Stress and Weight Loss

For many people, yesterday was one of the most stressful days of the year. Tax time can be very difficult. For that reason, I thought I'd address the effect of stress on weight loss.

Let's face it. We live in a stressful world. We have jobs, conflict, deadlines, and many other stressors that affect us directly. As if that wasn't enough, we can also worry about wars, terrorists, earthquakes, radiation, and a variety of other natural and man made disasters.

Of course, cavemen had their stressors too, but their stress came from a different type of danger, one that our bodies are more capable of processing. Most of the stress for cavemen came from one of two sources: lack of food or direct physical peril. In response, our bodies produce two distinct stress hormones:

Epinepherine (Adrenaline): comes from the adrenal gland, and is the one which predominates in situations involving physical peril. When the bear is chasing you, it is epinepherine that helps you escape. It raises your heart rate and blood pressure, dilates the pupils, reduces fatigue, and primes the muscles for action. In short, it amps you up to deal with the physical danger, whether that means fighting it or running away from it.

Cortisol: is a steroid (cholesterol based) hormone, which predominates in times of famine. Your body releases cortisol when it feels like it is not getting enough nourishment, as well as in times of physical danger. Cortisol is the conservation hormone. It tells the body to save and store. The body stops breaking down fat stores, and begins converting as much of the ingested food it can into fat stores, to prepare for the famine ahead. It also stimulates the appetite, prompting you to eat as much as you can, to maximize the storage.

That is all well and good, if you live in a world where you can be attacked by saber tooth tigers, and food is very hard to come by. Fast forward to today, when the stress comes from traffic on the interstate, your jerky boss, or the low balance on your bank account.

Fighting or running can do little to reduce these dangers, so the epinepherine just leads to feelings of anxiety, and high blood pressure. Since we are practically drowning in calories, when the cortisol is released due to the stress, you follow your biologic imperative, and eat. Your body then stores, thinking that you are being chased by a predator, and about to run out of food. The result: you are overweight, and chronically anxious and stressed out. Know anyone like that?

The good news: There is a solution! Your body has a natural way to dissipate the stress and block the effects of cortisol. That way is exercise. Look at our caveman. When the tiger pounced at him, what did he do: fight or run. Either way, he exerted himself. The exertion releases endorphins, which relax you, as well as a cascade of other hormones and chemicals which increase the metabolism and promote fat breakdown to liberate energy for activity. It is no coincidence that people who have a high level of activity also have lower stress levels. They are merely following their inner caveman. Follow yours, and the middle of April might go a bit easier next year.