It's no surprise that research shows that stress levels are rising, but it is sometimes overlooked that this is linked to the similar rise in weight gain. Reducing stress levels is a highly important consideration if you want to lose the pounds and feel in control of food choices and exercise intentions, here's how.
The De Stress Effect
Stress increases levels of the hormone cortisol
The stress hormone cortisol governs our daily circadian rhythms, ideally just raised in the mornings to get us up and mobile and then falling down in the afternoon to slide us into good sleep time. Keeping us demands and stress levels can keep cortisol levels high all day and signals laying down fat around the middle.
Stress increases levels of the hormone insulin
Raised cortisol means raised insulin to utilise the sugar release that stress creates. Insulin keeps our bodies in fat storage mode, also limiting our ability to build up muscle and body composition (fat to muscle ratio) suffers.
Stress increases appetite
Stress states say to our bodies that we're in danger and need to fuel up for physical demands of fight or flight (running away), so appetite increases. Long-term, appetite can decrease, meaning we may not fancy breakfast, but turn to bingeing on sugar later to make up the energy deficit.
Stress makes us crave sugar
In this survival state we just want quick-fix energy and that means craving sugar that gives immediate fuel to brain and body. The trouble is, as we don't tend to play out stress by the intense physical response expected by the body, there is often excess sugar to energy requirements and we store that as fat.
Stress makes us crave junk fats
Stress has shown to make us crave food with high satisfaction rewards and most often that means fats of the non-healthy variety; in crisps, chips and especially combined with sugars in cakes, biscuits, ice cream etc.
Stress makes us impulsive
Being in 'constant alert' mode means we view our surroundings from a fear-based place and make impulsive, knee-jerk decisions like buying that chocolate bar. Long-term, reflective decisions like eating well go out of the window.
Stress makes us want to put things in our mouths
Our first comfort as babies was oral, ideally from breastfeeding and our bodies associate putting things in our mouths with soothing. When self-soothing is difficult in high or chronic stress, eating mindlessly can self-medicate.
Stress is exhausting
The whole stress response uses up enormous amounts of energy, with that used by the brain rising from around 20% of our total expenditure to up to 70%. So if stress is work-related or emotional, we can sit and become too tired to contemplate exercise.
Stress is demotivating
Although stress initially raises motivation by releasing the rewarding neurotransmitter dopamine, this can use up supplies to leave us feeling listless and unresponsive later on. If stress is chronic, activities or exercise we once enjoyed can seem beyond us.
Stress upsets our gut
Stress quickly depletes the beneficial, 'probiotic' bacteria in our guts. Lower levels are associated with weight gain, through lowered levels of hormones like leptin, which control appetite. Low probiotics also keep our bodies signalling to respond to stress and we can struggle to come out of anxious states.