Studies of mice and monkeys show that repeated stress -- and a high-fat, high-sugar diet -- release a hormone, neuropeptide Y, that causes a buildup of abdominal fat, researchers from Georgetown University reported Sunday. Manipulating levels of that hormone could melt fat from areas where it is not desired and accumulate it where it is needed,...

Even if you usually eat healthfully and exercise, chronic high stress
can prevent you from losing weight­ or even add pounds,

What happens: Your body responds to all stress­: physical or
psychological­ in exactly the same way. So every time you have a
stressful day, your brain acts as though you are in physical danger
and instructs your cells to release potent hormones. You get a burst
of adrenaline, which taps stored energy for a fight, flee, freeze,
fake it, fumble, stumble or mumble response  (Fun is also part of
this response but has more PNS foundation to it so the mixture of
stimulation SNS and calming PNS helps maintain energetic and
emotional balance). 

At the same time, you get a surge of cortisol, which tells your body
to replenish that energy even though you haven't used very many
calories in your stressed-out state. This can make you
hungry... very hungry.  And your body keeps on pumping out that
cortisol as long as the stress continues.

Sadly, few of us reach for celery or carrot sticks in these situations.
"Instead, we crave sweet, salty, and high-fat foods because they
stimulate the brain to release pleasure chemicals that actually do
reduce tension," explains Elissa Epel, PhD, a researcher on stress
eating at the University of California, San Francisco. This soothing
effect becomes addictive, so every time you're anxious, you reach for
fattening foods.

One way stress Increases Body Fat
With your adrenal glands pumping out cortisol, production of the
muscle-building hormone testosterone slows down. Over time, this
drop causes a decrease in your muscle mass, so you burn fewer
calories and usually eat more calories from fat. Calories from fat
require more exercise, putting you on a revolving door of needing more
exercise and probably doing less exercise as the weight increases.

You can greatly assist your cortisol levels and your weight being
under control, and improve your overall health at the same time in
eight meaningful ways.

1. It’s an ancient adage that when you control your breathing and you control your life.
Do you ever have an absolutely hellish day?  Given enough time to practice the
proper breathing exercises as "preparation for battle" and you can
train yourself to "walk calmly through the gates of hell".

Your breathing really does control much of your stress response IF you
first develop it properly and train it to react spontaneously and occasionally
as well, will or guide it to “maintain courage under fire”.

Long, purposefully shallow but still tolerable breathing rates and depths
will offset the tendency towards high chest breathing and
hyperventilation or over-breathing and will also develop the breathing
so that when excitement DOES occur one has the ability to maintain balance.
Over breathing is a bit misleading as it implies one can breathe too much.
But breath is life isn't it? The key is HOW we breathe, not how much.
 It MUST be abdominally based. The stronger the base the more we can tolerate
(and breathe). See  http://www.breathing.com/176/80-20.htm

Physical conditioning also helps a lot but many in seemingly great
condition drop dead after passing a cardiac stress test. The key to
me is how strong the breathing foundation is. If your body is like an
office building with a basement, and here comes a hurricane (stress),
then how deep, strong and durable is your basement
(foundation)? The basement is home base for the calming aspect of
your nervous system called the parasympathetic. Many miss-label it as
the "rest and digest" versus "fight or flight" of the sympathetic
nervous system" aspect of the autonomic nervous system. "Rest and
digest" relegates it to a few relevant but inadequate words that have
too little connection to its real importance which is the actual
foundation of our very body-centered strength of being and doing.

Simply stated, the bigger, stronger, your PNS becomes, the more stress
you can tolerate. Exercise can greatly help but exercise with a weak
breathing foundation (or basement) will eventually turn to DISstress.
Start with the Squeeze and Breathe Exercise in the Optimal
Breathing Kit 176 Video and you get a temporary experience of the
foundation. Then do the other Optimal Breathing Development Exercises
that further develop this "basement".

2. Go Slowly at Meals
Under stress, we tend to wolf down even healthy food. In fact,
research has linked this behaviour to bigger portions and more belly
fat. Slow down, savor each bite, and pay attention to feelings of
fullness. This may lower your cortisol levels along with decreasing
the amount of food you eat

3. Strict Dieting
Research shows that constant dieting can make cortisol levels rise as
much as 18%. When your cortisol levels spike, your blood sugar roller
coasters .. This makes you cranky and
hungry. When your brain is deprived of sugar, ­its main
fuel­ self-control takes a nosedive, and your willpower doesn't stand a chance.
High protein meals can help but they tend to foster acidity over
time. Balance is key and your body and life style will dictate that
.. More fresh veggies and sprouted seeds, nuts and beans seem to be
the best route for alkalinity but type O blood people may need more
high density protein.


4. Give In to Cravings ­a Little
Stop rigid dieting.  When stress drives you toward something sweet or
salty, it's okay to yield a little.
It's much better to indulge a little and cut off your cortisol
response before it gets out of control. Have a piece of fresh fruit,
a few E3live capsules or even dark chocolate. You will feel better. Just
stop at one. If you have trouble restraining yourself, take
precautions so you won't binge. Do not keep sweet foods at home.
Force yourself to go to the store if you must have a sweet snack!

5. Caffeine.
Next time you're under duress, choose decaf. Take a shot of E3live
liquid. Many have gotten rid of their habit of 8 cups of coffee a day
with an ounce of prevention from one  of natures wonder foods.

When you combine stress with caffeine, it raises cortisol levels more
than stress alone. In one study by the University of Oklahoma,
consuming the equivalent of 2 1/2 to 3 cups of coffee while under
mild stress boosted cortisol by about 25%­and kept it up for 3 hours.
When subjects took 600 mg of caffeine (the equivalent of 6 cups of
coffee)  throughout the day, the hormone level went up by 30% and
stayed high all day long. You'll experience these effects even if your
body is accustomed to a lot of lattes. And because high cortisol levels
can contribute to stress eating, quitting caffeine altogether may be
the right answer for you.

6. Power Up Breakfast
Deficiencies in B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium, and magnesium are
stressful to your body.
And these deficiencies lead to increased cortisol levels and food
cravings. But you can fight back by eating a breakfast that's high in
these nutrients. Try a  protein smoothie with fresh spinach with a full
spectrum vitamin powder – it  should contains calcium and magnesium and whole
sprouted grains bursting with B vitamins, while raw almond butter
and avocado contain essential fatty acids that can decrease the
production of stress hormones.

7. Exercise  or not?
Though exercising is critical to energy increase and stamina, do not depend on exercise to maintain weight. That is  fools game and what the food industry would like you to believe so you eat more and they make more money. Calories from fat are the key to weight control.

8. Sleep It Off
The most effective stress-reduction strategy of all: Get enough
shut-eye. Your body perceives sleep deprivation as a major stressor.
A University of Chicago study found that getting an average of 6 1/2
hours each night can increase cortisol, appetite, and weight gain.
The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7 to 9 hours. As if that
weren't enough, other research shows that lack of sleep also raises
levels of ghrelin, a hunger-boosting hormone. In one study,
appetite­ particularly for sweet and salty foods ­increased by 23% in
people who lacked sleep. The good news: A few nights of solid sleep
can bring all this back into balance, and getting enough regularly
helps keep it there. You'll eat less, and you'll feel better.
Us the Reflex triggering exercises in the 176 video also called
Fundamentals of Optimal Breathing Development

Handle weight gain and stress now