How Stress Makes You Fat

How many of us have tried the latest diet shake, the newest pill, diuretic, and appetite suppressant promising to make us look just like the 18 year old in the advertisement? Who hasn't bought a ridiculous amount of very appealing sports equipment that promised to turn your body into a sculpture after 8 weeks?

I certainly have enthusiastically joined a gym too many times to mention, only to be too exhausted to regularly attend. I suffered guilt not only from thinking of all the money I wasted but that I must be  lazy and unmotivated.

What it took me years to realize is that most of us were never taught about the significant missing link between stress, our adrenals working optimally and how that impacts our ability to maintain our weight within the normal range.

What I'm about to share with you really changed my life and my ability to be compassionate, toward myself and others. It often isn't as simple as taking a pill or exercising til we drop.

Is there a correlation between fat and being stressed? Our bodies are wise. Consider the following and see if you can connect the dots about what your body could be telling you:

• Stress stimulates our 'fight or flight' reflex and our adrenals release stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. This is only meant to last briefly and not to be a permanent response. Most of us however, live with chronic stress permanently. Whether its is physical, psychological, or emotional stress, the response is a hyper arousal of our nervous system. 
• Cortisol is the hormone that activates fat being stored in your mid section. So development of belly fat, or saggy tummy is a sign of chronically elevated levels of stress hormones. If you've done thousands of sit ups with not much result of your abs showing, remember this!
  
• Stress is cumulative. A typical 20 year old levels of cortisol are significantly lower than a 50 year old who is menopausal, has a chronic illness, is juggling a busy career and family obligations. That's why supposedly, as we get older we tend to get fatter! 
• With excess stress your adrenals lose sodium. So you may experience salt cravings. Sodium is an electrolyte and therefore your hydration levels will be affected. You may feel or look dehydrated, or experience water retention especially around the ankles. Water retention or looking 'puffy' could be a sign from your adrenals, not an indication that your diet failed you! Dehydration can also present as constipation, which is significant for balanced weight.
• If you don't have sufficient sodium your muscles will tighten, you can notice this especially with the largest muscles, your thighs. They may tighten, and atrophy. You may experience twitching, restless legs, or struggle to walk up stairs like you used to, or get up from a seated position without your thighs aching. You may observe that perhaps your thighs aren't as muscly as they used to be, seem to have shrunk, or your legs are losing shape.
• If you're excessively adrenalized, along with sodium you may also lose other important electrolytes such as potassium. The interesting fact about potassium is that its necessary for proper heart function therefore blood pressure issues may present, alongside palpitations and even chest pain. 
• Adrenals control blood flow to the heart, so there will be a constriction in that area, also constriction of coronary arteries. This constriction in the chest will pull on the neck and shoulder muscles, tension experienced particularly between the shoulder blades is a common sign.
• Long term stress causes digestive system issues. You may not be able to absorb nutrients from food and supplements. If you are not absorbing nutrients you may crave certain foods or have an excessive appetite, in an effort to get those nutrients. For example, chocolate cravings could indicate a need for magnesium, crunchy chips a need for sodium, and deep fried foods for essential fatty acids. Comfort eating and self soothing by choosing calorie high and nutrient poor foods can also become a habit to manage stress. 
  
• Chronic stress dis-regulates our hormonal system and metabolism. There is an undeniable link between hypothyroidism and adrenal insufficiency.
• Excessive exercise stresses the adrenals further. If it takes you a significantly longer amount of time to recover from exercise, if you seem to catch a 'cold' after exercise, or even if the thought of vigorous exercise makes you fatigued, take note. Not all exercise is appropriate for everybody. Yes, exercise can help with stress management but not if you are pushing your adrenals beyond their current levels of capability.

Managing your stress levels may be the best weight loss advice you have ever heard. Most people's bodies today are seriously struggling with the unrelenting demands of just every day life.

Holidays are too often postponed and the value of relaxation, restoration and convalescence has almost been made obsolete.

We need stimulants just to get out of bed and to get on the tread mill that society has become reluctantly accustomed to.

Before you try another weight loss diet, shake or pill, remember to be kind to your adrenals first. Your life is dependent on these glands for survival. The above mentioned symptoms may be serious clues from your adrenals.

I believe that most of us are not simply fat, we're just over adrenalized! Before we judge anyone as being 'fat' perhaps we could view them with compassion and consider they may be utterly overburdened with stress?

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