Weight loss is about SO MUCH MORE than calories in, calories out.
What you need to understand is that cortisol, our primary stress hormone, plays a significant role in your ability to lose weight - which is why so many of us lose weight on holiday, even though we are out of our normal routine.
When stress becomes chronic or we have unprocessed traumas and emotions in our body constantly keeping our body in a state of stress, cortisol levels can spike, leading to a cascade of effects that influence your weight.
Science shows us that elevated cortisol levels are associated with increased abdominal fat and a slowed metabolism, making weight loss an uphill battle (you can read more about this in the links below).
The key is nervous system regulation through somatic movement.
Our nervous system, which consists of the sympathetic (fight or flight) and parasympathetic (rest and digest) branches, directly influences cortisol secretion.
Chronic stress, or unprocessed/stored emotions and traumas in the body can tilt this balance, keeping us in a perpetual state of high alert and pumping out more cortisol. Which is why if you’re struggling to lose weight, somatic exercises are so effective.
They efficiently regulate the nervous system so you can deal with current stressors, while releasing historic and unprocessed emotions or traumas that became stuck in your body.
In a nutshell, somatic exercises tell your body that it’s safe to come out of survival mode and get back to balance and homeostasis - getting your bodily processes like metabolism back on track.
Imagine what you could achieve when you wake up feeling confident, radiant and energised...
Let's turn your life back ON in just 30 days - join my Restore Challenge and take back control of your health.
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Want to learn more?
- How Stress Causes Weight Gain in Your Stomach (academic study)
- Stress May Cause Excess Abdominal Fat (Yale article)
- What Is Cortisol Belly? (academic study)
- I Have All The Symptoms Of High Cortisol, Why Do My Cortisol Test Results Come Back Normal? (video by the International Autoimmune Institute & Bingham Memorial Center for Functional Medicine)
- Hiding Behind Weight: The Correlation between Childhood Sexual Abuse and Obesity (article)
- The association between childhood trauma and overweight and obesity in young adults: the mediating role of food addiction (academic study)
- Past trauma, stress and weight gain (article)