When you think of getting healthy, what pops into your head? Is it exercise and diet? Maybe you think of eating more fruits and veggies? Or you even may think you need to drink more water and exercise more consistently?

All of those things will lead to a healthy lifestyle and benefit you in various ways. What if you are doing all of those things and still not seeing the changes you are aiming for? What if you are constantly eating healthier foods, working out 3-5 days a week, and drinking 100 ounces of water, but still struggle with weight loss?

There is one underlying condition that most of us deal with on a daily basis that could be hurting your progress. That condition is stress.

Stress can come in many different forms and varies based on the person. Some of us may get stressed over work related issues, others may be stressed due to family issues. It doesn’t matter why we are stressed, but this will effect our bodies in a multitude of ways.

Stress effects our bodies and makes it harder to lose weight by:

• intensifying hunger and cravings

• slowing metabolism by suppressing thyroid production

• draining your energy, so you’re too tired to workout

• interfering with sleep

• making it difficult to keep long-term goals in the front of your mind

• tensing muscles and causes aches and pains that may not be related to physical activity or enhances soreness from working out to be worse than it typically would be

• causing headaches and reducing your desire to be active

As you can see stress can create a variety of road blocks in your fitness journey. It is important to learn strategies that will help alleviate your stress throughout the day in order to get back to homeostasis and allow your body to perform at its best.

Some tips and tricks for alleviating stress are;

• mediation

• deep breathing

• long walks outside

• reading an enjoyable book

• drinking water

• stretching

• getting a massage

• taking a break from technology before bed to led your mind unwind and settle in

• talking with a loved one

• seeing a therapist

• eating high quality, nutrient-dense foods

• going for a swim or a bike ride

• participating in a group sport or fitness class

• diving into a hobby that excites you

• listening to music

The list could go on and on. Find things that are enjoyable and are easy to add into your day. It doesn’t have to be an hour long task, it can be as simple as 3 deep breaths that last 10 seconds each taking up a total of 30 seconds out of your day. The important thing here is to find something that works for you, develop a plan and implement consistently. We all have our moments when stress takes over, but learning how to manage that stress and creating opportunities for ourselves to overcome the stress is crucial for our bodies to be happy and healthy. Next time you are feeling stressed and overwhelmed, try one of the strategies from the list above and see how you feel after!