Can stress make you fat?
Is stress making you fat?
Cortisol, our bodies stress hormone, can have a major impact on our weight loss.
Are you burning the candle at both ends? Do you find you are constantly chasing your tail, finishing off jobs late at night and then struggling to get to sleep as your mind buzzes? Or you may simply have long hours at work or stressful relationships?
This constant state of stress causes numerous hormonal changes in your body:
- You get sick more frequently.
- You get forgetful and a foggy brain from reduced DHEA and altered hippocampus functionYour digestive system suffers.
- You get bloaty, gassy, uncomfortable. Histamine gets released which can contribute to a leaky gut or IBS.
- You crave carbs and comfort food, which can be due to cortisol reducing serotonin (a calming neurotransmitter).
- You struggle to get to sleep or stay asleep due to cortisol reducing melatonin.
- Your leptin levels decrease (which lets you know when you are full).
- Your ghrelin levels increase (which tells you to eat!).
This is why you get terrible cravings for food. This is not your fault or your lack of willpower.
It’s a hormonal imbalance that is creating this hunger in you, the hunger that makes you want to eat the whole pack of biscuits even if it makes you feel sick!
A few ideas to help you De-stress
- Talk or walk it out of your system
- Reduce caffeine intake and cut it out after midday
- Learn how to meditate, join a class or buy a meditation CD
- Breathe, take 10 deep breathes a few times a day. You will be surprised how shallow your breathing gets when you are stressed
- Hydrate – make sure you are drinking enough waterPurchase some adaptogens, these help reduce the effects of cortisol.
- Eliminate foods that cause unwanted side effects, they can be raising your cortisol levels
Reduce your mental and physical stress to improve your chances of losing weight. To get a personalised plan to help with stress reduction and weight loss please get in touch. With the right exercise, food, lifestyle changes and supplement plan you could lose weight that has been stubborn for years!
#fitnessfaster @fitness_faster #weightloss #stressmakesyoufat #fatloss
