Diet and Health Articels

Stress and weight gain are often linked due to the effects of stress on the physiology of a person. Stress is an active part of our lives and hardwired into our biological make up allowing us to fight or flee from threatening and dangerous situations. What served our prehistoric ancestors well in situations involving evading a predator or a hostile enemy, leaves us tense with little sign of relief in a traffic jam at rush hour or standing in a long line at the grocery store.

Sometimes people cope with stress by eating. Eating doesnt just fulfill an emotional need, but a physiological one that is related to the hormone cortisol. When the body begins to experience a stress response, the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine are released into the body along with cortisol. The hormones work to speed up the heart rate, stimulate the liver to release more sugar into the blood stream for energy, perspiration to be released to cool the skin and to shut down digestion so that the energy can be redirected to more necessary systems. All of these are a part of the fight or flight response and after danger is passed the body reabsorbs the epinephrine and norepinephrine while cortisol levels remain elevated over a longer time period.

When stress is chronic, the cortisol levels can remain persistently high. So how does cortisol affect weight gain? Cortisol performs many actions in the body and the ultimate goal of it is the provision of energy. Much like encouraging the liver to release more sugar into the blood stream, cortisols prime goal is an energy source that will be needed for all of the fighting or the running. Cortisol stimulates fat and carbohydrate metabolism for fast energy and stimulates insulin release and maintenance of blood sugar levels.

Does Stress Cause Weight Gain?

So what does this have to do with weight gain? The end result of all these actions is an increase in appetite. Thus people who are chronically stressed may eat two and three times as much as they need because their bodies are demanding the fuel. Because the weight gain is stimulated by cortisol, it tends to be stored in the abdominal area which is considered toxic fat because it can lead to cardio vascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes.

Is stress the sole cause for weight gain? No. A genetic predisposition plays a large part in how fat is distributed and how the body reacts to stress. If a program of stress management and reduction such as regular exercise, healthy eating, getting good sleep and relaxation can help a person cope with stress reactions as well as improve the hearts strength and resistance to disease.

People who suffer from poor coping methods with stress do not always gain weight. Some lose weight. Some do not have their weight affected at all, but because cortisol does play a role in stimulating appetite and it is released in persistent quantities when someone suffers from chronic stress the relationship between the two is very strong.

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To improve your overall health and fitness as well as resistance to stress-induced diseases such as weight gain, depression, heart disease and ulcers employ a regular set of stress reduction methods.

There are good stresses such as the stress of preparing for a new baby or a graduation and negative stress such as illness, financial worry or fear of failure. A by-product of stress can be a suppressed immune system. A person's stress increases, as they become ill at the most inopportune times: during exams, when a final project's presentation arrives, during the move from one house to another.

Finding a way to cope with daily stress works towards your health maintenance as regular services for your car. Employing a few of the following techniques allows a body to relieve stress can improve your body's physical, mental and emotional health.

Meditation

Meditation summons an image of a figure sitting cross-legged in front of incense and murmuring 'ohm' in pseudo-religious format. Take ten minutes and shut off the rest of the world. Using a method of controlled breathing, inhaling for a count of four, holding for a count of two and releasing the breath for a count of four. Closing your eyes and letting your mind blank for those ten minutes while you breathe allows your mind a respite from the day's tensions. Imagine as you inhale you are gathering all of the tensions of the day and upon exhaling they are expelled from the body. Ten simple minutes can help relax the mind, restore focus and ease the onset of a headache.

Exercise

Exercise often promotes physical health by keeping the body in good cardio-vascular and muscular health. It is also an outlet for the physical tensions that wind a body up. Understanding that stress triggers the fight-or-flight instinct in the body, tensing muscles so they are coiled and ready to run at greater speeds, increasing the heart rate and restricting blood flow to non-essential systems, also explains why physical exertions such as 15 to 20 minutes of brisk walking, biking or jogging can allow the body to relieve itself of the need for action. Exercise also releases endorphins, the body's natural chemical high.

Chunk Your To Do List

Chunk your to do list so that you are not looking at a list of thirty items that must be completed in a limited amount of time and begin to feel overwhelmed that you cannot complete everything on the list. Modifying your expectations so that as you check off each item, you allow that success to relieve tension can limit the distress to your body.

Laugh

Laugh, whether through social conversation or viewing a sitcom on television. Laughter is therapeutic and can temporarily elevate your heart rate, help digestion, relax muscles, ease pain and like exercise, release endorphins.

Massage

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Massage, whether you make an appointment to visit a masseuse or use your finger tips to rub your temples and the back of your neck, using vigorous circular motions. The external pressure on the muscle works to relieve the tension within the muscles. A professional massage which can last anywhere from 25 to 50 minutes, promotes a time when you have nothing to do but relax.

Margaret Mead once said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world." I agree with the statement because one person, driven enough to speak out and act can inspire group think in others. When you have a group that is driven, even a small one of three to four people, you can have three to four times the effect on others.

For example, it takes only one person on the street to really manicure their lawn to inspire their neighbors to do the same. Those neighbors inspire the people next to them and it becomes a ripple effect.

Also, periodically throughout the year when I go to Starbuck's (I go every day because it's my one little luxury that I afford myself for writing and working at home) I will pay for the drinks for the people in the car behind me. I don't know them. They don't know me. But I've been told many times by the Starbuck's people that this has often created a cascade effect that goes on for as long as the line is packed during rush hour.

The Cascade Effect

It only takes one person to be committed to the idea of change to begin working on that change. It may not happen overnight, but it will happen and it overcomes apathy most times. You can take that commitment to heart to change the things in your life that you wish to have changed whether it's your fitness choices, your work choices or just your choices in how you live your life.

That is the beauty and the gift of being human - we have choices. What choices have you made that have changed things? Have you been inspired by a small group or one person to commit to a change before?

Feel free to breathe a sigh of relief, your success or failure in exercise and how your body responds to it may rest squarely on the shoulders of your parents. The argument of nature versus nurture is hardly a new one. Psychologists have been arguing about it for years. What dictates who we are going to be? Our natures, in other words, our genetic heritage? Or do we benefit from how we take care of ourselves, how often we exercise and benefiting from the nurture we give to ourselves?

The Argument for Nature

Some people are naturally gifted. They workout and demonstrate tremendous results right off the bat. They are naturally physical people with good hand eye coordination, natural speed and more. Their body composition, flexibility and strength are top of the line. They won the genetic lottery and have the predisposition for success. A study at the American College of Sports Medicine backed up that theory. The research took place through December of 2005 and reviewed all the previous research on the subject. The studies indicated that there are significant genetic differences in people's inclination to be physically active.

So what does that mean for the rest of us? It means those with the genetic predisposition are going to get different results from those who aren't?

The Nurture Argument

So if we're not genetically predisposed to being fit, should we just give up? Absolutely not, because we know that regular exercise and a healthy diet are beneficial whether you are predisposed to being a size 3 and perfect at figure skating or not. Genetic predisposition or not, taking good care of yourself can return good results. Daily exercise improves stress, sleep, physical fitness and even mental acuity. I'd rather be a size 10 and healthy whether I have the genetic predisposition or not.

You?

It's annoying, I know but the old saying goes: "practice makes perfect" for a reason. Practice does make your technique perfect and good technique is essential to help you achieve your fitness goals.

Technique: Correct Form

From walking to running to weight lifting to dancing in an aerobic class, every type of exercise requires a correct form. When you perform the exercise correctly, you minimize your risk of injury while maximizing your results. By practicing correct technique you also become more aware of your own body as well as how far you can push it.

Personal trainers often advise changing your routine up about once every 12 weeks. You can get used to your workout in 12 weeks. For some it's a little less, for some it's a little more, so 12 weeks is our average. You hit a stage of inertia, where you are no longer gaining muscle or burning off excess fat, but just maintaining.

Your muscle development slows and then just becomes more efficient at what you are doing without further challenges. Changing your workout, spicing up the variety that you choose from whether it's a different level of intensity or a different exercise to work similar muscle groups, can help you overcome those plateaus.

Vary Your Workout

For example, in a running program, you may change the terrain where you run, so that you can add more hills or ups and downs. We have a local park about two miles from here that includes a number of steps sprinkled throughout the pathways. These are a great way of increasing the intensity of the workout by adding some steps up and down during the circuit.

You may mix up your running with fast walking to get your heart rate up to the max range you want it, increase your sweat and get the muscles burning. You want a little soreness the day after a workout. That soreness reflects the tearing of muscle fiber that must occur so that the muscles will repair and grow stronger.

Practice your technique and make your workout work for you.