Handling stress is not an easy matter and chronic stress can be helped by making the body metabolically flexible so it burns fat for energy. If we can keep our weight down, we feel so much better. By limiting carbohydrates in your diet the body is forced to burn fat. Doing aerobic-style exercises improves the body’s metabolic flexibility. Women burn less fat at rest than men, thus making exercise absolutely essential for women to lose fat. In addition, women store more fat right below the skin (subcutaneously) and have a harder time losing lower body fat.
Research has found, that to get rid of stubborn lower body fat, women should do both a strength building and aerobic exercise for superior fat loss. At the same time a healthy diet is a must. Fasting or extreme calorie restriction can actually have a negative affect by causing blood sugar imbalance. Giving your body energy with balanced fat, carbs and protein, your hormones will be happy, stress will be lower and your body will be more willing to shed it’s stored fat.
The good news is that women tend to lose upper body fat first–we get to look thinner before we really are, which encourages us to continue to stick with the diet and exercise program. Looking good, we feel better, more confident and can handle whatever stress comes our way.
There’s never a free day of stress, let’s face the fact. But having a plan to handle stress can lift it off our shoulders and put it into a new perspective where we can look at it more objectively. Feeling good about ourselves empowers us to get through and beyond the negative situation. Having a regular “detox” day or better yet, a daily morning “cocktail” that helps detox our bodies starting from the inside gut to our outside skin. One of the advantages of doing an overall body detox is that it has an anti-aging impact. Body detox leads to a more healthy lifestyle conquering needless bacteria and viruses that build up in our systems. Along with a healthy diet, sweating through exercise and a detox soaking bath to reduce stress we can assist our bodies to rejuvenate.
The old routine “detox cocktail” my Aunt Matilda used and is still a healthy practice today is the Apple Cider Vinegar Detox. It’s so easy and has excellent results. You feel it immediately and it’s so simple. The only catch is that you must use the “raw” unfiltered and unprocessed apple cider vinegar with all it’s left over sediment or “mother” from the fermentation and apple meat still in it. So the vinegar is cloudy, but actually has a sweeter taste. The reason it’s so effective is that it has potassium and breaks down digestive enzymes in this raw form which aids in digestion, and cleans out the intestines, bowels, liver, kidneys and skin. However, because it is super high in acid, you only need two teaspoons in a large 16 oz. glass of water before breakfast or sipped through out the day. You can NOT drink vinegar straight as it will take off the enamel on your teeth!!! Some people add a touch of raw honey to the water for taste.
Apple cider vinegar has also been reported to help with weight loss. A published 2009 study in Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry, found that the subjects that consumed acetic acid for 12 weeks experienced significant declines in body weight, abdominal fat, waist circumference and triglycerides. Our liver plays an important role in how carbs turn into sugar and sugar turns into fat. Apple cider vinegar gives the liver a boost in this process. Health advocates claim it accelerates your metabolism causing a natural weight loss benefit. It’s not a rapid happening, but followers say they can see a slow loss of a pound or two after several months.
Other benefits of this simple detox are that it is good for breaking up mucus in the body and cleansing lymph nodes allowing better circulation. And that it helps manage the way our body smells by regulating the PH on the skin. It acts like a natural deodorant.
Natural remedy experts tell us that the natural enzymes help rid your body of candida—yeasts that are attributed to thrush in humans. And a mixture of water and vinegar sprayed on your pets fur and rubbed into the skin several days to a week will rid your pets of fleas! A cup of apple cider vinegar in your toilet will leave your bathroom smelling like apples. These claims and more are out there.
A detox bath can only be a good thing. Try it!
Apple Cider Vinegar Detox Bath:
- Hot tub of water.
- 4 oz. of Apple Cider Vinegar
- Add 2 cups baking soda
- Add 2 cups Epsom salts
- Add a dozen or more drops of Lavender oil
- Soak for ½ hour
