STRESS AND WEIGHT GAIN

Stress and Weight Gain: Is it really related?

Have you always wondered about co-relation between stress and weight gain? Do you really gain weight when you are stressed? Honestly, in my opinion it is directly related. Stress leads to weight gain, hair loss and ageing.

Stress leads to emotional eating (read my blog entry on ‘emotional eating’ for more info) and a natural ‘cortisol’ response from your body leading to weight gain.

Hormones and stress:

Cortisol is a critical hormone with many actions in the body. Normally, cortisol is secreted by the adrenal glands in a pattern called a diurnal variation, meaning that levels of cortisol in the bloodstream vary depending upon the time of day (normally, cortisol levels are highest in the early morning and lowest around midnight). Cortisol is important for the maintenance of blood pressure as well as the provision of energy for the body. Cortisol stimulates fat and carbohydrate metabolism for fast energy, and stimulates insulin release and maintenance of blood sugar levels. The end result of these actions can be an increase in appetite.

Cortisol has been termed the "stress hormone" because excess cortisol is secreted during times of physical or psychological stress, and the normal pattern of cortisol secretion (with levels highest in the early morning and lowest at night) can be altered. This disruption of cortisol secretion may not only promote weight gain, but it can also affect where you put on the weight. Some studies have shown that stress and elevated cortisol tend to cause fat deposition in the abdominal area rather than in the hips. This fat deposition has been referred to as "toxic fat" since abdominal fat deposition is strongly correlated with the development of cardiovascular disease including heart attacks and strokes.

Recent research shows that chronic stress can not only increase absolute cortisol levels, but more importantly it disrupts the natural cortisol rhythm. And it’s this broken cortisol rhythm that wreaks so much havoc on your body. Among other effects, it:

• raises your blood sugar
• makes it harder for glucose to be used for energy
• makes you hungry and crave sugar
• reduces your ability to burn fat
• causes hormonal imbalances
• reduces your DHEA, testosterone, growth hormone and TSH levels 2
• makes your cells less sensitive to insulin (which can lead to diabetes type2)
• increases your belly fat and makes your liver fatty
• increases the rate at which you store fat
• raises the level of fatty acids and triglycerides in your blood

Tips to control stress:

• Accept that there are events that you cannot control.
• Keep a positive attitude; rather than defaulting to negatives (''Nothing goes right for me,'' or ''Bad things always happen to me''), give yourself positive messages (''I'm doing my best,'' or ''I'll ask for help'').
• Halt stress in its tracks; if you feel overwhelmed, take a walk or drive in the slow lane to avoid getting angry at other drivers.
• Manage your time. Give yourself time to get things done; set your watch so you have more time to prepare for an event.
• Do things that are pleasurable, like reading or gardening.
• Take 15-20 minutes every day to sit quietly and reflect. Learn and practice relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation or deep breathing.
• Exercise regularly by bicycling, walking, hiking, jogging, or working out at the gym. Your body can fight stress better when it is fit.
• Avoid alcohol and recreational drugs. And don't smoke.
• Eat healthy, well-balanced meals.
• Get enough rest and sleep. Your body needs time to recover from stressful events.
• Seek out social support.