Question:
A few years back I heard that stress creates cortisol which could cause weight gain. Is this true? And, if it is, what can I do to help prevent that? I have a tendency to want to eat sugary foods when I feel stressed, which is probably not helping me any. Any suggestions? Brenda
Answer:
Yes, it is true that chronic, ongoing negative stress can make us more prone to store body fat. And, while the hormone cortisol can be a part of the fat gain problem, it is not quite that simple.
The original intent of what is known as the, “stress response” was to help us survive. Perhaps you know it best as the “fight or flight syndrome”. In less civilized times, when faced with danger (such as a saber tooth tiger trying to eat you) or trying to catch our next dinner, our blood pressure increased, muscles tightened and a mixture of adrenaline and cortisol were released into our bloodstreams. These chemicals (hormones) would give us supercharged energy, strength and speed, until we had either escaped danger or secured our next meal, etc.
As such, stress was intended to work for us, not against us. Unfortunately, however, these days the stress response is still at work in many people’s lives, but in a different way. Many people seem to experience a degree of negative stress all day, every day. For example, if a person is in a difficult relationship, or works with an annoying co-worker, these daily negative stressors can lead not just to body fat gains, but shortened life spans, and aches and pains such as arthritis.
Part of the reason is that cortisol and adrenaline are very powerful (think of battery acid), but they are intended to be in our body’s circulation only occasionally, and very briefly. If you think of opening a faucet all the way to quickly to wash something off, that is a good description of how we want stress to work for us.
When we are stressed often, however, it is like a leaking faucet with a steady drip-drip-drip of battery acid into our system. When this is introduced into your bloodstream several days a week, it can wreak havoc. If you can imagine a steady drip of battery acid pooling up inside of you, it creates a sort of “stew” which just sits there and begins to slowly destroy the body. Sorry to be so graphic, but this is what researchers call a “stress stew”, which can lead to a person…stewing in their own stress juices.
This leads to less than restful sleep, which leads to low energy, which leads to eating too much unhealthy food (especially refined sugars!!), then we don’t get enough exercise and put too many stimulants in our bodies in an effort to keep up, which leads to even poorer sleep, etc. Without getting too scientific, unrelenting negative stress (involving cortisol) wears us out, and we seek stimulants to keep going, which eventually wear off. Then we turn to high sugar foods, which cause insulin to rise, which tells the body to store fat, which makes us feel sluggish and depressed, which causes us to use up too much serotonin (a Neurotransmitter in the brain that regulates mood), which continues to feed the stress cycle.
As Fred Flintstone once said, “how do I get off this crazy thing?” Glad you asked. I suggest:
- Set some goals in writing for your life that are exciting and productive and that you can work towards each day. People with goals are less affected by anxiety.
- Drink 32-96 ounces of water throughout the day
- Drop all refined simple sugars and white refined products (Except Pizza once per week!)
- Workout at least three days per week for 30 minutes
- Eat 5-6 smaller equally sized feedings every three hours.
- Reduce all stimulants and depressants (Alcohol).
- Set a goal to get off all medications.
Hope this helps! Regards, Fred
Fred “The Fit Food Dude” Schafer (www.fitfooddude.com) is a Professional Fitness Coach, author and producer of two popular fitness DVD’s. He speaks frequently at conferences sharing his philosophy of passionate, “fully alive” living. He resides in Anderson, Calif., with his wife and three children.
