When you hear the term “excess fat,” what comes to your mind?
For many, the answer to this question will be the gym or a diet or maybe a lifestyle change. Although all of these are effective ways of dealing with excess fat, it is not limited to just these few methods. Before employing one or a combination of the above, it is imperative to understand the cause of the uncontrollable weight gain.
One very effective means to achieve weight loss that many people, even in the physical wellness industry, overlook is the option of relaxation. Relaxation!! you might be tempted to exclaim. Well do not be shocked; you might have been hitting the gym hard and sticking hard to that diet plan, but then you can see just a little difference in your weight since you started. Then you ask yourself this question: “How well have I been resting?” Relaxation doesn’t just mean sleeping, and it should be a process that puts you in a state of being free from stress and anxiety and restores you to a state of calmness, tranquility, peacefulness, unwinding, and loosening up. And the resultant culmination is the losing of that excess fat. Here are a number of ways to relax: going on vacations, yoga nidra, spending time with family, meditation, having a body massage, etc.
To effectively lose that extra fat, it is important that you first know what the main contributor is to your gaining weight. Afterward you can then ascertain the necessary combination of the above that will give you desired long-lasting results in the best time. Common causes of weight gain could be food addiction, intake of heavily processed food, genetics, medications, high insulin levels, and stress.
Everyone is prone to feeling stress regardless of age, race, or religion. It has become a part of the daily human routine. It’s either as a result of that “hard to please” boss or the unending family issue so it’s very important to understand how our different body systems react when being put under pressure. For some they get to lose weight, while for others they gain enormous amounts of weight and there is no better cure to stress than giving your body what it truly requires, which is relaxation. Hence relaxation can help stop fat accumulated as a result of stress; what happens is that the body, when relaxed, readjusts and hence that over-the-top appetite stops as the body’s system is brought back to default.
Yoga nadri
Yoga is attributed to physical, mental, and even spiritual development; it relaxes the body, mind, and soul all in one go. Yoga is probably one of the subtle ways to lose that excess fat. It’s shocking to find out that a procedure that doesn’t require dumbbells, the treadmill, and those robust muscle wrecking exercises, right? Well, many experts in the wellness industry agree that this nontraditional mode of exercise helps to maintain a healthy weight. Yoga exercises like the ashtanga and vinyasa are more active forms of yoga which not only relaxes the body and mind but also helps in weight reduction. Although these are more physical forms, the good news is that even the restorative yoga, which is not physical, also helps in reducing weight. And studies have shown that overweight women that practice yoga are able to lose weight and abdominal fat, and this is good news because now you don’t necessarily have to be slim and flexible to practice yoga, you can practice yoga to get slim and flexible.
Sleep
Sleeping is the oldest form of relaxation known to man. And there are lots of myths about sleep being a cause of weight-gain when, in reality, a lack of it leads to weight-gain in many individuals. A lack of sleep will make you susceptible to stress and stress in turn will raise your cortisol level. Cortisol is a hormone secreted in the body when stressed and an increased cortisol level in the body would, in turn, lead to a gain in weight. So it is important that every human get between 7-10 hours of sleep.
Meditation
The main goal of meditation is to focus the mind on a specific thought activity or objective, and it is also a means of creating a distinct type of mental awareness and clarity. How does this motionless activity work? you might be tempted to ask. Well a vast number of people engage in what is called “emotional eating.” What happens is when the body is stressed it believes that it is due to the burning of calories and so its defends mechanism kickstarts and it starts building up craving for more calories (note that in being stressed calories are not necessarily being used up since many stress-causing situations are not physical in nature) and so the body starts to crave for more food, and then people find themselves eating not because there is the need to but because the body craves it, and this can lead to a major weight gain. Therefore, there is a need to keep a clear mind and help the body focus on what is necessary, and one way to achieve this mental and physical stability is by meditating. Even though this method of relaxation might not be seen to actively help in weight reduction, it helps the body to stay on track with whatever procedure you have chosen to undergo, either by dieting or working out at the gym, and it also keeps the body from regaining already lost weight. All you need for this exercise is a quiet location, a comfortable posture, an objective focus (you can focus on a word or an activity), and a positive and open attitude (block off all other thoughts by refocusing on the main objective whenever a new thought drops in your mind).
Relax when and after you eat
The times we are in has made stopping a sort of anathema. “Its the jet age” we say, so everything has to move at tremendous speeds and so we find ourselves always on the go. Since eating is a process that re-energizes the body and also a means to give the body that extra unwanted fat, then it should not be taken lightly if you are to stay in shape or shed that weight. If you eat wrong then you find yourself eating more often.
Massages
There are many things that make the body feel relaxed, and a massage is one the wonderful ways by which you can help your body get relaxed, though a massage won’t directly remove that excess fat; it helps the weight loss program in a number of ways. If you hit the gym quite often you will notice that there is this soreness that you feel in your muscles, and sometimes that’s the excuse you give for not returning to the gym the next day. A Swedish massage and shiatsu helps circulation in the body, and loosening muscles. After a relaxing massage, your muscles feel refreshed as though they were never stretched, and you feel good and confident to head back to the gym and continue with your routines the next day.
Engage in sports
Many times hitting the gym can feel like an arduous task and so we tend to get uninterested after some time, but did you know that engaging in sporting activities is a great way to relax? And that sporting activities help you burn calories? There is nothing as good as doing something you find relaxing and losing some weight while you are at it. It’s like eating your cake and having it. So whether it is a game of football, swimming, or cycling—engage in it and burn up that accumulated fat while you have fun.
Go on vacation
We work so hard every day trying to make ends meet, and so it’s good to take out time to give yourself a treat, at least for all the hard work. Taking out time to go on vacation is needful as it helps rejuvenate the body and also clear our minds. While there are plenty of places to go and fun activities you could engage in like hiking, taking walks, and kayaking, all these help clear the mind and the calories, so set out time in the year where you relax.
Relaxation should be a routine and not just a one-time exercise, and the best part is that many of the outlined methods of relaxing are not as expensive, so you do not need to break the bank. Hitting the gym and getting on that diet are good ways to deal with excess fat but without these relaxation techniques in place, you might find yourself running on a treadmill (not adding weight but not really losing any either, or the vicious cycle of adding weight and then dropping and adding again). Use the relaxation techniques to ensure that you are getting the best results for your efforts at the gym or with that diet and keep your body and mind in great shape while you are at it.
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