It’s common knowledge that stress contributes to weight gain. But why does this happen? And, more importantly, is there anything we can do about it?
What Happens When You’re Stressed?
Stress puts your body on high alert, causing nearly every organ and system in your body to react. Stress also puts you into fat STORING mode because of what happens metabolically to your blood sugar, insulin, adrenaline and cortisol levels.
And here’s the deal…
The stress or threat can be from something going on in your life right now, like worrying about the kids, stress about your job, or caring for your parents. Or it can be from worry about world events or politics or scrolling through social media.
It can even come from stressing about what to eat, or what not to eat, or from obsessing about your weight.
But It Can Also Be Stress from Your Past That Is Triggering You
For example, if you were bullied about your weight as a child, and the trauma from that is not resolved, then being bullied by your boss as an adult can take you right back to that event in your subconscious mind.
Or maybe you experienced abuse growing up, whether it was physical, emotional, or sexual, and the relationship you’re in right now brings up those feelings and emotions from the past.
Or maybe you’re trying to lose weight by dieting or deprivation, and before you know it your subconscious mind has taken you back to the days when your mom or a doctor said you were too fat and put you on a diet.
All of these situations count as stress or trauma, and they put your mind and body on high alert.
When You’re Stressed, Your Body Goes into Fat-Storing Mode
Stress amplifies your cardiovascular system, meaning, your heart rate and blood pressure go up, which, of course, is not great for your health.
But it’s the effect that these stresses and traumas have on your METABOLISM that really affects your cravings and emotional eating and causes you to gain weight.
So here’s what happens:
Your blood sugar goes up, because your body is sensing the danger and it wants you to have fuel so you can fight or run from the danger.
And this is a physiological response that happens even if you don’t eat anything.
What also happens is that you become more insulin resistant. This tells your pancreas to make even more insulin because it’s trying to get those extra sugars that you just released out of your blood and into your cells where it’s needed.
But because your cells are more insulin resistant, all this extra insulin isn’t helping. In fact, it’s contributing to weight gain.
Actually, these higher insulin and blood sugar levels are triggering fat storage, especially in the belly area.
What also happens is that you become more leptin resistant. Leptin is the hormone that signals you’re full and helps with appetite regulation. And when you’re leptin resistant you’re more likely to suffer from obesity.
Stress and Trauma Also Put Your Adrenal Glands on High Alert, Increasing Your Cortisol
One of the most damaging effects of stress is that it increases your cortisol levels. Your adrenal glands get the message to increase your cortisol and adrenaline, and all this extra cortisol shuts down non-essential functions in your body like digestion, reproduction, and your immune system.
And the extra cortisol can also give you what I call chaos brain. You know… when you can’t think clearly and you certainly aren’t making good food choices!
What’s more is that the adrenaline and cortisol tell your liver to release EVEN MORE sugars into your blood to handle the “emergency.” Once again, those extra sugars in your blood end up getting stored as fat, right in the belly.
The bottom line is that stress and trauma, real or imagined, from the past or the present, put your metabolism into fat-storing mode instead of fat-burning mode.
And until you find a new way of responding to your stress, the cycle will not end and your body will continue to be a fat-storing machine. And no matter what you do, you just can’t lose the weight.
So What Can You Do?
The good news is that there is hope. While we can’t always control the stress around us, we can control our response to the stress so that it doesn’t put us into fat-storing mode.
One way you can achieve this is by practicing some type of meditation practice. Whether it is deep breathing, prayer, walking in nature or something else, find a practice that will calm your mind and body response.
Something else you can do is engage in an activity you like, such as a favorite hobby, that will act as a stress reliever. A puzzle, working in your garden, listening to a podcast or reading a book can bring your cortisol levels down.
If you want to learn more ways to calm your stress response to get out of fat-storing mode, I warmly invite you to watch my FREE training: How to Stop Cravings and Emotional Eating So You Can Lose the Weight and Keep It Off.
Let’s Have a Conversation:
How often do you feel stressed? Have you recently gone through a traumatic event? Did you notice you gained weight while you were stressed, even if you didn’t eat that much?