"My stress belly is gone"

More than 50 million of us report feeling more worried and anxious than ever—and Yale research shows it's making our bellies bigger.

- ALLISON NEMETZ

The phenomenon is all too familiar for pediatrician Maria Paradisis, M.D. Maria says the more high-pressure days she had at work, the more weight she carried in her middle. "No matter the diet I tried, it failed once I got too stressed or fatigued." Luckily, she discovered stress-soothing strategies recommended by Duke University weight-loss expert Eric Westman, M.D. Today, Maria's waist is 14 inches tinier. And she and Dr. Westman are sharing secrets to help the rest of us work magic on our waistline.

Why does stress often lead to too-tight pants? "It starts with cortisol, a hormone released to help the body handle whatever stressors life has thrown," Dr. Westman explains. One of the first things cortisol does is get blood sugar up, because blood sugar is an easy fuel to use if we have to, say, fight off or run from a mugger. To do this, cortisol makes us crave sugar and refined carbs; it then keeps the hormone insulin from lowering sugar levels as fast as it normally would. Eventually, cortisol helps store unburned blood sugar as fat for later use—mostly around our middle, where fat tissue is most responsive to cortisol.

If this pattern repeats often enough, our belly plumps up since frequently elevated blood sugar causes chronic inflammation inside us. Inflammation further stresses our systems and leads to many health issues, including blood-sugar problems that make us resistant to weight loss. “Stress can be a huge factor if you can’t lose weight,” says Dr. Westman.

But please don't let any of this stress you out. Because Dr. Westman's ultra-simple approach can reverse the problem quickly.

Your #1 stressor—gone