All of us nowadays, are stressed out with family issues, work issues, financial issues, and love life issues… All this anxiety isn't good for us. You probably already know that stress can raise your blood pressure, diminish your sex drive, and cause excessive horn-blowing in traffic! But did you know it's one of the biggest factors in determining your weight, as well? Here's why.
Stress Changes Your Body
Stress isn't just something you feel in your head. It's something that trickles all throughout your body. Under stress, your body produces two hormones: adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline is like lighter fluid, and cortisol is like charcoal. The former quickly burns off the immediately available sugar in your blood, so you can fight or flee whatever is stressing you. Cortisol continues to fuel the fire, pumping more sugar into your blood so you have energy to burn.
The problem is that excess sugar coursing through your blood is meant to help you flee the saber-toothed tiger or battle the charging wild boar (as our cavemen ancestors did). It's made to be burned off quickly as you either escape or attack. When the stress comes in a more modern form—like a pressing deadline or a stack of unpaid bills—you can't literally fight back or flee. And without that burst of physical activity, you don't have the chance to burn off that extra blood sugar. Instead, it gets stored in your belly as fat.
Every time you feel anxious over those bills or deadlines, there's more mush added around your middle. In a recent study at Yale, women who were most susceptible to stress had both higher levels of cortisol and greater abdominal fat than non-stressed women. And the ladies under stress stored fat primarily in one place: their bellies.
Stress Incites Your Cravings
Stress very often instigates you to do things you know aren't good for you, and under pressure, you cave in and do them anyway. If you reach for food when you're stressed, it's not because you're weak. It's because you're programmed to do that. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have identified a biochemical feedback system in rats that could explain our stress/craving connection. In their study, the researchers determined that stress stimulated a flood of hormones that prompted the rats to engage in pleasure-seeking behaviors like eating high-calorie foods. A study done at Yale University found that people with higher stress-induced cortisol levels ate more food—including more sweets—than people with lower cortisol levels.
Stress Keeps You And Your Weight Up
Research show that men who slept only 4 hours a night had cortisol levels 37 percent higher than men who got a full 8 hours. Men who stayed awake the whole night had levels 45 percent higher than the well-rested guys. And remember, increased cortisol equals more fat stored in your belly. That's another reason why letting go of stress is an important step toward letting go of pounds. Men who were relaxed enough to get deep, quality sleep secreted almost 65 percent more human growth hormone (HGH) than men who didn't fall into deep sleep. Why is HGH important? It helps prevent the loss of muscle mass that can be caused by cortisol. And muscle mass helps you burn calories and maintain a constantly burning metabolism.
So Now What?
We need to learn to embrace the stress in our lives and start making it work for us. Too much stress may make us confused, anxious, and angry, but too little stress makes us bored—and boring. So manage your stress and undo the evils that it can wreak upon you. Make time for exercise and clear your mind with a nice walk in the park. Always have healthy food at your fingertips, so you won't be at the mercy of the quick and greasy fast food.
Stress isn't just something you feel in your head. It's something that trickles all throughout your body. Under stress, your body produces two hormones: adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline is like lighter fluid, and cortisol is like charcoal. The former quickly burns off the immediately available sugar in your blood, so you can fight or flee whatever is stressing you. Cortisol continues to fuel the fire, pumping more sugar into your blood so you have energy to burn. 
and under pressure, you cave in and do them anyway. If you reach for food when you're stressed, it's not because you're weak. It's because you're programmed to do that. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, have identified a biochemical feedback system in rats that could explain our stress/craving connection. In their study, the researchers determined that stress stimulated a flood of hormones that prompted the rats to engage in pleasure-seeking behaviors like eating high-calorie foods. A study done at Yale University found that people with higher stress-induced cortisol levels ate more food—including more sweets—than people with lower cortisol levels.
your belly. That's another reason why letting go of stress is an important step toward letting go of pounds. Men who were relaxed enough to get deep, quality sleep secreted almost 65 percent more human growth hormone (HGH) than men who didn't fall into deep sleep. Why is HGH important? It helps prevent the loss of muscle mass that can be caused by cortisol. And muscle mass helps you burn calories and maintain a constantly burning metabolism.
