Chandi Schwab
The dictionary definition of stress is "any real or imagined threat, and your body's response to it." This can be a good thing, as well as a negative thing. Stress is not entirely negative. Some stress can be avoided and other stress cannot, and some stress can even be beneficial, but it becomes a problem when the stress starts impacting your body in a bad way.
Stress is one of these emotions that can cause harmful side effects and when we eat in a state of stress or anxiety, which is pretty much all the time for most people, there are particularly bad side effects. The best way to explain this is to outline what happens when you are stressed. Our bodies are made to react to a stress emotion by getting ready to flee or to fight. It's called the "fight or flight" response. It increases your blood pressure, heart rate, and increases the blood into your arms and legs in order to get ready to flee. With regards to weight loss, however, this response is not helpful because it shunts blood away from your midsection and virtually shuts down your digestive system.
When you eat under stress, even if you are eating the healthiest food in the world, you will not be able to fully digest and absorb the food and nutrients from that food and your body will not be able to burn calories effectively. Since all that blood and oxygen are being used elsewhere, your metabolism also suffers, plus you will see a decrease in the enzymes in your stomach. Your cholesterol and triglycerides then go up because of the decreasing stomach flora, which then leads you to be more sensitive to food, which then, in turn, creates allergies, gastroesophageal reflux, and heartburn.
There are several ways in which stress can contribute to weight gain as well. It has to do with cortisol, a stress hormone. When we’re under stress, the fight or flight response is triggered in our bodies, leading to the release of various hormones.
Whether we're stressed because of constant, crazy demands at work or we're really in danger, our bodies respond like we're about to be harmed and need to fight for our lives (or run like heck). To answer this need, we experience a burst of energy, shifts in metabolism, blood flow, and other changes.
If you remain in this state for a prolonged amount of time due to chronic stress, your health becomes at risk. Aside from a host of other dangers, chronic stress can also cause weight gain -which is why some products like Cortislim are marketed as diet aids.
Chronic stress and cortisol can contribute to weight gain in the following ways:
Metabolism - Do you feel like you're prone to putting on more weight when you're stressed, even if you're eating the same amount of food as you always have? Too much cortisol can slow your metabolism, causing more weight gain than you would normally experience. This also makes dieting more difficult.
Cravings - OK, you're stressed. Do you reach for a nice salad or a pint of Ben & Jerry's? I'll bet on the latter. 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.
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.
De-Stress List
-Exercise
-Meditate
-Take a nap
-Get a massage
-Practice yoga or tai chi
-Listen to soothing music
-Use guided imagery or motivational CDs
-Take an aromatherapy bath
-Take time-out: a short walk or a long vacation
-Take a news fast: stop being a receptacle for the world's problems
*If you have any unresolved issues in your life with someone, this can be a huge stress and really effect your weight loss goals. It is important to resolve those issues and bring them to a close so that tension can be released, and better be able to focus on your goals and find peace.
(ezinearticles.com and livestrong.com)
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