STRESS & IT’S EFFECT ON YOUR BODY WEIGHT

Wellness

Aug 26

Is stress contributing to your weight gain or your inability to lose weight? Well, it's certainly possible.

Everyone has stress - but it's how we manage and process that stress - that determines how it affects the rest of your body and it’s response to weight loss.

So let's start from the beginning and see what happens when you experience a stressor…

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE BODY WHEN WE EXPERIENCE SOMETHING THAT CAUSES STRESS?

When you experience stress of any kind (e.g., scrolling on social media, being chased by a bear, an unpaid bill, relationship turmoil, or a car accident) the amygdala, the area of the brain responsible for emotional processing, sends distress signals to the hypothalamus, the command center.

Enter: Fight or Flight…

You've probably heard of Fight or Flight before - our body's “prepare to fight for your life or run for your life” alarm system. But what most people don't realize, is that your body can't tell the difference between “traffic stress” and “i'm being chased by a bear stress”. The body's response is all the same. Example: If you needed to run from a bear, your body would increase blood flow, expand your peripheral vision, heighten your senses, increase airways while pumping adrenaline throughout the body to sharpen all of your senses, etc. You’ll also release stored glucose to supply more nutrients throughout the body / to your muscles. Needless to say, this system is protective and has your body's best interest in mind. The problem however, lies in chronic stress and therefore chronic activation of this system. Fight or flight should be an acute response - not somewhere we want to stay.

Hello Hormones:

As the initial surge subsides, the hypothalamus activates the next component of the stress response, the HPA Axis (the hypothalamus, pituitary gland and the adrenal glands). When we live in this state of constant stress, the HPA axis continues to pump hormones to keep the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) in check. This process results in the adrenal glands releasing cortisol, something you may be more familiar with. Cortisol allows the body to stay “revved up” which is often why high stress people thrive off of more stress (high intensity workouts, adrenaline sports, packed schedules, and little sleep). As you can imagine, constant surges of adrenaline and cortisol aren't exactly optimal for our body's in the long term.

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT MY BODY FAT & MY WEIGHT?

We now know that ongoing stress disrupts optimal hormonal balance and we have to remember that the body does not work in isolation. Our bodily functions and systems are deeply intertwined. For instance, when cortisol is high, blood sugar levels rise. When blood sugar levels rise, insulin is released to shuttle glucose into your cells (to fuel your fight or flight response). However, excess glucose in the bloodstream that the body cannot or does not utilize is sent sent to fat cells once glycogen (stores in the liver and muscles) stores are full.

Believe it or not, long term stress (adrenaline & cortisol -> blood sugar -> insulin) can inhibit the body’s ability to tap into its own body fat stores for energy. High levels of cortisol for extended periods of time can even mobilize fat storage and move it towards the belly, because there are more insulin receptor sites there.

Additionally, we know that cortisol and our body's response to stress is oftentimes to retain water. This again, comes down to our body's primal need to survive. It senses stress, it holds onto water as a means of protection (to keep from dehydration during your “dangerous event”). As a result, we can often see the scale fluctuate upward during stressful times, even if your nutrition hasn't necessarily changed.

We can see these upward scale fluctuations happen with poor sleep (stressful to the body), an intense workout the day before (stressful to the body), emotional/mental trauma (stressful to the body), etc. Needless to say, our body's AND our weight, are extremely perceptive to stress.

SO - HOW CAN WE BETTER MANAGE OUR STRESS?

Some of our favorite strategies at Level TEN…

Therapy
Journaling
Gratitude practice
The Calm App (or other guided meditation apps)
Magnesium supplementation
Adaptogen supplementation
Walking
Spending time in nature
Breath work (4 in, long exhale, 8 out)
Better quality sleep
Yoga, specifically Yoga Nidra
Increasing calories / decreasing training frequency if applicable / necessary
FINAL NOTE: You cannot out-supplement your stress! The supplements listed above should be used in conjunction with OTHER stress management techniques