If you can reduce the stress in your life, and take more rest, you could just reduce your weight at the same time. We find it hard to say no, and so end up rushing around doing far too many tasks – often skimping things instead of taking the time to do them well. We become anxious and overwrought sorting through all of our challenges. We feel the need to ‘comfort eat’ and the pounds pile on.
But now it seems there’s a scientific reason why we reach for the most fattening foods at times high stress and exhaustion. Here’s what is now understood to be the reasoning behind it: If we undergo an extended period of stress, our bodies will secrete cortisol – a stress hormone.
The presence of cortisol encourages a release of insulin (attempting to level out the blood sugar). Our appetite for foods rich in fats and carbohydrates is increased with this release of insulin. So we eat carbs and fats, and pretty quickly feel more energised.
Our stress levels stabilise and we feel more at one. But very soon afterwards, our energy boost plummets! To explain – the glucose now in our bloodstream is captured by the insulin and transferred to the fat deposits around our body.
Therefore we should aim to simplify our lives first if we’re planning a weight loss program. A decent night’s sleep may also be of benefit regarding weight reduction. In the past, people tended to sleep for a third of every 24 hours. It’s now considerably less than that.
The levels of obesity in our society have risen considerably over the same period. Research shows that when we’re short of sleep, our appetite hormones rise. More waking hours equate to a greater need for nourishment.
Obviously, when we’re tired, we feel the need for more fuel to energise ourselves, and once again we crave high fats and carbs. Weight gain problems therefore could be helped by simply taking a full eight hours sleep.
And so to our conclusion. If we aim to reduce the tension in our lives, we might just find it easier to reduce our weight as well. Try saying ‘No’ sometimes to other people’s requests. And then at the close of the day, instead of grabbing another bite to eat, simply play some relaxing music and snuggle up in bed…
(C) Scott Edwards. Hop over to WeightLossDietWar.com for clear ideas on reducing fat and weight diet pills.
