When working on a weight gain/management program, the first two (and often only) factors that are immediately considered are: diet and exercise. Of course, these are two huge factors in the picture and certainly something to be looked at straight away, however are there any other factors that may be contributing? One factor often overlooked is STRESS. That is right, stress may be playing a role in your weight management difficulties! Often we think that the whole world is stressed and being stressed is just a necessary evil of everyday life. However, stress-all stress, has a physiological impact on the body and this impact can play a role in weight gain or difficulty losing it.
Firstly, when we are stressed, our bodies do not truly differentiate if the stress is life threatening or it is simply that our boss is demanding that we work overtime, we cannot pay the bills, we have argued with a spouse, or are late for a meeting. It does not matter, as far as the body is concerned it responds to it the same way, just to a varying degree. Therefore, day-to-day stressors cause the exact same physical reaction in the body as does when we are in serious danger!
When we are stressed a very complicated chain of events occurs with one of these being the release of a stress hormone-cortisol. Cortisol causes many things to occur, however of great significance, it causes the body to release sugar in large amounts into the bloodstream. This design is to provide the body a significant amount of fuel to deal with the impending danger (fight or flight). Once the stress passes, this response settles, the blood sugar is used up while we were defending our very lives, and then all returns to normal. However, if we are constantly stressed, this response occurs over and over again. More and more sugar is dumped into the bloodstream and since you may be stressed because someone in front of you is driving 5 mph when you are late for work and not because your life was in danger, you really did not have to use up a great deal of sugar in yelling at this person who cannot hear you in any case (rather than running for your life as your body was prepared to do). Therefore, not only do you have a significant amount of sugar being dumped into your bloodstream, you are also not using a great deal of it. This causes an extreme response for the body to deal with it and when this excess of sugar is constantly present and not being used up-you guessed it-it is stored and is stored as excess weight.
Therefore, stress management can be a very helpful part of a weight management program/approach. It is important to spend time each day in those activities that help de-stress your system and this can be different for each individual. Anything that you personally find helpful: exercise, quiet time, reading, spending time with friends, or any hobbies you might enjoy can all be effective ways to reduce one’s stress. Another activity that has been well researched to reduce stress is deep breathing. Taking in full, deep breaths causing your belly to push out (rather than suck in), holding this for 4-5 seconds and then slowly letting this out is a great way to slow down your stress response at any moment that you may need it. It can be done anywhere, at anytime with no special time or equipment required!
BABY STEP: During any stressful event, take 5 deep breaths, holding each one for 4-5 seconds prior to letting out. Check yourself during the day with deep breathing, as you may be stressed and not realize it!
Often we say we want to improve our health or optimize our weight by starting to eat better, exercise more, or eat out less, however life can be hectic. We can be too busy, too tired to cook at home (so we have more takeout), reach for whatever is the quickest (which may not always be the healthiest), or are just trying to get through the day much less even think of exercising! If you are feeling overwhelmed or losing focus it is important to break down your program into more manageable bits. Trying to do a major diet and exercise overhaul may not be the way to go, as you can easily feel defeated. Rather, looking for areas to make the small, but significant changes can be a great way to keep up your weight loss/health goals, while not putting unrealistic expectations on yourself during busy times in life.
You have resolved to lose some weight and steel yourself for the two carrots and three lettuce leaves you feel you will have to eat to lose anything. Even worse, you are envisioning the hours in a kick boxing class or twisting yourself into a pretzel during yoga to try to quicken the process. Often the mere thought of going into a gym can be a daunting consideration. There is some very simple and good news on the exercise front. One of the best “exercises” you can do is to simply walk. That’s right, put on some comfortable shoes and get up and take a walk.
Music can be a very powerful tool in affecting how we feel both physically and emotionally. Most of us have music we listen to when we want to relax which is different than music we listen to when we want to go for that jog or exercise (or any other physical activity). There has been a great deal of research into the effect of music on the body with some very interesting results. The American Society of Hypertension presented a study showing that individuals who listed to just thirty minutes per day of classical, Celtic, or Indian (raga) music experienced significant reduction in their ambulatory blood pressure. Another study from the psychology department of Missouri Western State University showed that there was a significant increase of happiness when participants listened to calming music. There are even studies that show that the very way we walk changes when listening to music! Having said this, music can be an easy, inexpensive way to lift our mood, get or keep us motivated to walk, exercise, or move our bodies in general, or to relax and decrease stress levels throughout our busy days. There are now meditative CDs that are scientifically recorded to have an impact on our brainwaves and facilitate stress reduction and deeper, more restorative sleep. You can find these online by searching keywords such as “brain waves and meditation CDs”. These will provide you a variety of options that are similar to the Insight CD (
A very often ignored, but important nutrient that any of us do not get enough of is vitamin D. One of the reasons for this is that vitamin D is present in very few foods. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin which our body produces when our skin is exposed to the sun. In the age of increasing skin cancers with advice to avoid the sun and the use of sunscreens, many of us do not get the proper exposure to the sun to make adequate vitamin D. Most of us know that vitamin D is very important for our bones and without it our bones can become brittle and fracture. However, vitamin D also plays a very important role in a number of other processes as well such as supporting the immune system, working as a precursor to many of our hormones, protection against cancer and Alzheimer’s, prevention/improvement of seasonal depression, and is critical to heart health.
I have spoken to many people about weight loss/control and the first thing that is usually mentioned is cutting back on calories. Asking the average person about important factors in weight loss, you will probably hear eating less and exercising more. While impact of calories certainly has an impact, however being mindful of what you are eating is just, if not more important than how much. Actually, many people can sabotage their weight loss efforts by eating too little!!!!! When a drastic reduction in calories occurs, the body feels that a situation of starvation is on the horizon and will actually begin to conserve calories. The body is not sure when the next meal is coming, so it hangs onto every morsel to ensure that there is reserve energy for the system. I have even talked with people that have gained weight with a calorie restricted diet!
