It’s probably due to this…Plus 3 things you can do right now..
You know that overeating makes you overweight and fat, but did you know that stress does too?
Think back to your survival physiology: Stress tells the body that there’s danger and food may be scarce.
What does the body do to make sure you survive if you’re unable to hunt or gather your food?
It helps you SURVIVE by signaling your brain and cells to store more fat. It also signals the body to eat as much as you can – when you can …just in case food becomes scarce again.
Of course, in modern society, we have access to highly palatable, refined carbohydrate ‘foods’ (or even healthy whole foods) everywhere – at anytime AND we have equal access to ‘not actually life-threatening’ stress – ALL DAY LONG!
It’s no wonder there’s an obesity epidemic and that weight is a huge struggle!
The hormone that drives this response is Cortisol – our primary stress hormone.
Cortisol raises blood glucose (sugar) which then signals insulin. Remember what insulin does? It signals fat storage and stops fat burning so that you have enough fuel to survive food scarcity.
Cortisol is a catabolic hormone…meaning it breaks things down.
Too high cortisol has many other negative effects, like creating inflammation, breaking down collagen and bone, weakening digestion, gut balance and nutrient absorption, lowering metabolism by effecting thyroid conversion and it has profound effects on sex hormones – especially in mid-life, but also in our younger years – effecting menstruation (i.e., painful, irregular, skipped periods) and fertility.
We often think of stress as mental or emotional…
Like UGH! My job! – or GRRrrr! Traffic! – or Oy! My Kids! – or BLECH! My thighs!
But you may also want to pay attention to the onslaught of physical stressors that you’re exposed to day in and day out, such as:
- Eating in a way that causes inflammation or deficiencies, including overeating and under-eating
- Alcohol/Drugs (including over the counter and Rx)
- Chemicals added to crops/lifestock feed, food, water, household, office, auto, personal care products, etc..
- Biological chemicals that the body creates, reacts to or doesn’t clear properly
- Mold/Environmental Toxins (in air, soil, water, food, electronic emissions (EMFs), pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers, metals, PCBs, plastics, etc..)
- Temperature extremes
- Illness, Trauma (i.e., Childbirth, Surgery), Injury, Infection or Imbalance
- Poor Sleep/Exhaustion
- Overtraining/Poor Recovery
Some of these physical stressors are easier to identify and control than others.
Some can even be used strategically to create a positive metabolic, hormetic effect like: cold exposure, or the right dose of intense exercise… fasting, temporary caloric restriction – or even occasional overfeeding and carb cycling (if you’re Keto)…
Just be aware that these stressors -when out of balance – will also effect cortisol levels (as well as other hormones, cells, organs and body systems) just as much – and often in combination with mental/emotional stressors.
What to do? Here are three powerful shifts you can make to help lower cortisol > so that you come into balance > so that your body doesn’t think you’re going to die from starvation > thus causing you to store fat:
- EAT AN ORGANIC, NUTRIENT DENSE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIET IN BALANCE – For me, this is a real food Ketogenic Approach with 2 meals a day, but you could easily follow a moderate carb/balanced macronutrient approach if that’s what works best for your body.
- BALANCE MOVEMENT AND REST – Particularly if life is stressful and/or you’re in midlife, you cannot overtrain – or be sedentary…you also can’t burn the candle at both ends. You need to find the optimal balance of daily movement and rest. Can you see how the body would interpret the stress of sleep deprivation and over exercising as a signal to store more fat? Find that Goldilocks balance.
- CLEAN UP YOUR PRODUCTS – Do whatever you can to start shifting to products that don’t have crap in them. Start with food like I suggest above, but then shift to what you’re putting in and on yourself. Your water, containers, beauty products, cleaning products, soaps, toothpaste, detergents, etc… Clean that stuff up. Regulations in the US especially don’t require testing for many of these chemicals in all of these crazy combinations that they’re manufactured in – and then we’re layering one on top of another – all day – every day. This is beyond stressful for the body (and can even be disease-causing).
Of course, your mindset – the inner work – managing your thoughts about stress – is THE most powerful tool you have to balance cortisol – FOR SURE. But it can be challenging to harness positive thoughts in the midst of the stress onslaught in this busy, toxic world. Thought work can only go so far -unless you’re an enlightened master.
I suggest combining the INNER with the OUTER work for best results. 🙂
Let me know how you do!
