Remember when we could drop 5 pounds in a week in order to fit into that new dress?  Okay, we were 17 years old and not really interested in healthy weight loss.  We just wanted to lookgood!

The older we get, the harder it seems to lose weight.  And it seems the older we get, the more inclined we are to store fat right in our midriff area.  Ugh!   We’re turning into apples!

To make matters worse, this is the worst kind of fat to have.  Studies show that overweight people with apple shapes as opposed to pear shapes have a higher incidence of heart disease, hypertension, high blood pressure, stroke, and a severely limited wardrobe, since clothing just doesn’t fit right.

It’s long been established that stress increases the tendency to store fat around the stomach and waist.  And as we age, we have an accumulation of stress, simply because we’ve been around longer.  If you’ve had a horrible job, endured marital woes, suffered financial insecurity, or worried about your children, all of these life challenges got that cortisol working overtime to glop extra fat around your middle.

I’m definitely an apple instead of a pear.  And the older I’ve gotten, the more worried I was about my health and the implications of all this fat around my midriff.  I’ve tried all kinds of diets, and I’ve tried all kinds of non-diets where you just eat more sensibly and exercise more, and nothing has seemed to work.

In frustration, I began to research the heck out of belly fat.  There seem to be a lot of conflicting opinions about what to do about it, and there are even more books, websites, and programs that promise that they have the only secret to banishing belly fat.

However, some things do look promising.  Adaptogens, for example, help the body deal with stress.  Now, I’m no scientist, but it seems to me that if the body can deal with stress, it must be easier to lose the weight, especially around the middle.  So I began taking in foods and supplements that contain adaptogens.   And finally, finally, oh praise be to God, the weight has begun to creep off.

“What are adaptogens, Chandra???” you might be demanding right now.  Adaptogens are a specific group of herbs that help the body manage stress.  They’re called adaptogens because they actually have the ability to adapt their function to the body’s needs.  They also support adrenal function and help the cells eliminate toxins.

“I thought you said you weren’t a scientist, Chandra!”  It’s true.  I’m not.  I googled it and found a lot of corroborating information from a variety of sources.  You can google it too!

I’ve been digging clothes out of the nether regions of my closet, clothes that haven’t fit me for a few years.  It feels good.  

I don’t think I can get into the cute little dress I wore when I was 17 though!