Belly blues
Country music artists sing about heartache, horses, soldiers, illness, drinking, horses drinking, trains, and having a baby on a Greyhound bus. The lyrics reflect life here in the US better than CNN does. But I was still surprised when I heard the new hit by a band called Trailer Choir. In its latest song, “Rockin’ the Beer Gut,” we meet a woman at a bar who has “just some extra love around her waist” and who “isn’t ashamed.” This was the first time I heard the term “beer gut” used to describe a woman. Times they are a changin’. (Although I don’t think Bob Dylan had beer guts in mind.)
Why are more and more women, “Rockin’ the Beer Gut”?
It could be stress, or more accurately distress.
Stress is our body’s response to demands. At optimal levels it’s called eustress — pronounced U-stress — and has a positive impact on our productivity and attitude. When stress is prolonged, and we have trouble coping, we experience distress.
Distress triggers the adrenal gland to release the hormone cortisol, which increases lipogenesis, a fancy term for fat creation. It also elevates deep abdominal obesity, tissue breakdown and suppression of the immune system. Cortisol increases appetite, sugar cravings, and weight gain, a study published in 2001 by Elissa Epel of the University of California, San Francisco, demonstrated. Cortisol also regulates other chemicals released during distress, and these also stimulate appetite.
Prolonged stress and high cortisol may cause high blood pressure, elevated fats — which means higher cholesterol — and increased blood sugar. In women, when waist size starts to gain on hip size, the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke all increase.
Not sure if you have too much stress in your life? Some warning signs are neck or back pain, headaches, jitters, upset stomach, dry mouth, lack of focus, anxiety, forgetfulness, or difficulty sleeping. You may even break out in a rash, like the crazy ex-boyfriend in the movie, Something About Mary.
If you want to stay healthy, you need to keep your waist, or find the waist you lost. It’s imperative that you include some stress-reducing activities in your fitness program. Add meditation, tai chi, or yoga, and you will not only significantly improve your chance of successful weight loss, but you’ll be nicer to be around.
Waiting for distress to subside won’t work. The result of doing nothing was published by researchers from Duke University Medical Center in 2005. A control group kept its old diet and exercise habits while other groups altered exercise levels. In six months, the control group experienced significant gains in deep abdominal fat. A group told to follow the guidelines for moderate exercise recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American College of Sports Medicine saw no increase in abdominal fat. A third group, whose members exercised vigorously, saw significant decreases in fat of all kinds, not just the deep belly fat, but of the fat just under the skin as well. And none of the group members changed diets.
The good news is we can stop “Rockin’ the Beer Gut.” It will involve fairly vigorous strength training and fairly intense cardiovascular exercise of some sort. And don’t forget your yoga mat if you want to prevent that stress-induced belly fat from forming.
Please visit your doctor before embarking on an exercise program.
