Stress and Weight Gain
By: Sarah Scholl, EdM
We’ve all heard of the mind body connection, but did you know that your state of mind has just as much to do with whittling your waistline as your workout? Recent studies have shown that your perception of stressful situations can actually affect your body’s ability to burn fat!
Weight gain is often associated with emotional eating and the too-busy-to-exercise lifestyles of people under chronic stress. But researchers are finding that changes in the body triggered by stress, such as elevated cortisol levels, can cause insulin resistance and weight gain. During times of tension, levels of cortisol and adrenaline rise, triggering the release of stored sugar and fat into your bloodstream for a surge of energy. Once the stress has passed, cortisol stimulates cravings for carbohydrates and fats to replenish the calorie stores in preparation for the next challenging situation. You reach for more food, and your waistline suffers.
Our bodies are hardwired to react in a fight or flight response to stressful triggers in our environment. It was evolutionary valuable for our bodies to respond to danger with a surge of energy, in case we needed to outrun a saber toothed tiger. Today, this response is often triggered by nothing more than a troubling thought, resulting in negative emotions of anger or fear, and an increase in blood pressure, a tightening of muscles and tendons, and the stopping of digestion. This automatic response can be harmful to our bodies if it is maintained for long periods of time, and it can ultimately lead to weight gain by keeping the cortisol-appetite response constantly elevated.
Making things worse, weight from stress is primarily gained around the waist. Fat stored in this area is easily accessible for the nearby liver to quickly convert it into needed energy. When this energy is never actually needed, the fat continues to accumulate.
The good news is you can learn to control levels of adrenaline and cortisol in your body by practicing simple daily meditation, and changing your thought process. People often feel intimidated by the word “meditation”, but it doesn’t need to be another trigger for your anxiety. Meditation can actually be quite easy and can be fit into any part of your busy day. This is because anything (such as running, lifting weights, or brushing your teeth) done with complete focus and awareness, becomes a meditation.
With time and practice, you will begin to develop mindfulness. Once you learn how to become mindful, any action or thought can become a momentary focus of meditation.
Mindfulness or being mindful is being aware of your present moment. You are not judging, reflecting or thinking. You are simply observing the moment in which you find yourself. You experience the “now”, for what it is. Sport Psychologists use this theory when training athletes to regulate performance anxiety. They use strategies to help athletes focus on the “self in process,” so that they can focus fully on the relevant task of the game, rather than focusing on things in the past and future, which they can not control. The power is in the present, and if you can learn to turn your attention to the breath, you can tap into the “flow like” experiences that are so beneficial to regulating anxiety. Dan Millman, author and World champion gymnast, describes it best, “What time is it?” “Now.” “Where are you?” “Here.”
Think of your breath as an ocean wave. It continues to come and go, and is always followed by another and another and another. They come. They disappear. You can create a moment of peace and openness in your mind with your breath. Once you develop the ability to calm the mind, and focus on the present moment, the next step is to apply this mindfulness to your daily life.
Just like a physical muscle, mental muscle is something that can be trained and strengthened over time.
When mindfulness becomes an easily accessible state, you can pull it out like a shield against stressful situations. By visualizing ahead of time the things that normally cause you stress, you can practice responding with mindful breathing and coming back to the breath. That way, when you actually face the trigger, you will be fully prepared to turn your attention to your breathing, short circuit that fight or flight response, and return to a serene and centered state of mindfulness. With time, your cortisol levels will drop, and your body will be able to burn fat properly and efficiently.
Practice This Now:
Begin by interrupting your normal daily thoughts. Think about what is going on around you. Then switch your thoughts to yourself and your breathing. Take a few deep breaths, exhaling slowly.
Mentally scan your body. Notice areas that feel tense or cramped, such as your neck or shoulders. Quickly loosen up these areas. Let go of as much tension as you can.
Rotate your head to the left in a smooth, circular motion, leaning your left ear to your left shoulder. Rotate your head to the right in a smooth, circular motion, leaning your right ear to your right shoulder. (Stop any movements that cause pain.)
Roll your shoulders forward and backward several times. Let all of your muscles completely relax.
Recall a pleasant thought for a few seconds.
Take another deep breath and exhale slowly. You should feel more mindful and in control.
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