Stress comes in various forms in our lives and can have very serious consequences on your health which then impacts your fat loss goals. If you are not managing your stress, it can impact your food choices, sleep and activity level which then further increases stress in your body and the vicious circle continue. In this article I explain what stress is, how it is impacting you and what you can do to managing it and improve your health and support your fat loss goals.

What is stress?

Stress is when your body enters ‘fight or flight’ mode. It thinks you are at risk of being eaten by a tiger so prepares to either stay and fight or run away, hence the ‘fight or flight’.

What happens when your body is stressed?

In order to have the energy, speed and power to fight or flee your body secretes adrenaline and cortisol. These are the hormones that help move you into action. You also need energy, so the brain notifies the cells to convert glycogen into glucose and secrete it into the blood stream so your muscle cells can use it as a quick burst of energy. Your heart rate increases, as does your blood pressure. These all happen simultaneously. In order to focus on fighting or fleeing, the brain slows down a few functions around the body, that are not pivotal to immediate survival.

Let’s look at these in more detail:

• Stress causes – Glucose to secrete out of the cells into the blood stream.

Consequence – Too much glucose in your blood is dangerous so your brain notifies your pancereas to secrete insulin, the hormone responsible for removing glucose out of the blood. It transports the blood to the liver so that the liver can convert it back to glycogen so that it can be returned to the cells and stored as energy. If the cells are already full of glycogen, which is usually the case because you have eaten, the liver then converts the glucose into fat and stores it either as subcutaneous fat or visceral fat, the dangerous fat around the organs. If you are eating carbohydrates the liver won’t have time to send the fat off to other areas around the body so it will simply pop it in its backyard, the abdomen. This can result in fatty liver disease. High levels of visceral fat can increase risk of diabetes, heart disease and various cancers.

• Stress causes – Glucose to become the preferred energy source, rather than fat.

Consequence – You are unable to burn stored fat during this time. Nor can you burn any triglycerides that will be in your blood stream so they too will be stored as fat, either as subcutaneous fat around the body or visceral fat. When you eat, the number of triglycerides in your blood stream increase, therefore further increasing fat stores.

• Stress causes – The need for glucose to trigger sugar cravings or carb cravings to ensure you have enough glucose available for energy. It also triggers the Ghrelin hormone, the hormone that notifies your brain that you are hungry.

Consequence – The cravings become so strong it’s often difficult to avoid caving in. Add to that the secretion of the ghrelin hormone and you have an increased appetite. This leads to poor food choices and overeating. These further increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancers, as well as fat gain.

• Stress causes – Excess insulin to be secreted.
• Consequences – This increases risk of insulin resistance or diabetes. That means your body is no longer able to cope with glucose in the blood. Long term dangers of insulin resistance or diabetes include constricted blood vessels, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, loss of fingers or toes, blindness, and nerve damage.
• Stress causes – Your heart rate and blood pressure to increase.

Consequence – The heart works overtime meaning the muscle of the heart grows. This can lead to growth of your heart called ‘cardiomegaly’. The more your heart works the higher your blood pressure. Both or either of these can lead to heart attack or stroke.

• Stress causes – Brain function to slow so the ability to recall memories reduces as does rational problem solving.

Consequence – You are not able to think clearly or remember things whilst in a stressed state.

• Stress causes – Digestion and metabolism to slow down to prevent too much energy being wasted on this process.

Consequence – Can lead to bloating, reflux, heart burn and constipation. It can also result in nutrient deficiencies because the body is unable to absorb as many nutrients as it otherwise would, during a stressed state.

• Stress causes – Rejuvenation, repair and recovery of cells to also slow down.

Consequence – The body cannot build muscle tissue, rather it breaks it down. It cannot repair damaged cells slowing down the healing process of any injuries you may have. It also slows your immune function down, so you find yourself getting sick or not able to recover quickly.

As you can see, stress can have some pretty dire consequences on your health and fat loss goals. A bit of stress is good as it moves us into action. But too much stress is dangerous.

What causes stress today?

Stress today, looks very different to what it did in the paleo ethic era. We no longer have the fear of a tiger eating us. We have other things that trigger the ‘fight’ or ‘flight’ response.

• Not enough sleep
• Work or studies
• Relationships – partners, children, parents, siblings, friends
• Social media
• Illness and/or medication
• Bills or financial woes
• Nutrition – processed food, excess sugar consumption, nutrient deficiencies, trans fats
• Inadequate hydration
• Inactivity
• Lack of sunlight
• Hormonal changes such as perimenopause or menopause
• Inflammation
• Stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, energy drinks
• Moving house, planning a wedding and other life events.
• …to name just a few daily things

What you can do to reduce stress in your body:

It is inevitable and necessary to have some stress in your life. Some stress you can reduce or eliminate and some you just need to manage the best you can.

Nutrition:

Due to the glucose response in stress, your nutrition is pivotal in managing stress.

• Avoid processed food, trans-fats and excess sugar as all of these increase stress.
• Eat food that is a close to its natural form as possible. These are more nutrient dense and therefore help your body thrive. They also help reduce inflammation in your body.
• Avoid skipping meals as this increases stress and can lead to binging and overeating.
• Restructure your macro break down so that you are consuming higher amounts of good fats with your protein and vegetables with lower amounts of carbohydrates.
• Avoid or reduce stimulants such as caffeine, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, and energy drinks as these increase stress rather than decreasing it, as is often the misconception.

Activity:

Increasing your daily activity helps burn away glucose, triglycerides and excess fat. It also helps increase your metabolism and  lean muscle which in turn improves insulin sensitivity. Exercise produces endorphins, which are your feel-good hormones. Endorphins reduce stress and reverse the effects of stress.

• Go for walks
• Add prescribed exercise
• Increase incidental activity such as gardening, taking the stairs, parking further away from the shops etc.

Hydration:

Water is a simple way to reduce stress. Your body needs plenty of water to function as 75% of the body is made of water. How much water your body needs depends on your body weight, activity level, and how much you perspire.

If you find yourself going to the toilet more often, that’s a good thing. Your body is cleaning out excess and toxins. It may appear excessive initially, but it will settle down after a few days. Your body is very good at learning to live better with what it has.

To calculate how much your body needs, use this formula:

• Body weight (kgs) x 37 = number of millilitres you need per day

For example:

Body Weight is 70kg x 37 = 2590ml per day or if we round it up, 2.6 litres per day.

• Add 500ml if it is hot (you lose water through perspiration).
• Add 500ml if you are training (you perspire when you exercise)
• Add 500ml if you suffer hot flushes (perspiration)

Change some of your lifestyle strategies:

• Learn to say ‘no’. It is common for people to be ‘people pleasers’, but that can have some serious consequences for our health and wellbeing. Put your needs first then please others.
• Create routine in your life. The more routine the less overwhelmed and stressed that you will feel. Allow room for flexibility in case something comes up but generally stick to a routine. Include in there, wake time, work/study time, time for household stuff, extra-curricular activities for self or kids, as well as down time.
• Set aside 10 minutes every day to do something for yourself, by yourself.
• Be wiser with whom you spend your time. You are the product of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Ensure they are people that are helping you be your best self and not increasing your stress. Remove or reduce time spent with toxic people or Negative-Nancies.
• Ask for help. You don’t have to do everything yourself! Whether it be at work, school, home etc. communication and asking for help are super important to take some load off.
• Do activities that trigger the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the system that notifies the brain it is time to rest and recover. This might include things like deep breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, arts and crafts, gardening, sauna, spa, warm bath, reading, journal, even sleeping!
• Improve your sleep. Not getting enough sleep can make you feel grumpy, tired, and super stressed. Aim for at least 7-8 hours a night.

It may feel like stress is taking over your life and possibly even overwhelming you. But implementing some of these strategies can make the world of difference. If you need help with strategies remember to reach out. I can definitely help you out with any or all of these.

• Coach Terri