The following is posted by guest blogger Dan Foley who is a fitness trainer and owner of Foley Performance in Christiansburg, VA.  

In this time of economic uncertainty stress can be a problem for many people.  People are concerned with job security, paying their bills and their savings plans.  These concerns often lead to stress which can wreak havoc on your body.  Whether physical or emotional, our bodies perceive all stress the same and respond by releasing stress hormones, cortisol being the most predominant.  There are several side effects of having high levels of stress hormones such as a lowered immune system, loss of muscle tissue, and fat storage in the abdominal region. 

As a health and fitness professional, my main job is to get people lean. I deal with many people who have stress related issues ranging from family to financial woes that can slow down their progress towards reaching their body composition goals.  When we work with these people there are several strategies that we use in order to lower stress and the abdominal fat that is associated with the stress.  The first thing I look at when I have a client with a cortisol (stress) issue is the cause of the stress and the clients sleep patterns.  Most people who show cortisol type body fat patterns have sleep problems. Since approximately 68% of the population has some sort of sleep disorder, it is no surprise that we see so many people with cortisol (stress related) body fat patterns. 

There are typically several sleeping pattern problems we see in people with cortisol issues. Cortisol is naturally high in the morning because it gives us energy and low at night so that we can go to sleep.  However, most people with cortisol issues have skewed cortisol patterns that cause them to be tired in the morning and wide awake at night.  For this reason I like to say that a person with a cortisol problem often needs a pot of coffee to get going in the morning and a drink or three to wind down at night. 

So if you have a cortisol issue how do you get it under control?

The first step is to work on sleeping better.  There is something to the old saying “early to bed early to rise.” I often tell our clients that an hour of sleep before midnight is worth two hours of sleep after midnight.  If you get to bed earlier it will help to rebalance your hormones and make you much healthier. 

The other thing to keep in mind with stress is that when we are stressed the body craves more of the neurotransmitter serotonin which makes us feel good.  Often people turn to sugar when they need a boost in serotonin because it increases levels in the brain, but sugar also causes more stress on the body which starts a vicious cycle of needing more serotonin.  The smarter solution is to take a quality fish oil, since fish oil can also provide the same serotonin boosting benefits as well as many other health benefits including helping you to get leaner.

Some other tips to help you get through stressful times are to find time to do some relaxation exercises, do yoga, relax while you eat your meals, and keep a grateful log.  Relaxation exercises and activities like yoga or qigong are great for lowering stress levels.  Another way to reduce stress is to relax while eating meals.  If you work while you are eating your meals then I would advise you to get away from your computer and go relax while you eat your lunch.  This is a simple trick that works great for many people.  Keeping a grateful log before bed is also another way to lower your stress levels.  Simply grab a piece of paper and write down all of the things that you are grateful for.  It sounds silly but it really does work to help you relax in the evening.

Dan Foley is a fitness trainer and owner of Foley Performance in Christiansburg, VA.