Is Stress Causing You To Gain Weight & Make It Impossible To Melt Off Belly Fat?

Can stress cause you to can gain weight overnight and store more body fat around your mid-section? Can it make it impossible to lose weight and melt off belly fat?

Yes! Prolonged stress can lead to unwanted weight gain, especially around the middle. Chronic stress can cause a wide range of physical and mental health issues as a result of hormonal imbalance. It's not all in your head. Research has shown that stress can cause excess abdominal fat even in lean women and men and is now affecting teens and kids.

Cortisol and Your Metabolism

Cortisol can lead to weight gain and increase body fat storage around the stomach, hips, and thighs.

When we are stressed (this can include positive stress too), our cortisol levels rise, increasing hunger and making us feel hungry all the time. Cravings are intensified for all the wrong foods like sugar, carbs, and saturated fat. Stress hormones can also increase the desire to drink excessive amounts of alcohol (more than four drinks per week).

Increased levels of the hormone can also spike insulin levels and cause those higher insulin levels to become chronic (elevated A1C), which is why you always feel hungry. Afterward, your blood sugar drops, and you begin to crave sugary, fatty foods. On the flipside, some people feel like they can’t eat and lose weight.

Stress hormones/cortisol can stimulate our fat and carbohydrate metabolism by either speeding it up or slowing it down. This surge of energy shows up as anxiety in our body in today’s modern world because we no longer live in the wild and we don’t expend our energy hunting for our next meal.

This survival response, once essential, increases our appetite but often leads to a fight-or-flight response. During COVID-19 lockdown this has been chronic for us all and has become permanent (aka post-traumatic stress disorder). PTSD is when our bodies at a cellular level become stuck in a permanent fight-or-flight state that can inhibit our ability to deal with normal stress leading to our overeating, often becoming a habit. 

This vicious cycle is very detrimental to our bodies and minds because
increased levels of these stress hormones drive hunger and cravings. They also cause higher insulin levels, even if you don’t indulge in your cravings. It's simple body biology.

Here are some signs that your weight gain and lack of weight loss is connected to stress:

  • Gain weight easily
  • Difficulty losing weight or getting stomach flat
  • Feel hungry all the time
  • Struggle with cravings
  • Feel anxious and/or depressed
  • Chronically fatigued
  • Store excess fat around your midsection (aka stress belly)
  • Low/weak immunity, frequent colds and/or infections
  • Frequent headaches.
  • Digestive issues and/or indigestion
  • Aches and pains (fibromyalgia)
  • Tense muscles
  • Mood changes
  • Difficulty falling or staying asleep
  • Difficulty with short-term memory

The list goes on and on, but I’m sure you are getting the point. It's essential that these underlying issues are addressed in order to lose weight and improve every aspect of your health.

How Can 5-HTP Lean Help?

5-HTP Lean can aid weight loss by increasing feelings of fullness and provide the nutrients that stress depletes. It naturally counteracts and rebalances those hunger-inducing hormones, helping to suppress appetite and eliminate cravings, making it easier to lose weight, melt off stubborn belly fat, and keep it off.

How Much 5-HTP Lean Should I Take and When?

For weight loss, hunger, and cravings I have found that one (1) capsule taken three times a day is a safe and highly effective approach for most who suffer from chronic and general anxiety, excess hunger and cravings that lead to stress eating/overeating. It's well tolerated without excessive daytime sedation or making you feel so full you actually feel or become sick to your stomach.

For headaches/migraines, take 2–3 times per day with your protein shake or meals. For chronic headaches it may require you to use for 2-3 weeks to build up in your body where you notice a beneficial effect. The more depleted your body, the longer it may take. Most customers report feeling better right away due to LynFit's premium grade and purity.

We never mix our 5-HTP with fillers, additives, or inferior ingredients. We avoid fast melts or time-released because your body knows best and needs to draw on these nutrients as needed, when needed. 

All of LynFit's nutritional products are made using the most bioavailable forms of natural ingredients.

For sleep aid, take 30–45 minutes before bed. For extreme sleep issues, stack with one (1) or more Lean Sleep (provides 5g of melatonin). Our melatonin also provides antioxidant support and cortisol management.

Stress hormones can be very stubborn and tough (not impossible) to manage. Relief can, and will, accomplished as long as you...

  • Take your nutritional supplements consistently
  • Learn how to recognize stress in your body (worry and fear)
  • Support your efforts with a balance of healthy foods like amino acids found in complete protein, fish, eggs, and turkey/chicken breast. You do get some amino acids from Daily Repair Liquid Collagen as well, and our Lean Protein Bars are one of the only protein bars that provides enough of the right kind of amino acids to count as one politically correct serving of clean keto protein. They also help satisfy cravings... healthfully.

 

 

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Lisa Lynn, Clinical Metabolic Nutrition & Fitness Expert. Best known for her 18+ years as Martha Stewart’s trainer, who was responsible for Martha’s over-50 amazing physical transformation that caught the attention of Dr. Oz, leading to her many appearances on the Dr. Oz Show. Lisa is not just another trainer; she herself lost 40 pounds and has kept it off, even with a sluggish thyroid and menopause.
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