How stress can kill you and its effects on weight loss

I'm sure you have heard about how bad stress is, but do you know how bad it really is? What causes stress? How does it impact my body? And how is it responsible for sidelining my weight loss and fitness efforts? There are three stages of stress as defined by psychologists, and I'm sure you can identify with each.

1. Alarm- Whether it be a threat or a stressor, your body goes into that neat fight or flight mode. This triggers adrenaline as your body senses it's in a dangerous situation and adrenaline increases your heart rate, constricts blood vessels, and dilates your air passages which allows more oxygen. Think of adrenaline as The Hulk. Pre adrenaline you are just an ordinary person, but once fight or flight comes into play, you are faster, stronger, your mind is sharper, lower pain sensitivity, and you have more endurance. Stress also produces cortisol, a hormone. Cortisol suppresses your immune system by slapping your white cells quiet, making you more vulnerable to infection. This stage isn't just about getting in a fight or feeling threatened by some creepy guys following you on a darkly lit path on your run. If you are worried about your job security, family issues, self esteem issues, and health issues can all trigger this.

2. Resistance- If the stressor does not go away, your body has to find a way to cope. You can't keep up all of the energy alarm creates. Ever noticed how after a stressful day, salty, fried, fattening foods become even more appealing? Emotionally we crave something that gives us pleasure. That can come from food, smoking, drinking, or excessive and unnecessary purchases like a TV.  Cortisol also plays a role in this too.

3. Exhaustion- When we fail to cope or continue to subject ourselves to this stressor, your body fails to function at its normal level or keeping things in check.  This can result in ulcers, digestive issues (stress slows down digestive function as it is not needed in times of immediate stress), depression, higher blood pressure, fatigue, sleep related issues, cognitive ability, and weight gain. Cortisol has been linked to higher fat storage in the abdominal region and also slows your metabolism. Why? Because cortisol is linked with adrenaline, and in our ancestors this was triggered when food was scarce. When food is scarce, the body does not need to metabolize food as quickly (read last post) and your brain says "store it!!!".

So I think it would be obvious how stress affects your weight loss journey. When you are stressed, your willpower is not enough to overcome your body's reaction to stress. But when you do surrender your willpower and eat a Big Mac with a extra large fry, you probably feel guilty about slipping up and negative thoughts and getting down just makes things worse. Stress can also lead to a shorter lifespan. It has been linked (though not proven) to increase risk of heart attack, heart disease in men, and stroke.

For your well being and the others around you, you need to identify stressors in your life and make a plan to dissolve them. If you are stressed at work, I understand you can't just quit. That isn't going to resolve the situation. But maybe seeing a psychologist and finding out how to lessen stress at the work place is beneficial. Is the morale of your co workers blossoming negativity and stress? Talk to your boss about it and suggest some morale boosting ideas. Higher morale = less stress and more productive employees. Make a list of things in your life that cause stress. What ones can you change? If people in your life are causing you stress and open communication cannot fix that, maybe it's time to put some distance between you and them. Whether they know it or not, they are causing you stress that you don't need. Sometimes we do have to put our needs first, especially when our health is concerned! And if you are a parent, your ability to live a healthy life leads to you being able to play with your children and look after them  and enjoy their lives for years to come. Exercise is essential for stress management as it releases endorphins (feel good chemicals!) and is meditation in action. Whether that be running, (I have to mention sex, its true!), playing tennis, yoga, or pilates. Get moving! And for people who are religious, your church can be an incredible asset! Bible studies or just church group gatherings can be helpful as these people are like minded and are trying to better themselves and are more likely to bring you up than bring you down.

For a full list of the negative impacts of stress click here. http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/the-impact-of-stress/

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_(biology)
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise-and-stress/SR00036
http://www.advance-health.com/cortisol.html