How Stress Is Related to Weight Gain
I’m sure you’ve heard about the “fight-or-flight” response, and you also probably realize that it is the way our bodies behaves to dangers or in other words, stress. But do you know what’s driving the fight-or-flight response? In reality its hormones.
If you are faced with danger, your adrenal glands release three hormones: norepinephrine, epinephrine (also called adrenaline), and cortisol. Norepinephrine and epinephrine cause numerous changes that will help you survive the risk, including a pause in insulin release so you have lots of blood sugar available for energy, an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, along with a suspension of your appetite. As soon as the danger has transpired, cortisol tells our bodies to halt producing norepinephrine and epinephrine and stimulates your appetite again.
This effect evolved to help individuals handle short-term survival situations, like an attack by a predator. Unfortunately, it happens in response to all stressors, such as the deadlines pummeling you at the office along with the traffic that drives you mad. All that stress leads to excess cortisol being accumulated in the blood. That cortisol simply hangs around, triggering lots of issues: It turns young fat cells into fully developed fat cells that stay with you forever, and increases your desires for high-fat, high-carb foods.
Whenever you give in to those urges, your body releases a cascade of rewarding brain chemicals that may set up an enslaving relationship with food – you stress, you eat. If you do not consciously control the routine, it is possible to become physically and psychologically dependent upon that release to manage stress. In fact, people that self-medicate with food are apt to have hair-trigger epinephrine side effects and persistently high amounts of cortisol.
You can help yourself keep cortisol in balance by restricting caffeine intake to 200 mg each day; staying away from simple carbs, junk foods, and refined grains; and getting plenty of high-quality protein. It is also crucial that you find stress-relief techniques that work for you. If having to leave your home is out of the question or tough try at home exercises like p90x2 review, p90x, les mills pump or Insanity. Whatever works for you! If you can manage your stress level response and lower cortisol levels, you will find a much easier time losing weight.
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