A busy work life and successful career unfortunately comes
with its downsides. Namely; stress.
Stress may well be making you fat and you probably don’t
even know it. Often referred to as the ‘silent killer’ for its many negative effects
on general health and well-being, stress also has a number of implications for
your body composition.
Cortisol = Fat Storage
Cortisol is the primary stress hormone. It is released in
response to a stressor and it has a number of effects, including raising blood
pressure and setting off a hormonal cascade that raises blood sugar and
encourages the body to store fat. This evolved as a response to ward off
starvation; which was all well and good, thousands of years ago, when there
wasn’t a fast food joint next door. Nowadays, what was once a life-saving
benefit is making you store more fat and actually diminishing your health.
Cortisol = Cravings
When blood sugar drops, cortisol rises and it triggers your
appetite; it’s telling you to eat something, and quickly.
Of course, the quickest energy foods are generally the worse
foods for your physique. You crave sugar
and other processed foods that deliver a quick boost of energy. Unfortunately,
they do not offer much actual nutrition, so you are often still hungry for
nutrients afterwards and your blood
sugar has spiked sharply. It will drop just as sharply after it peaks and throw
you back in to cortisol release and more cravings. Once you’re on the sugar
rollercoaster, it can be hard to get off.
Cortisol = Low Testosterone
Chronically high cortisol lowers your testosterone. Low
testosterone is associated with:
·
Low libido
·
Fatigue
·
Infertility
·
Loss of focus & drive
·
Fat gain
·
Difficulty gaining muscle
·
Decreased strength
·
Depression
Cortisol and testosterone oppose each other. Both are
necessary for good health and cortisol is not the enemy; chronically high cortisol is the enemy. To maintain a high
testosterone level and give yourself the best possible circumstances to build a
great body, you must manage your stress levels.
Stress is Stress, is Stress
Your body cannot tell the difference between mental,
emotional or physical stress. The deadline at work, argument with your spouse
and bad diet will all have the same outcome. Again, stress is not bad itself,
it is essential for life. It is dose dependant.
Working out is a stressor, but it is a good stress. It is short lived and leads to an overall decline in
stress levels, as well as all of the other benefits for health and body.
Without a stress input, you would never adapt to anything. In moderate doses,
stress maintains homeostasis by leading your body to adapt to a stimulus. You
need to avoid chronic stress.
Bad Food, Lack of Food or Lack of Exercise = Stress
Your body is an extremely complex piece of machinery that
runs off a variety of fuels, but it has its specific needs. Namely, it needs
enough calories to maintain energy and keep the metabolism high, it needs
essential fats and proteins to build itself and it needs vitamins, minerals and
other nutrients to thrive. It needs to move; the muscles and joints need to
remain active in their natural function to maintain good health and ward off
age related decline.
Insufficiency in any of these areas is stressful for the
body. That means if you are not exercising, eating a poor diet, or not eating
enough food, you are piling physical stress on top of the existing mental and
emotional stress that we all go through in life.
How to Manage Stress Levels
That leads to the obvious answer of eating a healthy diet
and maintaining an exercise regime, to minimise physical stress, coupled with
things like meditation and relaxation techniques to manage mental stress.
This is an essential part of looking after your health and achieving a great physique.
Sometimes it is not about the latest and greatest training plan or supplements,
but about the holistic approach to your health and life.
Keep stress in check and you will have a better body, lose
weight and gain muscle easier, be more productive and successful at work and
flat out just be happier!
