Stress Hormones: How to combat belly fat, bloating and blemishes

In over 10 years of teaching, I've been asked the same few questions repeatedly. Two of the most common are:

• How do I fix blemishes/acne/dry skin?
• How do I target excess belly weight?

Now, as we all should know, I don't buy into body hate and shaming and guilt. Women naturally have curves and a tendency to hold weight around the belly and hips because women are designed to create, house and nourish new human life within their bodies. That's pretty amazing. Whether you choose to have children or not, your body is engineered for it.

That said, there's a fine balance to find between functional and healthy amount of particular hormones and the sort of irregularity and imbalance that will lead to a cycle of nasty symptoms that indicate hormonal problems and that lead to MORE hormonal imbalances if not addressed through lifestyle.

The culprit - in all my discussions with medical and natural health practitioners, and in my personal experience - is the stress hormone, cortisol. An excess of cortisol leads to inflammation within the body, creating dramas with digestion, sleep, mood, acne and blemishes, insatiable appetite, cravings, bloating and weight gain particularly around the belly and hips.

Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands (in the kidney area). It isn't all bad! Cortisol is produced to enable the body to handle and respond to danger. It is also heightened during exercise or at the beginning of the day to put the body into a more alert state.

Too much cortisol results in a number of symptoms, including weight gain around the face and abdomen, thin and easily broken skin, acne, bones more vulnerable to fracture and breaking, depressed mood, increased facial hair and irregular periods.

Some medications can mimic cortisol, including some asthma medication and topical steroid creams or steroidal drugs.

What can you do to prevent excessive cortisol and a crappy mood, bloated belly and tired, dull skin? Here's some simple steps. Take one at a time, or all at once:

• Stop the extra long workouts. No wonder your body believes your under pressure and in need of hormones to cope with stress if you're forcing yourself through training regimes that run over 90 minutes
• Cut the coffee. Sure, addictive, sure. But if you want to sleep and look 10 years younger, stop.
• Eat wholefoods. Organic wherever possible, but maintain a diet where at least 80% of your food is a plant that you can recognise as exactly the same as it was on the tree or in the earth (powdered beetroot doesn't count)
• Take high-quality supplements if your diet is restricted at all (vegan protein, omega 3 supplements, vitamin D if you don't get much sun, multivitamins)
• Did I mention Omega 3 supplements?
• Eat a high fibre diet to maintain good gut health
• Take adaptogenic herbs: licorice root tea or medicinal mushrooms are easy to find at health food stores or online
• Take 5 minutes every morning and/or evening to sit quietly, eyes closed and breathe fully into the belly then slowly out again. Set a phone timer if you need.
• Get away from screens. Put the phone down.
• Go to yoga - any type.
• Do pilates
• Dance
• Laugh
• Omega 3 supplements (seriously, though)

Image from Wholefood Merchants, Melbourne

Fab Abs

I'm not going to spruik you bikini bodies or any of that crapola. The truth is, you need strong abs for life. They are essential in good posture, in maintaining your spine and hips and body in safe and optimum alignment for all activities (and at rest!).
The idea of "flat abs" is brilliant marketing, because it's not realistic for most people. That said, if you have a disproportionate amount of fat around the waistline, this can be a risk factor for diabetes, metabolic syndrome, PCOS and more.
No amount of planks or pilates will compensate if you are not eating well - that doesn't mean restriction and dieting (nasty cycle that will only make you feel awful!) but that you are aware of eating a decent serve of veggies (especially green), fruit (so many choices!), legumes, wholegrain carbs (love rye bread or wholegrain pasta) and lean protein (fish, skinless chicken, prawns, tofu).
This time of year it's tempting to overdo everything but try to keep your workout routine. Not just for the sake of your abs, but your sanity.

10 To 2

Lie on your back, pressing your whole spine into it. 

Slightly tuck the chin down to lengthen the neck and press the shoulders to the mat.

Raise both legs, pointing toes with a slight turn-out (like a mini plie) to the roof

Keeping legs pressed together, take them to the 10 o'clock position.

Centre, then direct legs to the 2 o'clock position.

Repeat x 10 each direction

Double Leg Extension

Again, press spine into the mat firmly.

Curl the shoulders up away from the mat and lift the knees over the hips.

Inhale to extend the arms and legs as straight as you can.

Exhale to return knees over hips and arms reaching for toes.

Repeat x 10 - 15

Single Leg Teaser

Lie on your back, knees bent with heels aligned with hips. Raise one leg with thighs parallel.

Inhale to prepare and reach the arms up.

Exhale to curl the shoulders up away from the mat and reach for the toes of the raised leg.

Inhale to curl back down (don't drop!)

Repeat 8 on each side

Plie with Elbow to Knee

Get into a wide plie position, making sure your knees are tracking toward your 2nd toe.

Knees aligned over the ankles.

Maintaining your lower body in perfect stillness, take fingertips to ears. 

Lower the elbow towards the knee then return to centre before reaching to other side.

Repeat 10 on each side

Single Leg Extension

Stand with feet hip distance apart.

Draw the belly button towards the spine and contract the shoulders to open the chest.

Maintaining the hips at the same level (don't hitch up on one side!), extend one leg back as you reach forward.

Hold for a count of 3.

Return to standing on one leg. 

Repeat 10 times each side

Beware: Don't twist at the hips! Think about maintaining the hip bones in the same direction at all times

Tabletop Elbow To Knee

On your hands and knees, with wrists directly under shoulders and knees under hips.

Draw belly button to spine and avoid arching the back or rounding up.

Lengthen the back of the neck and direct the crown of the head forward.

Extend alternate arm and leg to make a long straight line.

Hold for 2 seconds then bring elbow to knee in the centre.

Repeat 10 times each side

I Am A Real Woman & So Is Every Woman Even In Yoga Pants

I fully endorse the feelings expressed here by the wonderful yoga teacher, Kathryn Budig. I wear tight, fitted clothing for teaching and working out and I yet I feel like I need to wear a big logo warning people not to give me their opinions on my body.
I'm not wrapping myself up like chopped meat that you can scan and decide if you'll buy me. I am human in yoga pants. So keep your opinions to yourself. That goes for all men and women in tight pants. We're human, too.
Also - if you love barre but you're sick of all the airbrushed models on Instagram that are apparently the "summer bodies" or "barre bodies" you're going to achieve if you pay to do classes, don't subscribe. I have had to let a few go. Barre is amazing for your body - both how it looks and feels. And it's fun. Be selective with the images and messages you subscribe to.

Supplements. Women, Food & Desire

How are these relevant and interlinked? 

Think about what you eat and drink daily and how much of that is dictated by what you think you should be eating, should be drinking...the pills or herbs or blended green mulch you should guzzle according to magazines, your Chinese Medicine practitioner, your naturopath!

There's a whole website I could devote to desire and women's food and choices around their bodies, but thankfully, someone much more expert has dedicated a book to it and it is new to my bookshelf. It's called Women, Food and Desire by Alexandra Jamieson.

Admittedly, I'm yet to really delve in and read it thoroughly, but I fully intend to! The book encourages us to "Embrace your cravings, make peace with food, reclaim your body' - a message that I need and that many women do. It certainly doesn't mean go and eat a block of family sized chocolate and feel empowered. It means look at why you so want to eat chocolate, whether you can stop at 2 squares of it, and why you might feel bad about wanting it, let alone eating it. Awareness of your body makes you stronger, more attuned to it. More peaceful in your own skin. You can follow author Alexandra Jamieson on Twitter.

The book is available through Hachette Australia.

Anita Bean is a well-known and much respected nutritionist from the UK. Her latest book out is Sports Supplements 2nd edition: Which Supplements Really Work. I have a sometimes-I-do...sometimes-I-don't approach to vitamin and mineral tablets, but I know what works for me and I know where my diet falls short of giving me what I need, or how my body responds to particular stimulants, and I choose when and how much is necessary when it comes to taking tablets or capsules. Her website is a thorough introduction to her work.

The book is available at Bloomsbury Australia.

Have you considered that your barista is actually your supplement dealer? Well, that bearded beacon of hope every morning is in fact also your ticket to a more powerful Power Yoga! Anita's book not only looks at your run of the mill multivitamins and protein bars, but also coffee, herbal supplements, antioxidants, common "fat burners" and performance enhancers such as creatine and

DHEA. What the effects are, what the side effects are, and what the studies show in terms of effectiveness. My drug of choice is caffeine and Anita informs: "Caffeine is a stimulant...It works by increasing levels of endorphins (hormone-like substances) in the brain. These endorphins affect mood state, reduce the perception of fatigue and pain, and create a sense of well-being. Thus caffeine helps increase alertness, concentration and performance; and reduces fatigue. It can also help increase muscle fibre recruitment..."

Studies have proven that taken 30 minutes to 3 hours prior to performance, caffeine can improve sprint times, increase endurance ability and reduce feelings of tiredness and fatigue.