Today’s life is faster than ever, filled with constant change, uncertainty and stress.Because of the constant demands placed on us at work, at home, or we may really be in danger, our bodies respond like we're about to be harmed and need to fight for our lives. Our bodies respond to this need with a burst of energy, shifts in our metabolism, blood flow, and other changes.
STRESS not only affects your weight, but your health.
The stress hormone called cortisol is one of the reasons. While under stress, the fight or flight response is triggered in our bodies, leading to the release of various hormones.
We've known for a long time that depression and chronic pain are closely related in many ways. Both conditions share some of the same underlying biochemistry (related to stress hormones such as cortisol and inflammatory compounds such as cytokines) and people with depression tend to experience more episodes of chronic pain (and vice versa). Indeed, physical pain can undoubtedly make psychological pain (depression) worse - likely due to the finding that inflammation is known to worsen and perhaps evencause depression in many people. You might find it interesting to know that cytokines (inflammatory hormone-like chemicals produced in the body)
Conventional wisdom would suggest that controlling depression might also help to control pain - and that reducing pain would help to alleviate depression. However, the research findings in the PNAS article suggest that painkiller drugs may actually interfere with the activity of antidepressant drugs - potentially making depression worse.
4 ways Chronic stress can raise cortisol levels which contribute to weight gain and effect your health are:
Metabolism -- Too much cortisol can slow your metabolism, causing more weight gain than you would normally experience. This also makes dieting more difficult.
Blood Sugar -- Prolonged stress can alter your blood sugar levels, causing mood swings, fatigue, and conditions like hyperglycemia. Too much stress has even been linked to metabolic syndrome, a cluster of health concerns that can lead to greater health problems, like heart attacks and diabetes.
Fat Storage -- Excessive stress even affects where we tend to store fat. Higher levels of stress are linked to greater levels of abdominal fat. Unfortunately, abdominal fat is not only aesthetically undesirable, it’s linked with greater health risks than fat stored in other areas of the body.
If you remain in the state of chronic stress for a long period of time your health becomes at risk. One being high blood pressure, a potentially dangerous health condition.
“Stress can actually cause weight gain, particularly around the tummy,” Why? Because physical and emotional stress activates the release of cortisol, a steroid that slows metabolism
When your body is under the stress response, your cortisol and insulin levels raise. These two hormones tend to track each other, and when your cortisol is consistently elevated under a chronic low-level stress response, you’ll likely notice that you have difficulty losing weight or building muscle.
Food Cravings -- People experiencing chronic stress tend to crave more fatty, salty and sugary foods. This includes sweets, processed food and other things that aren’t as good for you. These foods are typically less healthy and lead to increased weight gain.
Other Ways Stress and Weight Gain are connected.
Emotional Eating – Not only can increased levels of cortisol make you crave unhealthy food, but excess nervous energy can often cause you to eat more than you normally would. Have you ever found yourself scouring the kitchen for a snack, or absently munching on junk food when you’re stressed, but not really hungry?
Fast Food -- One of the big reasons we’re seeing more obesity in our society today is that people are too stressed and busy to make healthy dinners at home, often opting to get fast food a the nearest drive-thru instead.
Too Busy to Exercise -- With all the demands on your schedule, exercise may be one of the last things on your to-do list. If so, you’re not alone. Americans live a more sedentary lifestyle than we have in past generations, yet our minds seem to be racing from everything we have to do. Unfortunately, from sitting in traffic, clocking hours at our desks, and plopping in front of the TV in exhaustion at the end of the day, exercise often goes by the wayside.
Today’s so-called solutions including prescription drugs, energy drinks, coffee, etc. aren’t combating the problem, they’re compounding the problem.
Fortunately, there are things you can do to reverse the pattern of weight gain and actually reduce your stress level and waistline at the same time. I recommend you take a yoga class 3 times a week, meditation on a regular basis and lots of good deep breathing.
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