Relax and Renew: Stress Less, Lose Belly Fat

Relax and Renew: Stress Less, Lose Belly Fat

It's easy to get wrapped up in all the hype about diets. Instead of adopting a short-term strategy to drop a few pounds (which may backfire and result in twice the weight gain), it's better to focus on finding a balanced approach to eating and exercise that you can enjoy and will keep you healthy over the long haul. Yoga can help you along the way by reducing stress.

In response to stress, levels of the hormone cortisol rise; for people who chronically worry, those levels can stay high. Elevated cortisol levels not only stimulate overeating, they ensure that any additional calories are efficiently converted to fat. Worse, under the influence of cortisol, the excess fat tends to get deposited in the abdomen, a particularly unhealthy place. Big bellies are linked to insulin resistance-a precursor to Type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes-and heart disease. By combating stress, yoga helps to normalize cortisol levels and keep belly fat to a minimum.

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