How Stress Increases Your Weight and The Ways To Manage It

Stress is a normal part of life. Everyone goes through stressful situations or experiences from time to time. However, being under constant stress causes numerous health problems. For one, it can lead to several health issues, including heart disease, diabetes, asthma, gastrointestinal problems, Alzheimer’s disease, and depression.

Aside from causing your health to deteriorate, too much stress can also give you unwanted additional pounds. Many experts associate unsuccessful weight-loss regimens with poor stress management. To know how true this may be, let us examine the relationship between our stress and weight and what you can do to eliminate those extra pounds.

The Link Between Stress and Weight Gain

According to studies, there are two main possible factors for how stress causes weight gain: hormonal and psychological factors. The human body has a hormonal checks and balances system that may facilitate weight gain when under stress.

During a stressful or threatening event, your body will release a stress hormone called cortisol, along with epinephrine and norepinephrine. These hormones are released to allow the body to adapt to stressful events. Once the latter has passed, your epinephrine and norepinephrine levels will return to normal, but your cortisol levels can remain high over a long period; this is especially so if you are prone to chronic stress, your cortisol levels remain persistently elevated.

Cortisol serves many purposes, and one of its goals is to provide energy for your body. It stimulates your fat and carbohydrate metabolism, as well as your insulin release and blood sugar level maintenance. All of these actions increase your appetite. Consequently, having an increased appetite can cause you to experience difficulty losing unwanted pounds.

Aside from the possible hormonal causes, psychological reasons may also be behind your stress-induced weight gain. Often, people eat a lot to fulfil their psychological needs when under stress, which is known as binge eating. The psychological effects of stress can essentially lead you to eat more than what your body needs.

Best Ways to Avoid Gaining Weight Due to Stress

Minimising your stress levels is the best way to avoid gaining weight from stress. However, it is normal for some days where the stressful events exceed your capacity to cope, causing you to feel beaten or overwhelmed. Nonetheless, managing stress and regulating our hormones is possible by doing the following:

1. Exercise Regularly

Doing regular exercises is one of the classic and most effective ways to manage your stress while at the same time burning the extra calories. It is also an excellent way to regulate your stress hormone. Though it may seem too burdensome at first, whether you hit the gym or go for a brisk walk in the morning, exercising can help maintain your lean body mass, which is essential during long periods of elevated cortisol levels.

2. Eat Right

The most common cause of weight gain is uncontrolled appetite and diet. Although they are called comfort food, processed foods and drinks contain high sugar levels, causing you to feel sluggish over time. Eating right is not always easy, especially when stressed out, but it is worth it. Therefore, it is necessary to curb your cravings and monitor your diet to have your fats at bay. By eating right, your consumed calories will turn into energy and not be converted into stored fat inside your body.

3. Practice Relaxation

Psychological instability is one of the possible factors behind stress-induced weight gain. Hence, to manage the effects of stress on your body, practice relaxation through meditation, yoga, deep breathing, or mindfulness. Relaxation can essentially help you maintain your mental stability and bring the production of cortisol back down to normal levels.

Conclusion

Healthy stress levels allow us to feel motivated and challenge ourselves to be the best version of ourselves. However, too much of it can also result in severe problems for your mental and physical health. If you are trying to lose weight, constant stress can prevent you from achieving your goals. Constantly feeling burnt out increases the need to fulfil your psychological needs through eating, making it hard to lose those extra pounds.

Regular exercise, a healthy diet, and practising relaxation can help you combat the adverse effects of stress on your weight. Aside from these methods, you may also try TCM slimming treatment to achieve your weight loss goals more effectively.

Here at Slim Couture, we have experts that incorporate traditional Chinese medicine methods in helping people achieve their dream body under any circumstances. Contact us today to begin your weight loss journey at the best slimming centre in Singapore right away.

3 Reasons Why Sleep Plays A Vital Role In Your Weight Loss

Most people overlook sleep as just as important as regular exercising and proper dieting in losing weight. One of the most common misconceptions about weight management is that sleeping only makes you gain more weight, which results in people depriving themselves of adequate rest. However, sleep does the exact opposite.

More recently, research has shown that sleep is one of the most overlooked factors by people struggling to lose weight effectively. As such, managing your weight successfully, in the long run, means getting a good amount of sleep every day. Let us go deeper about how sleep affects your weight loss journey more than you may think.

Lack of sleep increases your appetite

When you feel hungry or full after a meal, it is not merely a question of feeling. Those reactions are controlled by neurotransmitters that regulate hunger, signalling the urge to eat and the feeling of being full. These neurotransmitters naturally increase and decrease during the day to communicate the need to consume calories.

As a result, sleep deprivation may impair the body’s regulation of these neurotransmitters. For people who are sleep deprived, this dysregulation may result in increased hunger and decreased feeling of fullness. Furthermore, the later we stay up at night, chances are we get hungry or have the craving to snack, presenting the opportunity to overeat, resulting in a higher risk of weight gain.

Inadequate sleep means less energy

Sleep deprivation can lead to a lack of energy for physical activities. Exhaustion might make it challenging to participate in various exercises contributing to a healthy and fit state. In addition to making your workouts feel more complicated, lack of sleep might undermine your drive to exercise at all. With this, if you want to maintain your weight and general health, getting sound sleep will indefinitely contribute to a more active lifestyle.

Moreover, doing regular exercises can improve sleep quality. Studies show that people who have been exercising fall asleep quicker, longer and have better sleep quality than before they started exercising. Therefore, it will be a virtuous cycle — a good night’s sleep makes up for better capacity to exercise, and regular exercises lead to better quality sleep.

Poor sleep may lead to poor food choices

Sleep deprivation impacts how your brain functions, making it more challenging to make good decisions and restrain yourself from enticing meals. Several studies have found that sleep deprivation affects your dietary choices — people who are sleep deprived prefer to eat foods heavy in carbohydrates, calories, and fat.

Furthermore, it appears that eating activates the brain’s reward regions more when you are sleep deprived. Consequently, after a lousy night’s sleep, you will have a more challenging time practising self-control. So, for better food choices, do not skip your sleep.

Conclusion

A healthy weight-reduction plan includes getting enough quality sleep. Getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercising are essential elements of weight management. However, practising those as mentioned earlier can only do so much for some. If you want to reduce weight effectively and naturally, try TCM slimming methods.

At Slim Couture, the best slimming centre in Singapore, we have blended traditional Chinese medicine practices into our program. This therapy aids in the removal of toxins from your system, effectively stimulating your metabolism and allowing you to maintain a fit body. What are you waiting for? Get in contact with us and experience the wonders of TCM slimming.

Guide To A 1-Week No Sugar Challenge To Lose Weight Fast

There’s no denying that sugar makes everything taste better, but most people are getting too much sugar in their bodies! Besides contributing to health issues, too much sugar intake doesn’t help when you’re trying to lose weight. To reduce the contribution to the sugar in their body, some people take part in “no sugar” challenges by cutting out all forms of sugar for a certain amount of time!

Desserts such as cakes and ice creams are mostly some of the people’s go-to favourite sweets! Going completely sugar-free in an instant is not easy, so cutting down on sugar and loading up on healthier options is the best thing to do!

If you are trying to cut down some of those carbs and looking for other options besides the TCM slimming method, follow this 1-week, no-sugar challenge to lose weight quickly!

What is sugar-free?

When you buy packed food or drinks, you’ve probably noticed the terms “no sugar added” and “sugar-free” on the front page, which has attracted people’s attention and identified it as a healthier food choice.

However, while that statement is widespread and can be found on food packaging, you should understand the terms and recognise the food label, which contains nutritional information and ingredients to determine the true face of the product.

Tips for the no sugar challenge

Completely removing sugar from your food or drinks is not easy, so the wise thing to do would be to do it gradually. Along with bad eating habits that can lead to weight gain, focusing on controlling your sugar intake is also one of the most effective ways!

Below are some tips you can try to get started with the no sugar challenge and make your way to a healthier lifestyle!

Step 1: Understand what is added sugar

Sugar comes in different forms, ranging from sugar to syrup. It’s essential to understand the different types of sugar and know what sugar is in your favourite food to control your intake!

• Sugar – Icing sugar, brown sugar, organic raw sugar, cane sugar, beet sugar, golden sugar, castor sugar, confectioner’s sugar
• Syrup – Maple syrup, corn syrup, rice syrup, sorghum syrup, buttered syrup, golden syrup, refiner’s syrup, buttered syrup

Now that you know the sugar types, you can read the food ingredient list and food labels to help you identify the hidden sugar from the product before purchasing it.

Step 2: Change a high-sugar diet to a no-sugar diet gradually

It may be hard to cut down sugar for the first few days, but it gets easier with a determined mindset and proper routine! You may start by omitting obvious sugar food sources such as desserts, chocolates, pastries, and sugary drinks.

Step 3: Switch from simple carbs to complex carbs

Besides obvious sugar food sources, you should cut down on simple carbs intakes such as food sources made from white rice, white paste, white flour, and white bread.

Replace it with complex carbs or starchy vegetables to prevent carbohydrates from breaking down too fast and raising your blood sugar.

Step 4: Stay away from drinks that contain sugar 

The sugary beverage is becoming popular, and you may be drinking it without realising its sugar content! These sugary beverages include juice, bubble milk tea, soft drink, sodas, coffee, and herbal teas.

Even the packaging that claims their juice is ‘healthy’, contains as much sugar as a can of soft drink. 

Step 5: Plan your meals

The most crucial step would be planning your meals to prevent the consumption of hidden sugary snacks when hunger strikes. When you get hungry, it’s easy to crave for sugary and unhealthy fast food, so it’s best to prepare healthy meals.

Remember to prepare complex carbs and include a high-quality protein food such as fish. Lastly, load your plate with green vegetables for a healthy balanced meal.

Conclusion

Saying no to your favourite sweet desserts and snacks can be difficult to stop! Most people have been eating their favourite food without knowing that sugar has been doing more harm than good, especially when it comes to losing weight. While controlling what you eat has its benefits, the TCM method is also a safe and healthy way to lose weight!

Here at Slim Couture, we’ve integrated the practice of TCM methods into our program to help you safely lose weight! Contact us for more information and start your weight loss journey with the best slimming centre in the country!

8 Types Of Food To Avoid If You Want To Burn Stomach Fat

Having fat around your midsection is entirely normal, and keep in mind that you are not alone. What’s uncommon is having minimal body fat and toned abs. This issue lies in the type of fat you have — subcutaneous fat (fat that resides under your skin) and visceral fat (fat that resides below and around the internal organs).

Everyone loves to eat, but not everyone is aware that what you eat plays a more prominent role in the weight progress than perceived. For instance, bad eating habits can end up causing you to gain more weight instead.

When trying to lose weight, you must be aware of which types of food to avoid. Here is a list of food that shouldn’t touch your plate:

1. Processed Meats 

While meat can be a healthy part of your diet since it supplies a heavy dose of protein to your body, processed meats are high in saturated fat. Often, processed meat consists of high amounts of salt, fat, and cholesterol, which can add to your belly fat and increase the risk of heart disease.

2. Soft Drinks

 Soft Drinks are made sweet by using artificial sugars and high-fructose corn syrup, increasing intestinal fat and adding unnecessary calories. This excess sugar will be converted to fat and triggers your body to produce insulin, which can cause higher blood sugar and a larger waist circumference.

3. Cheese

Cheese is also high in calories and saturated fat. However, not all dairy-based foods should be consumed. After all, there are healthier choices like skim milk to supply your body with calcium and protein. However, if you are aiming for a slender belly, stay away from processed and melted cheese.

4. Alcohol 

We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that weekly happy hour could be harming your body, rather than helping it. Alcohol contains seven calories per gram, slightly less than fat. Regardless of what type of alcohol drink it is, it probably would not help you achieve your goal.

5. Refined Bread

Refined bread is just another word for refined carbohydrates, and they should be avoided or limited in a healthy diet. Studies found that food rich in heavy acellular carbohydrates” causes swelling and increase in weight.

6. Salt

While salt won’t contribute to the addition of fats, excess amounts of intake are a common cause for bloat and can make you feel like you gained a few extra pounds overnight. If you can’t stay away from salt, the healthiest to use is unrefined salt, but keep in mind to consider the amount of salt you use when cooking.

7. Fried food

Whether it’s a small bag of chips or one piece of crispy chicken, fried foods have the “magical” ability to satisfy a craving. However, fried food contains more oil, cholesterol, and fat, which contradicts your goal towards a flatter stomach.

8. Cereal

According to experts, breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but if your meal consists of eating one to two bowls of cereal every morning, your gastrointestinal system won’t have enough time to digest the food effectively.

Plus, it contains high sugar content and processed white flour that can lead to weight gain.

Conclusion

Certain habits and saying no to your favourite food can be difficult to stop. Some people will eat all the food listed above without knowing that those types of food have been doing more harm than good to their slimming goals.

Partner with our slimming centre if you are looking for a safe and healthy way to lose weight. We offer the best weight loss program to help you achieve the body that you’ve always wanted.