Are you too stressed to lose weight??

Do you wake up to an incredibly annoying alarm clock? Do you then drag yourself out of bed and then spend the rest of the day rushing around, drinking cups of coffee and tea, eating sugary foods just to keep you going. Now if you are like many people, you finally make it to bed after a very busy stressful day, and for some unknown reason can not get your self to sleep. Instead you lay in bed running the day through in your head and planning the coming day.

If this is you then maybe your stress levels are stopping you from burning fat.

Firstly there are several types of stress.

• Physical stress - this can be too much or too little exercise.
• Chemical - this can be caused by caused by medication and foods that have been eaten
• Electromagnetic - There are not many of us that are not exposed daily to mobile phones and computers.
• Psychic & mental stress - this is the stress that we suffer from work & relationships
• Nutritional - If the nutrients entering our bodies is not the right balance that we require then can cause undue stress
• Thermal - This can be caused by rapid changes in temperature or consistent exposure to climate that causes burning or freezing. (not that common these days)

These stressors on the body cause hormones to be released to help the body cope.

The hormones that are actually released are those that are usually linked with the fight or flight response.

This causes a rise in heart rate, blood pressure and sweating. Your body shunts blood from the digestive system to the skin and muscles.

Ultimatly the biggest problem caused by increased stress is the rise in cortisol. Cortisol is fantastic for helping us cope with moments of stress. The only problem is that it suppresses your bodies growth & repair system.

So why does stress stop you from losing weight? Well cortisol causes your body to stop building muscle, it can even encourage your body to start breaking muscle down. This is a problem as muscle is your metabolically active tissue and where your body burns calories.

At the same time as telling your body to stop building muscle your body can actually start to encourage fat storage.

So what can you do?

Well the best thing to do is to reduce stress. So here is an action plan.
1. Identify the biggest stress you face on a day to day basis
2. Make a realistic plan. Set small goals to tackle your biggest stress
3. Eat & drink right. Take control of the stressors that you can control straight away
4. Move more & do some exercise
5. Do some mental exercise. Take some time to do some form of relaxation, maybe try meditation or tai chi.

If you want to discuss how stress is affecting you and your weight loss plan just give us a call or drop us an email