{"id":243979,"date":"2025-09-21T13:35:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T13:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/243979\/"},"modified":"2025-09-21T13:35:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T13:35:16","slug":"stress-doesnt-care-if-it-comes-from-work-or-the-gym-author-vasudha-rai-shares-how-over-exercising-gave-her-a-cortisol-belly-fitness-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/243979\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Stress doesn\u2019t care if it comes from work or the gym\u2019: Author Vasudha Rai shares how over exercising gave her a cortisol belly | Fitness News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vasudha Rai has been a guiding light for beauty enthusiasts and skincare aficionados lurking on the internet. The author turned digital creator recently took to social media to share her harrowing story of developing a cortisol belly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was lifting 5 days a week, proud of how hard I could push. Thinking that was health. My workouts used to feel like a battlefield. I wore it like a badge of honour, until my body broke down. Then my skin erupted. My belly grew tight and distended. I didn\u2019t just look stressed, I was stressed. It wasn\u2019t about wanting a flat stomach. I love my little belly. But this was different \u2013 swollen, inflamed, begging for help,\u201d she captioned her Instagram post.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cChronic intesnse workouts = chronic cortisol. Cortisol steals your glow<\/a><\/strong>, your gut, your calm. Stress doesn\u2019t care if it comes from work or the gym,\u201d she further mentioned, adding that she didn\u2019t need more discipline, but more compassion. \u201cSo I swapped brutal workouts for gentler ones \u2013 yoga, long walks and strength training twice a week. And I started resting like it was medicine,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMy belly softened, my skin calmed. And for the first time, my body felt like home . Move in a way that loves you back, because the real strength is a body that feels safe to live in,\u201d were her parting words.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really think every few months we need to check in with our bodies and restructure workouts based on our current needs,\u201d she added in the caption of her Instagram post, underneath which Bollywood actor Bhumi Pednekar commented: \u201cI went through exactly this!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Vasudha Vasudha Rai\u2019s Instagram post (Source: Instagram\/@vasudha.rai)<\/p>\n

Curious about this condition, indianexpress.com<\/a> reached out to a fitness expert to understand more about it and find ways to stay safe.<\/p>\n

What is a cortisol belly?<\/p>\n

According to personal trainer and fitness coach, Deepika Sharma, cortisol belly is a condition that happens when stress causes fat to build up around your stomach, and the hormone responsible for doing so is known as cortisol. \u201cWhen your body thinks it\u2019s under pressure for too long, from work, bad sleep, overtraining, or even not eating enough, it starts storing fat, especially around the belly. It\u2019s your body\u2019s way of coping, but it ends up working against you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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How does over exercising make it worse?<\/p>\n

Sharma shared that working out too much can keep your body in stress mode. \u201cIf you\u2019re doing long cardio sessions or pushing hard every day without proper rest or food, your cortisol levels stay high<\/a><\/strong>. That means even if you\u2019re training hard, you might not lose belly fat. In fact, you might gain it,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

Common signs? You\u2019re always tired, you can\u2019t sleep well, you crave sugar, and your workouts don\u2019t feel like they\u2019re working anymore, she added.<\/p>\n

What can you do about this?<\/p>\n

* Shorten your workouts:<\/strong> 30\u201345 minutes is enough, especially if you\u2019re focused. You don\u2019t need to kill yourself in the gym.<\/p>\n

* Rest matters:<\/strong>\u00a0Take at least one or two full days off each week. Walk, stretch, or just chill. Your body needs downtime.<\/p>\n

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* Sleep better:<\/strong>\u00a0Bad sleep keeps cortisol high. Try to go to bed around the same time, reduce screen time before bed, and avoid caffeine late in the day.<\/p>\n

* Eat properly:<\/strong> Skipping meals or eating too little keeps your body stressed. Fuel up with protein, veggies, and healthy fats.<\/p>\n

* Watch how you feel:<\/strong> If you\u2019re constantly drained, it might be time to pull back a bit.<\/p>\n

DISCLAIMER:\u00a0This article is based on information from the public domain and\/or the experts we spoke to. Always consult your health practitioner before starting any routine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Vasudha Rai has been a guiding light for beauty enthusiasts and skincare aficionados lurking on the internet. The…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":243980,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[15998,129992,96648,129989,71396,29669,1198,210,517,46033,1182,129990,73978,67884,71858,45772,1079,5841,129991,67,132,68,129988,3149,2237],"class_list":{"0":"post-243979","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-belly-fat","9":"tag-bhumi-pednekar","10":"tag-chronic-stress","11":"tag-cortisol-belly","12":"tag-deepika-sharma","13":"tag-fatigue","14":"tag-fitness","15":"tag-health","16":"tag-mental-health","17":"tag-mindful-movement","18":"tag-nutrition","19":"tag-over-exercising","20":"tag-personal-trainer","21":"tag-rest","22":"tag-self-compassion","23":"tag-skin-health","24":"tag-sleep","25":"tag-strength-training","26":"tag-stress-hormones","27":"tag-united-states","28":"tag-unitedstates","29":"tag-us","30":"tag-vasudha-rai","31":"tag-wellness","32":"tag-yoga"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115242554438608304","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=243979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}