Stress and weight gain - these 2 are said to go "hand-in-hand", by many researches that study the effect of stress on weights.

How does stress come about in the first place?

It's the result of our life that's so fast-paced; that's trying to do too many things at one time; that's so full of demanding requests of this and that at work, at school, in the family and in the society that we "stress up" when encounter these "challenging" situations.

How does your body deal with stress?

Well, when you encounter stressful situation, your adrenal glands release cortisol, a stress hormone. when you've lots of stresses, your cortisol also runs high.

When your cortisol is high, you could experience insulin resistance wherein cells in your body become resistant to the effects of insulin and your pancreas produces higher levels of insulin.

When you're insulin-resistant, your body converts sugars and carbohydrates into fat rather than burning them as energy. Hence, you gain weight.

That's how, in a nutshell, the connection between stress and weight gain begins......

Stress also contributes to weight gain in other forms, such as through:

A slow metabolism which makes you hard to burn off calories
A craving for unhealthy fatty, sugary and salty foods which of course cause you to put on weight when you excessively consume them
A change in blood sugar levels which can bringforth mood swing, tiredness and condition like hyperglycemia
A fat storage that's gone out of whack as you tend to store fat at the abdomen area, which spells higher health risk of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and certain types of cancers than fat stored in other areas of your body
An emotional eating episode which leads you to eat or binge more than you normally would, even though you aren't hungry


How to reduce stress?

Well, the best antidote is exercise.

Exercise promotes the secretion of the "feel good" neurotransmitters known as endorphins - the mood-elevating chemicals. They help to elevate your mood and alleviate your tension and bottled-up frustrations and anger, hence you feel good about yourself and have better outlook on every aspect of your life, including your stressful situation.

It relaxes your body and mind so you've clarity of mind and focus of attention in everything you do.

It also increases your self-confidence and reduces your inclination towards negative thinking and depression and gives you a sense of mastery over your life. These positive developments would be strong weapons to counteract the pressure of life you face.

You'd be surprised that even light exercise like slow walking can have positive effect on your brain and body, to let you handle your problems better. When you exercise, problems of work, family, kids, money and what nots seem less looming because you tend to shed off these problems during the workout.

Can I say exercise is thus a channel to vent off all your bottled up pressures, tensions and frustrations?

It is a channel, an effective one, at that.

Studies have shown that people who regularly exercise are less stressful and are able to better manage their problems.

Hence, make exercise an important part of your life.

You don't have to do lots, just a regular dose of 3-4 times per week for 30 - 60 minutes per session, is enough to de-stress you one way or another.

Go walking, jogging, biking, swimming, dancing.....and vent off whatever pressure and frustration you've, through your workout!

By: Cecelia Yap
Cecelia Yap is an avid exerciser and author of the popular exercise website: perfect-body-toning.com - a web site born out of her passion which she successfully turns into a profitable business

Perhaps you have a passion or hobby you'd like to write about. Find out how you too can turn it into a profitable business like Cecelia does, here: http://www.perfect-body-toning.com/my-passion.html.

Stress is too common in most people's lives today. We live in a fast-paced world with many demands on our time. How we react to stress sets the stage for much of our health.

Exercise battles stress

We have known for a long time that exercise combats stress. Regular exercise gives people better control over stress and this creates a positive cycle.

How does exercise help you keep stress at bay? It turns out that exercise increase brain cell growth in a part of the brain called the hippocampus. This brain region is a major player in controlling stress. The hippocampus helps focus your attention on what is important in your environment and needs your attention.

So it makes sense that this part of the brain would be involved in stress. If you get caught up focusing on problems and are unable to move toward focusing on solutions and opportunities then you will feel more stressed. The Chinese have a saying that on the flip-side of every problem is an opportunity. When you exercise and increase the ability of your hippocampus, you help yourself get past the stress of problems and focus on how to solve them.

Hippocampus size buffers against stress

Some very cool studies have looked at the relationship between the size of the hippocampus and the degree that people suffer from stress-related disorders. It is well established that a smaller hippocampus is associated with a greater degree of stress.

The question remains, though, as to whether a smaller hippocampus makes you more susceptible stress, or whether stress itself actually shrinks your hippocampus. The answer appears to be both.

Studies show that war veterans get more severe cases of PTSD if they had a small hippocampus before going to war. Other studies show that stress itself can damage or even kill brain cells in the hippocampus and cause it to shrink.

The hippocampus happens to be the one place in the adult human brain where we continually make new brain cells. So the rate at which we make brain cells has an affect on the size of the hippocampus. Well, exercise increases the rate of making new brain cells and increases the size of the hippocampus - protecting you against stress.

Exercise improves productivity

As stated above, the other benefit of improving the hippocampus is increasing your ability to focus, which increases your productivity. So if you think that you don't have time to exercise then you probably don't have time to not exercise. A small amount of daily exercise will increase your focus, increase your productivity, protect you from too much stress and free up more time.

If you are not currently exercising, I challenge you to work with your doctor to develop a sustainable exercise routine that you enjoy. This part is important. If you don't enjoy it, you won't stick to it. Find something physical that elevates your heart rate and gets you sweating a little - even if it's just playing an active game on the Wii!

Copyright (c) 2007 The Brain Code LLC

By: Simon Evans
Boost your Family's Brain Fitness in 30 days with Natural Strategies used by an Expert Brain Scientist and Sports Coach. Learn how at http://www.thebraincode.com.

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Stress and Depression can wreak havoc on anyone including: college professors, doctors, housewives, laborers, and students. It is an illness that will affect every facet of your life; your physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. I know this first hand as I began my own recovery from drugs and steroids and the mind numbing depression that followed over nineteen years ago.

Exercise can play a vital role in relieving stress and depression. Often people go to group therapy or 12 step programs which is great. But as I found out the smoke filled meeting halls were full of people who drank endless cups of coffee and loaded up on donuts and cookies. I would use caffeine and sugar to take the place of drugs which lead to a sense of false comfort.

There is growing evidence that exercise can play a vital role in the recovery process as a way to alleviate the paralyzing effects of stress, depression and other emotional disorders. In Conquer Stress and Depression with Exercise (CF Publishing, 2006), J. Alexander Bodkin, M.D., Chief of The Clinical Psychopharmacology at McLean Hospital, states "In my clinical work with people suffering from mood and anxiety problems, and the substance abuse that often follows from these, I have found time and time again that consistent, reasonably vigorous exercise is a great help. By the time people get to me as patients, exercise alone is no longer enough, but it remains a critical component of a total treatment program. Exercise will hasten recovery, improve well being, increase stress tolerance, relieve physical discomforts, improve physical health and appearance, and boost self-esteem and self-confidence."

An individual suffering from stress and depression can reap amazing benefits from a properly designed fitness program. Through exercise you get a feeling of accomplishment, increased energy (less fatigue), increased productivity, greater concentration, improved sleep, and an overall feeling of uplifted spirits.

The problem is, of course, getting started and motivated to stick with an exercise program. This is especially true for individuals in under emotional stress and depression. A lifetime of low self worth can prevent many people from improving their emotional and physical health. A health club, with all the spandex and beautiful people, is the last place you would want to be if you are you are already feeling lousy about yourself.

This fear is understandable, when I was first learning to live without drugs and going through a severe depression, I couldn't drag myself back to the gym, even though I knew how to exercise. The gym seemed like a nightclub to me. At that time I wished there was a health club, where someone could understand my predicament.

I responded to these feelings by turning my exercise knowledge into a tool for my own recovery. Since I couldn't bench press 400 pounds any more, I began to concentrate on the psychological benefits of my fitness routine. I started to focus on each and every movement - feeling the tightening, contraction and stretch of each muscle group. My mind and body were becoming one. In most people these are two separate entities, I wove them together to feel whole again.

This exercise program which helped me feel alive again, laid the foundation for my work. Today, I am the owner of Custom Fitness Personal Training in Boston, one-on-one personal training facility that specializes in working with individuals suffering from stress and depression. I also work with top executives who are under everyday stress and may be addicted to other things - like work, money and prestige.

I call my fitness program - 'Mindful Movements' - which uses exercise as a way to obtain peak mental and physical health.

There are several steps you should follow:

1) WARMUP-5 minutes riding a bike or walking in place.

2) EXERCISE LARGER MUSCLE FIRST- Start with an exercise for your legs, chest, back, shoulders, arms, and. stomach.

3) KEEP IT LIGHT. If the weight is too heavy you can't focus on the movement of the muscle and there's a real chance of injury.

4) MOVE SLOWLY, USE CORRECT FORM.

5) CONCENTRATE ON THE PARTICULAR MUSCLE GROUP YOU ARE EXERCISING. You want to focus on the mind/muscle connection. Feel the muscle tighten on the way up, feel the contraction at the top of the movement, and concentrate on the stretch on the way down.

6) BREATHE CORRECTLY. Exhale through your mouth when lifting and inhale through your nose when lowering the weight.

7) GO EASY AT FIRST, SET REALISTIC GOALS. Don't try to look like Mr. Muscles or a supermodel. Your appearance will come if you enjoy the exercise routine.

Good Luck!

By: Jeff Rutstein
Jeff Rutstein is founder of Boston's Exclusive Personal Training Center, Custom Fitness and author of Conquer Stress and Depression with Exercise. Jeff's revolutionary approach to exercise and depression has been featured in The New York Times, Reuters, CNN, and The Washington Post. For more information go to http://www.conquerstressanddepression.com and CustomFitness.com.

Featured by Resources For Attorneys, a Legal Resources and Lifestyle directory for attorneys, lawyers and the general internet public.

There is an old saying, "laughter is the best medicine". Why not treat yourself to some laughter? Visit our jokes directory and relax with some jokes, humor and humerous anecdotes.

Comments: For those of you that would like to comment on this or any other post in this blog, go to the Contact me link on the upper right hand side of this page and send your comment via that link. If your comment is on topic, whether pro or anti, and even fairly well written, we will post it with the article. If you have a site that you would like to be linked to your comment please supply it and we will include it.