominal region. Yes, stress can wreak havoc on your metabolism and give you that paunch. Here's how:
What is Your Body Metabolic Rate?
Your body metabolic rate is the number of calories you burn during a set period. Every individual has a different metabolic rate that largely depends on the age, sex and the activity level. Another significant factor that affects your metabolism is your hormones. Reduction of the hormones oestrogen and progesterone can lead to an increase in fat and the loss of muscle mass. But there is another hormone that can throw your metabolism out of whack, and that is cortisol. Work Out at Home: With Gyms Shut Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Here Are Five Easy Exercises to Keep Fit.
How Stress Makes You Store Body Fat?
Apart from affecting your insulin resistance, cortisol and make you eat more and have sleepless nights. Insulin has a huge role to play in sabotaging your weight loss as it can make the body store fat instead of burn. Your body has a lot of metabolic repercussions if you become insulin resistance. You will not be able to burn and save fuel as you need to. Kokum Sharbat Health Benefits: From Weight Loss to Smooth Digestion, Here Are Five Reasons Why You Should Have This Soothing Summer Drink.
How Can You Reduce Stress to Improve Metabolism?
You need to learn to manage your stressors to improve your metabolism. Deep breathing, listening to music, practising yoga and meditation, taking a hot bath and exercising can help you manage stress well. Getting more sleep and eating a balanced diet can also help boost your metabolism.
Increasing your protein intake will make your body work harder to process the micronutrients. Also, ensure that you reduce your sugar intake as those calories will be stored as fat if you are not very physically active. Weight Loss Tip of the Week: How to Eat Black Beans to Lose Weight.
Include some strength training exercises in your daily at-home workout routine to build muscles and burn fat. A few round of push-ups and planks can work in the favour of your core.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 14, 2020 03:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).