Simple/Realistic Ways to Starting Losing Stomach Fat? (NutriSystem, system, hormone)

[Mightyqueen801]

Cortisol is the hormone. It increases with stress and causes negative reactions in the body, one of which is the accumulation of belly fat.

https://yurielkaim.com/cortisol-and-belly-fat/

[NYC2RDU]

Keep a low weight dumbbell in the car and use it while driving distances. It actually will burn extra calories and add tone to your arms.

Also, weight loss is most impacted by diet and only assisted by exercise. Your inability to lose the stomach is less about mobility and more about nutrition. You have received some excellent advice in this thread, cherry pick that which appeals to you and seems attainable and try to apply it to your life.

I would add that most people have their burdens to bear. Your issues are legitimate for certain (and I'm sorry for your troubles), but they are obstacles you can work around. Don't let circumstances serve as excuses, don't allow your problems to define you.

[Arizona Renegade]

Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801

Thanks for the additional information. I have OCD, too, (and you can tell the people who really do, because the ones who think it's just some cute, quirky little personality trait to do with housekeeping will say, "I AM OCD".)

Mine is mostly manageable now after years of therapy and some time on meds (weaned myself off and just decided to live with it.) It really is stupid and irrational as you say, but it's still there. Last week I was halfway to the beach when I had to turn around and drive all the way back home because I knew I left the back door open and the cats were going to get out and get hit by a car. Of course the door was closed. I knew I'd closed it but my mind took over and I could not continue until I drove back home to check. It's an anxiety disorder, and stress just makes it worse and you have some stress going on, my friend. You are a counter, too, aren't you. I can see it in all the numbers in your post. Good trait for a casino dealer, though.

Also, stress can cause a hormone to increase that makes one accumulate accumulate belly fat. Forget what it's called.

I don't think anyone was trying to be mean. We can only react to what you write in your post, and basically the post said, "Here is a list of unhealthy eating habits of mine, now what must I do to lose weight?"

Since you do have some mega-stress in your life, and the OCD has to be managed, I stand by my suggestion that you make one small change at a time. Just one, maybe two if you can handle it. Eat a salad once a day. Squeeze in a short walk on your break if you can. Do not take on some grand weight-loss/exercise plan all at once or you will overwhelm yourself. Baby steps are what you need to take care of yourself properly.

The calorie apps are really helpful if you can manage not getting too obsessive with the numbers. I find that I do exactly that sometimes (and the same with the scale). Sometimes just acknowledging the fact that my brain is going to want to keep checking numbers helps relieve it some, and the counting/numbers obsessiveness actually can sort of be harnessed to work for you in this regard.

I am sorry about your problems with your daughter. I have a 26-year-old daughter who is mad brilliant but has bipolar disorder and last year almost killed herself with drugs and alcohol. She is OK right now, but I can never just relax and say it's over. The danger will always be under the surface. I learned how to develop a sense of detachment from the situation to alleviate the overwhelming anxiety. It took time, and I am not always successful.

You need some care for yourself. Take those baby steps. The mind-body connection is powerful, and a couple of steps toward better health for the rest of your body will only benefit the brain.

First off, thanks for the nice, empathetic response. Secondly, I'm sorry to hear that you also suffer from this stupid affliction, as it makes life much more miserable and difficult than it should be. I hate it! And I sometimes hate myself for not just deciding to stop letting it affect me and just overcoming the desire to keep doing the stupid/irrational things that my mind issued to doing, because of how much it is negatively affecting my quality of life. It really is an extremely miserable, draining (even debilitating) condition to suffer through and it basically ruins life for some of us.

I also wanted to tell you that we have another similarity, as my daughter is also bi-polar, and the problems I was referring to were from the reality that she was self-medicating with crystal meth, after some sorry piece of **** scumbag introduced it to her a few years ago. That addiction has caused a lot of harm and heartache and has really damaged our family (I also have an 18 year-old son and the drugs and lifestyle that come with it have really hurt our entire family). And it really sucks that my daughter tried using meth at all, because, as I mentioned in a previous post, I literally haven't ever tried an illegal drug in my life (I'm even scared of prescription pills, for the most part); I don't smoke or chew tobacco; and I didn't get drunk until my 21st birthday and haven't even had a beer/drink in over 5 years (despite alcoholism being very prevalent on both sides of my family).

Fortunately, my daughter ended up getting arrested last October and spent over 5 months in the filthy county jail down in Phoenix. She is now clean, working (only her second job), and is on probation (which is a good thing) and that is another reason as to why we can't move back down to the Phoenix area and be closer to my job, as she had to have her probation switched to a differ county and you can't transfer probation again for at least 4 months, and she hasn't been out of jail for 4 months yet. Actually, she's getting pretty close to reaching that point, though, so we would be allowed to request to transfer her probation again, but we don't have the means to try to move yet, so I will likely end up doing the 150-mile commutes through the mountains for at least another few months. Which definitely sucks; but things could be worse, and I am always grateful that they're not!


As for the diet and exercise advice and information, please know that I genuinely appreciate the responses so far! And please feel free to keep them coming, as I will be reading all of them.

And I do understand the reasoning behind just trying to start off with some relatively small changes, so that I can at least start making some progress; because I most definitely know what it's like to start to feel like things are becoming overwhelming - and to start to get discouraged and want to quit on something, if the results aren't significant and immediate.

I absolutely can, and will, make an effort to at least get outside and go for a walk; even if it's a short walk for 5-10 minutes. And I will make an effort to eat at least one salad a week, to try to get some greens in my body. I actually just bought a bag of some Romaine Lettuce and some mini cucumbers earlier this week, and I actually like salad, so I'm going to go fix myself a salad (likely, along with a cheese pizza that I'll cook in the oven) after I finish this post.

Before I forget, I would also like to specifically ask for suggestions for quick/simple-to-make vegetarian/non-meat meals and snacks?? As not knowing how to cook, and not knowing many food options/alternatives, are two of the biggest problems I have when it comes to continuing to eat my incredibly unhealthy diet. So, some simple meal recipes/food suggestions/information would really be appreciated!


Also, I apologize for getting a little defensive when I responded to why I haven't done the things I obviously KNOW that I need to do. I didn't mean to be rude; and I definitely did not mean to come off as ungrateful. It's just that it's extremely frustrating that my life is so miserable and hard so much of the time, and that making the necessary changes to improve my life and the lives of my family seems to be so much more difficult than it should be, so it's aggravating that others likely don't realize/understand that things that may be easy and convenient for them, are legitimately not easy nor convenient or others. If I was out of line/if I overreacted, I'm sorry for that and I apologize. I guess I just want people to understand that my intentions are good and that my asking for help is humble and sincere, and that there really are some legitimate reasons as to why I haven't done more than I've actually done to try to improve my diet, my health, and my life.

As I mentioned, though, I really am ready to start working on making things better. And I really do appreciate all of the helpful replies, advice and information that I am receiving!

[Arizona Renegade]

Originally Posted by Mightyqueen801

Cortisol is the hormone. It increases with stress and causes negative reactions in the body, one of which is the accumulation of belly fat.

https://yurielkaim.com/cortisol-and-belly-fat/

Not to try to blame all of my fat stomach on Cortisol (as I'm admittedly relatively lazy and I eat an extremely poor diet), but I absolutely believe that this has contributed to the embarrassingly-fat gut that I've accumulated over the past 10 years or so.

Stress (and anxiety/intense worry) is something that I deal with on a daily basis. Sometimes, on an hourly basis. And I have no doubt that my body, along with my mind, has been tremendously affected by the effects of dealing with intense stress so often over the past several years.

Obviously, I can, and will, start researching Cortisol and its affect on belly fat and what can be done to change it, but I would like to ask if anyone who's reading this thread is knowledgeable on this matter and if they could offer up any helpful information/suggestions/meals/exercises that might help to combat Cortisol-caused fat-buildup? If so, a helpful response would be greatly appreciated!

Also, Mightyqueen801, thank you very much for posting this information and the link about Cortisol. Please know that I genuinely appreciate it!


P.S. I can not help but want to ask, why is the "q" in your username not capitalized?

[fleetiebelle]

Have you seen a doctor, OP? With your weight and your circulation problems it sounds like you may have several interrelated conditions. Losing weight will help, but you want to be under a physician's care.

[stepka]

Originally Posted by Arizona Renegade

Why haven't I done the things I KNOW I need to do? Largely, this is because my life has not been easy for the past several years and stress and anxiety has damaged me tremendously, and weakened my spirit and will to live at times. Stress has seriously ****** me up, both mentally and physically. I'm tired LITERALLY all the ******* time. I have very little energy and motivation most days. Besides that, my situation is still really frustrating, stressful and difficult right now. I have a 20 year-old daughter who has been really good at making really bad choices and this has made my life MUCH HARDER than it should have been.

Relax Arizona, you owe no one any explanation for your health unless you just needed to vent anyway. There will always be judgers on here and a trend that I've noticed is that just as poor people are the worst judges of other poor people, overweight or formerly overweight people can be the harshest critics of other overweight people. Take a deep breath and put one foot in front of the other and just resolve to do a tiny bit better every day. With my suggestion you don't have to make all the changes at once, but do learn to make friends with that hungry feeling. Don't drop anything from your life until you're ready to make the change--look at your list from the OP and decide which things you can drop with the least amount of stress b/c if you try to do too much at once you will only put yourself under more stress. Also, I doubt very much that you're lazy--I'm assuming that you are extremely fatigued.

Originally Posted by Arizona Renegade

What is DIM?? Please tell me more about this, as this DIM definitely sound like it's something that I am very interested in learning more about and seeing if it might help me!!

It's Di-Indoly Methane and is a crucifer/broccoli extract that helps normalize your estrogen levels. In today's world, there is an excess of fake estrogens in the environment, like birth control pills in the water and chemicals that throw you off balance. A link: Diindolymethane - Natural Protection from Estrogens

Like perimenopausal women, men experience a tendency to gain weight in midlife. Rising estrogen production can result, since fat cells contain the aromatase enzyme that converts testosterone into estrogen. Unmetabolized estrogen creates a vicious cycle resulting in further estrogen production. This occurs because fat is one source of more active aromatase enzymes, causing further estrogen production and continuing weight gain.(27) An open label study of DIM in overweight men and women showed it promoted more efficient weight loss and more active fat metabolism.

I get mine at Whole Food and you can also order online. It's about $20.

Originally Posted by fleetiebelle

Have you seen a doctor, OP? With your weight and your circulation problems it sounds like you may have several interrelated conditions. Losing weight will help, but you want to be under a physician's care.

I would echo this but I'll add that conventional physicians are generally not the best help for weight/hormonal/stress issues. If you have someone nearby you may want to look into seeing a holistic doc. They can be invaluable in helping to normalize hormone levels and dealing with adrenal fatigue, which sounds like what you're dealing with. Also, don't discount the mind/body connection--you already know that extreme stress has gotten you to this place so I know that you will keep that in mind. Meditation, gratitude practice, and emotional freedom technique (EFT) can be unbelievably helpful. EFT saved my sanity a couple of years ago when I was ready to tear my hair out and get valium. If you haven't heard of that just type EFT onto youtube and there will be countless vids showing you what to do.

[jade408]

I can't advice on the kids, commute and OCD. But reading your typical foods, one giant improvement you can make is to eat more produce.

My energy level gets really low if I don't have sufficient veggies with sufficient frequency. Add more produce. Have some fresh fruit and veggies. Easy ones are carrots, bell peppers and cherry tomatoes. Maybe chop up some apples or oranges to eat during your commute.

[rubygreta]

Anyone can scramble a couple of eggs. Just do it. Grease the pan with a little butter to start. Sprinkle in some shredded cheese. 75 calories per egg. A little cheese is no more than 50 calories. No excuse not to do this, if you are serious about losing weight. If you can't make this little effort, you are not serious. Nobody lost weight by constantly eating out, and microwaving packaged garbage.

If you replace whatever junk you eat for breakfast with eggs, you are off to a great start. And don't worry about cholesterol. Not an issue.

[fleetiebelle]

Originally Posted by rubygreta

Nobody lost weight by constantly eating out, and microwaving packaged garbage.

But at the same time, not all microwavable packaged items are garbage. Frozen, steam-in-bag vegetables might be a life-saver to the OP. Heat up a bag of stir-fry vegetables, put them in a skillet and pour beaten eggs over them--that's a pretty simple veggie scramble. He can make chili with canned beans and canned or frozen vegetables, too. If we're talking about someone with no cooking skills, it's best to start easy.

[stepka]

Oh and OP, don't forget about pinterest. YOu can type healthy food or low carb recipes into the search engine and find all kinds of ideas.