Stress can have a major impact on your ability to maintain your ideal weight. It can impact people differently causing weight loss or gain. Generally, though stress causes weight gain.
There are many sources of stress today. Some of the sources that I see in my practice come from personal mindset and the emotional interpretation of events that are happening. Our self-talk is an important factor when we are struggling with the general facts of life. Depending on our language we can hurt or help our stress levels.
It is important to create a habit of using positive affirmations to help boost your mood and stress levels.
Supportive Affirmations
I am healthy.
I resist viruses, bacteria, and illness.
I am calm and at ease.
I deserve happiness and joy.
For women, the changing hormones of perimenopause and menopause is a stressor that we can reduce if we take time to recognize what is happening. When hormones start changing, we can feel like we don’t recognize our own body anymore, but we can take steps to ensure we don’t experience too many symptoms.
The Bodies Reaction
When the body is experiencing high levels of stress it will affect our sleep, digestion, bowel movements and the ability to properly detoxify.
During stressful events, the adrenal glands release adrenaline and cortisol which triggers the release of glucose into the blood stream. This chain of events is done to help you escape risky situations throwing your sympathetic nervous system into action. Unfortunately, many of our stressful events do not subside so these hormones begin effecting all parts of our body.
The high blood sugar (glucose release) increases the glycemic load. Over time these increases can cause insulin resistance, oxidative damage that can damage organs and possibly DNA. These concerns can over time increase your risk of cancer.
There are different types of stress that can result from a situation that we can’t control, but there is also stress that results from our lack of action.
Emotional Stress Triggers
When we experience the loss of a loved one or a job this can cause us high levels of stress. Relationships whether it is with a spouse or even a co-worker can be a stressor, but we can take action to make changes to this situation. When you have a general sense of feeling stuck it can put stress on your nervous system. It is important to evaluate these situations so that we can act and move forward.
Environmental Stress Triggers
Depending on your external environment you may be faced with biochemical stress like noise, pollution, and extreme temperatures. It is important to figure out ways to mitigate these situations. As an example, if you live in the city consider ear plugs to help reduce noise pollution when you are trying to sleep.
Do the work you love and create a fun hobby.
Remember your body should be in a relaxed parasympathetic mode (mood) most of the time. The parasympathetic nervous system is designed to inhibit the body from overworking. It restores the body to a calm and composed state. Ensuring you’re in a parasympathetic mode will keep you at your ideal weight.