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WHY STRESS EQUALS FAT

In order to increase our motivation to keep all of our potential stress in a manageable zone, I believe that we should become familiar with the triggers which cause our primary stress hormone, cortisol, to become elevated, as well as the damaging effects that it can have on our body.

The ironic thing about cortisol is that it is responsible for calming us down after we have been involved in an emotionally stressful situation. So in the right situation and at the proper levels, cortisol is very essential for our ability to recover from a variety of emotional stressors that may confront us from time to time.

From a weight-management standpoint, there could be nothing of greater importance than having a thorough understanding of what chronic stress does to our body and to our health.

Our immune system, our muscle mass, testosterone, human-growth hormone (HGH), appetite, comfort-food cravings and our endorphin levels are all negatively affected when our cortisol levels are elevated due to chronic stress. Things like lack of sleep, chronic pain, depression, dehydration, or a sugar addiction can all be the root cause of elevated cortisol, which in turn can cause us to lose muscle, gain fat, have less energy, more chronic pain, sickness, and comfort-food cravings.

Virtually every important aspect of successful weight management is adversely affected by unmanaged stress.

In the calories-in versus calories-out equation, the question that we must keep asking ourselves is this: Is stress part of either side of the equation? Because if it is, then we are storing fat when we should be burning it and we are losing muscle when we should be maintaining it. The stress-management issue is the fundamental issue which will determine how successful we are in losing the fat we want to lose and maintaining our healthy weight after reaching it.

First, let us examine the calories-in side of the equation. Is what we are eating and drinking causing our blood-sugar levels or blood-calcium levels to become unstable to the point that our body must clean up the mess that we have made? If so, we are sabotaging our efforts at losing fat and maintaining our muscle mass.

When our blood-sugar levels rise due to nutritional stresses, insulin and cortisol are called upon to re-establish normal levels. The net result of this activity is increased fat storage and a reduction in our muscle mass. Our goal is to keep stable blood-sugar levels; this is vital to our success.

Sugar, pork, coffee, carbonated beverages and too few fruits and vegetables all contribute to an acidic PH in our bloodstream, which causes us to have a low blood-calcium level to compensate for this type of stress.

When this condition is present in our body, the hormone calcitriol is called upon to borrow calcium from our bones and muscles in order to bring these levels back to normal. What is the net result? More stored fat and less muscle mass, which means we burn less calories at rest.

Here is a list of nutritional stressors we should be concerned with.

Sugar
Caffeine
Eating less than our resting metabolic rate (1300-2000 calories per day)
Skipping breakfast
Not enough good fats
Not enough minerals
Not enough Omega 3's
Not enough fruits and vegetables
Not enough quality protein
Not enough whole grains
Low-calorie diets
Artifical sweeteners
Simple carbohydrates (bread, white potatoes, french fries, white rice, pasta)
Portions over 600 calories
Foods high on the glycemic-load index
Most dairy products
Wheat products
Corn or corn products
High-fructose corn syrup
Too much phosphorus (soft drinks and milk)
Fast food
Junk food
Processed food
MSG
Acidic pH (pork, sugar, cola, coffee, caffeine)
Not enough fiber
Frozen foods
Vegetable oil
White flour
Microwaved food

Resting Metabolic Rate The reason that effective stress management is essential to achieving long-term success with respect to our weight-loss goals is the fact that stress (due to elevated cortisol levels) causes us to lose muscle mass. And the gradual loss of muscle mass is the very thing which causes a reduction in our ability to burn calories while we are at rest.

Our ability to maintain a youthful resting metabolic rate not only depends on our ability to manage stress, it also depends on how much muscle-building exercise we do. That's right--even if we do an excellent job in managing our nutritional, emotional and physical stress, our resting metabolic rate can suffer if we lead a sedentary lifestyle. This is true because in the absence of regular strength training, we lose 1% of our muscle mass each year. What exactly does this mean? It can easily mean 2-3 pounds of weight (fat) gain per year. In fact, every time we lose 1 pound of muscle to fat, we lose the ability to burn 350 calories per week while we are in a restful state. This is equal to 18,100 calories per year--more than 5 pounds of extra fat. This means that even though we consumed the same amount of food and drink calories from one year to the next, our 1 pound of lost muscle caused us to gain over 5 pounds of fat.

So this explains how we gain weight. It also explains why muscle-building exercise is an essential element to losing fat and keeping it off. We must reverse the decline of our resting metabolic rate and instead start to have 3 30-minute muscle building sessions per week. Creating 5 pounds of new muscle will increase our resting fat loss by 25 pounds in the first year if our caloric intake remains the same!

And please don't think that lifting weights is just for guys or that it will be a miserable, unpleasant torture session. Always start at a pain-free, enjoyable level, using a weight that you can comfortably do at least 10 times per set. The more you do it, the more you will come to enjoy it and look forward to it!

Nothing is more important in reaching your weight-loss goals than engaging in strength-training exercise on a regular basis. So start pumping iron; your body will love you for it!

Emotional Stress-is all non-positive emotions such as fear, worry, anger, unforgiveness, anxiety and depression. All emotions are considered either positive or negative and each produces a corresponding cascade of positive or negative chemical reactions which either help or hurt our health.

Research has determined that we control 90% of our potential for emotional stress because how we respond to stressful events is worth 90% of the total stress and the stress event itself is only worth 10%! So learning to improve upon our response to stressful events is an important piece of the weight-loss puzzle.

Physical Stress The big 6 in terms of physical stressors are:

Sedentary lifestyle Our body needs regular physical exercise in order to increase our chances at being disease-free and pain-free.
Participation in low-calorie diets. When we lose weight fast by eating less than our resting metabolic caloric needs (usually around 1300-1800 calories per day) our body shifts into fat-storing mode in order to preserve and extend life. The result of this unsustainable regimen is approximately 70% fat and 30% muscle loss, which has a devastating effect on our resting metabolic rate and will ultimately result in a net weight gain.
Chronic pain causes negative emotions, a lowering of our endorphin levels, increased intake of pain medications, lack of sleep, a reduction in exercise and the increased likelihood of giving in to comfort-food cravings--all of which assist the weight-gain process.
Dehydration Being just 3% dehydrated can cause a reduction in our calories burned at rest. Our body needs large amounts of water to process and remove fat, properly digest our food and provide us with real, natural energy--not the fake, harmful, short-term energy which caffeine provides. To maintain optimum hydration, take your weight, divide by 2 and drink that many ounces of filtered water per day.
Lack of Sunlight Just like plants, flowers and trees, we need adequate sunlight in order to be healthy. Sunlight is our greatest source of Vitamin D. Without proper Vitamin D levels, our body cannot absorb and utilize the minerals from the foods and vitamins we eat. This can cause our blood-calcium levels to drop, which results in weakened bones, less muscle mass, greater fat storage and a reduction in metabolism. Experts believe 90% of Americans are Vitamin D-deficient, so remember, sunburn is the enemy--not sunlight!
Sleep Getting 7-8 hours of restful sleep on a regular basis is an essential piece of the weight-loss and pain-management puzzle. It needs to be priority 1 for all people whose goal is to be independently healthy.

So, once we become aware of what the stress triggers are, it is up to us to change the way we live and think, and respond to stress. In other words, we need to help our body maintain a state of balance. By embracing a healthy lifestyle of positive thinking, intelligent eating and drinking, and enjoyable, regular exercise, we can ensure that cortisol will only be released when we really need it.