Don’t Let Stress Get The Better of You!
When I was growing up stress was considered to be the cause of heart attacks in high flying business executives. More lately we have become aware of the pervasive negative effects of stress on weight and all aspects of health (including weight problems and a compromised immune system)!
Stress is a 40+ year old buzz word. Most of us use the word freely to describe how we are feeling, but we don’t really understand how it’s truly affecting us, or what to do about those effects. Are you equipped to manage the stress that comes with modern life?
When faced with a sudden danger, a big fright or an emotional shock, your adrenal system kicks into action and sends a surge of hormones though your body, rapidly converting blood sugar into energy for your muscles (so you can escape from danger). This is an automatic survival response that you have no control over.
After the danger has passed, you are likely to need or want foods that quickly convert into blood sugar (like sweet or starchy foods) to replace what was used up. Grandma’s remedy for shock was a cup of sweet tea and a few biscuits. When tranquility returns, your body releases healing hormones to counter the damage caused by the surge of stress hormones.
But what happens when the stress is ongoing and your body seldom receives that wave of healing hormones? What’s going on in your cells when you are faced with the same stressors day after day, AKA modern life? And why is this such a problem for those trying to maintain a healthy weight?
We are all different and stress affects us in different ways but for most people on-going stress leads to weight gain and other inflammatory conditions.
Even if you feel as though you cope well with stress (or if you believe you thrive on stress), your body may think differently!
If you’d like some help to reduce the effects of stress, feel healthier, sleep better, lose weight and gain energy, please book a complementary call to discuss how we might be able to help you achieve all this and more.