12. How Stress Affects Your Weight

2020-06-22

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Oftentimes, people put aside their self-care routine because of the demands from work, family, and friends. Moreover, with the world’s situation right now, it’s okay to feel stressed and anxious but you should know when your body has had enough of it. Remember, your body still needs self-care and the proper nutrients for it to stay healthy. In this episode, I’m going to be sharing the ways that stress damages your body as well as the nutrients that get depleted when you’re stressed. Assess yourself if you’re ...

In this episode, I’m going to be sharing the ways that stress damages your body as well as the nutrients that get depleted when you’re stressed. Assess yourself if you’re abusing your body because of the unhealthy habits that you have in your lifestyle. I want you to be able to understand and empower yourself with healthy habits.

There is A LOT going on in the world today which may have you feeling anxious and/or stressed. If so that’s totally normal.

The World Health Organization has called stress ‘the health epidemic of the twenty- first century’. Up to 80% of all doctors visits are thought to be related to stress – 80%!

Stress can have devastating long-term consequences for your health as well as your weight loss efforts.

In this episode we’ll cover some of the major ways that stress damages your health and your weight loss efforts and what you can do about it.

[1:45] Stress is something that if left unchecked, can have serious and detrimental effects on your health.
[2:00] The World Health Organization has called stress the health epidemic of the 21st century.
[2:40] When we eat things like white flour, sugar, and fried food, all these comfort foods that we reach for when we're stressed, we actually increase inflammation and stress hormonal production.
[3:55] Our bodies are not designed to be in a constant state of stress yet this is what most people experience each and every day.
[4:50] Micro Stress Doses are individual portions of stress, whether it's from the tech in your life, like always being on your phone or your computer, or standard stressors from being a husband, a wife, or an employee.
[7:08] When your ecosystem of information decides that you're in danger, it switches you out of a thriving state and puts you into a stress state.
[7:37] When the body receives information that we're in danger, the sympathetic branch releases the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline. This sends signals to the rest of the body to actively change its function.
[8:21] Stress, whether it's physical or emotional, is detected by a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. It releases a hormone that sends a stress signal to another part of the brain, the pituitary gland, which in turn releases a hormone to send the signal all the way down to your adrenal glands then releases a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol alone, with hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline, are your body's primary stress response hormones. They put you in a fight-or-flight state so that you're prime to deal with danger.
[9:36] Increased cortisol leads to more stomach fat.
[11:18] According to studies, 75% of overeating is caused by emotions.
[11:42] Women who have low levels of serotonin are more prone to anxiety, depression, and binge eating.
[12:17] If you have too little dopamine in your system, you'll tend to feel unmotivated, lethargic, unfocused, and maybe even feeling depressed.
[13:43] You have acute stress which is short-term. That's like rushing to meet a work deadline or maybe being a fender-bender and you kind of have to spring into action. It can also be something exciting and thrilling. Now sometimes, this type of short-lived stress can be good because it creates motivation.
[14:22] Chronic or long-term stress is the result of a situation that hasn't been resolved. It could be abuse or another type of traumatic event that happened maybe in your childhood that you've carried into adulthood.
[15:13] The worst part of chronic stress is that people get used to it. They completely forget that it's there because it just becomes part of them.
[16:18] Nutrients that can not be restored in the first place are vulnerable. This is typically your water-soluble vitamins and certain minerals that come to mind.
[17:44] Low magnesium levels are associated with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia even.
[19:13] A 2013 study found that taking higher amounts of magnesium helps better control insulin and glucose blood levels.
[20:12] Iron is an extremely important mineral in your body as you need it to make oxygen-carrying red blood cells.
[22:01] If your iron levels are low, the body can't oxidize fat as fast as they should, thereby slowing down your ability to lose weight.
[23:19] Vitamin C is a multi-talented nutrient that's involved with a wide variety of functions throughout your body.
[25:00] Low blood levels of Vitamin C have been linked to higher amounts of belly fat.
[26:00] B Vitamins can refer to a range of B-complex vitamins that perform a variety of roles throughout your body, from supporting your nervous system to helping your body absorb the energy from your food properly. They can even help your body produce feel-good neurotransmitters.
[27:28] Vitamin B-12 is important for communication between brain cells and also to engage the action of our neurotransmitters.
[27:41] The best source of Vitamin B-12 is animal sources.
[28:09] Learn how to build a stress management habit. This can include meditation as soon as you wake up or before you go to sleep.
[28:38] Remember, stress is always going to be there, but what makes all the difference is how you choose to handle it.