Stress and weight loss - Chef Brett

Many people don’t know but being stressed makes it harder for us to lose weight and probably not for the reasons you think. 
 
One is temporary stress which can cause elevated cortisolwhich makes us crave sugary higher calorie foods. A way to counter this is to have regular meals morning, midday, and evening. It wont totally suppress the urge for sugary high calorie foods, but it will help curb them greatly and reduce the severity. Note that cortisol is naturally occurring and a good thing however you don’t want elevated levels and at the same time you don’t want decreased cortisol levels which make it harder to burn fat. It’s a balance
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​Second is chronic stress. Historically as the human body adapted and developed we did not have modern stresses i.e. commuting, kid’s soccer games, next weeks meeting, flying across the country for work. Instead stress was usually a result from a lack of food, illness, or injury all situations in which conserving calories and fat was essential. So, we developed to slow our metabolism which would get as much calories out of the food eaten and decrease the amount of fat we burn we burn to use as energy. Basically, a double whammy!
 
Chronic stress is tougher to crack then short-term stress. Suggestions are regular exercise and it doesn’t matter if it’s a spin class burning tons of calories or an evening walk burning relatively few sciences backs up any regular exercise decreases stress. Have regular healthy meals full of good nutrients and loaded with vitamins and minerals also at the same time each day Also mindfulness or meditation a few minutes a morning. Journaling or writing down thoughts is another way to reduce long term stress. On your commute find a pod cast you like or give an old friend a call.
 
Weight loss is a long tough road and sometimes stress is one of the biggest obstacles. Let us at Whole Health Everyday help!