Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

1

Hey Guys,

So, I've been primal since September 23rd, 2011 (my last birthday) and it was the best thing I could have ever done for myself. I'm happy to report that I went from 160lbs to 134lbs and I've been maintaining this weight for about 4 months now. There's only one problem...the little belly pouch that I have won't budge! I feel like I've tried everything. After doing a bit of research, I've figured out that stress is my problem. For reasons I won't bore you all with, my living situation is very stressful. Add that to the common stresses of everyday life and it's definitely beginning to become a serious problem. So, I thought I'd come to the primal community to see if you guys have tips or ways to de-stress. Any suggestions would be very helpful. I'll be 23 soon and my goal is to have a flat stomach by then. Thanks in advance.

flag	asked Aug 7 at 2:06 Brittany Nicole 35●2

Grottenolm · Accepted Answer · 2012-08-07 02:45:48Z UTC

My cortisol belly pooch DRAMATICALLY shrank when I did the following 4 things -

I made sleep a priority - consistent and getting to bed early, waking up without an alarm clock. This ment hitting the sack at 9.30, reading until falling asleep, then waking up naturally without the alarm clock. If you have poor sleep quality tackle this first. If you wake up in the night, sort out your hormones and don't drink liquids near bedtime.
Sorting out some key areas of stress in my life - in this case, financial stress, solved by setting up proper joint bank accounts with my husband. Took the CONSTANT worrying about money away so I could finally put my mind at ease.
Do some form of happy physical activity every day - a nice walk in the sun, sex, fun exercise videos, dancing, heck even Zumba!
A little bit of sprinting/tabata type activity every few days. For only a couple of minutes at a time.

Basically, any stressful things in your life just have to be dealt with - put your foot down and make boundaries, solve things that need to be dealt with, cut certain emotional vampire/timewaster people out, whatever.

Can you do something about it? Yes? Then don't worry. If you can't do anything about it? Then don't worry either coz you are inevitibly screwed, lol!

miked · Answer 2 · 2012-08-07 02:13:05Z UTC

You're right, that pouch is likely cortisol/stress related. Try to get lots of good quality sleep. Try to cut out the caffeine - sucks, I know, but when I do my 30-day caffeine holidays I lean out in just a few days. It's crazy.

Also, you may just have to change your frame of mind. My favorite quote from Nora Gegaudous (probably wrong spelling, but I'm not looking it up) is "Stress isn't what happens to you, stress is how you respond to what happens to you."

Sometimes you just have to let the crap roll off your shoulders. Easier said than done, but it's critical for your health. Don't get caught up in dramas that don't really affect you, let the jackass who cuts you off in traffic go and don't worry about it, etc.

davidlaplante · Answer 3 · 2012-08-07 05:00:19Z UTC

Grottenolm has some great advice. I'd add the following to her list that are simple (but often very hard) hacks that work but require mindfulness:

Breathe. I know, sounds stupid. But becoming very aware of your breathing can do amazing things for your cortisol (and blood sugar). MY FBS used to be 100+ not because of diet, but because when my alarm went off in the morning I was triggered into a panic. I learned to wake myself with a meditative breathing exercise and now my FBS in the morning is below 85.
Meditate and become proficient in mindfulness.
Obsess on cultivating and curating an environment that is stress free. This will be hard. You'll have to grow and change. But making happy a priority can really turn things around.

Funny thing is, once you master the above you'll find that you'll be much happier with who you are and the pounds that your obsess over now will melt away with your care.

JeJ · Answer 4 · 2012-08-07 05:48:07Z UTC

Besides all this great advice on reducing stress (which I think is important for almost everyone)I think it is important, particularly for young image-priority women, to remember that the lower belly fat pad is an important resource that the body uses to maintain fertility. A minimum fat percentage, that varies from person to person, including fat stores in the lower stomach, hips, and breasts is very important to the body, and trying to lower it will be extremely difficult for most women.

Keep this in mind so that you don't get discouraged- if you start to experience irregularities in your cycle or feel worse/tired, it might be worth it to step back and think about how you may possibly be impacting your overall long term health.

Ways to cut stress…

4 Answers