HH340: Stress Promotes Weight Gain!

Welcome back to another episode of health hacks as I continue talking about stress and how it impacts our long term health, even our short term health and our body overall. And today, I want to share with you how stress actually contributes to weight gain, because it can lead to overeating and cravings of unhealthy foods as we're rushing around trying to get everything done, and we need food for energy, and we just grab whatever's fastest, and that can often be sugary treats, chocolate bars, muffins, pastries, cookies, etc, to keep us going in our stressed out day, versus having time to actually sit down and Prepare and enjoy a healthy meal. And this then over time, when we do this day in and day out, results in weight gain, and it will particularly show up around the middle, when the weight gain is due to stress versus other reasons. And so when you see people that have skinny arms and skinny legs and around middle, you can look at them and go, I bet they have a lot of their stress in their lives, and that's what's been a contributing factor to their weight gain. And in another episode, I'm going to talk about the correlation to stress and your digestive system, and then you will further understand this whole concept of stress contributing to weight gain. And so in each episode, I'm sharing steps you can take to counter that, and so one of those is to exercise regularly. Find something that you enjoy doing to move your body, whether it be walking in nature, doing some yoga at a class or on your own at home, is it putting on your favorite playlist for 30 minutes and just dancing it out to your heart's content like you did when you were 13 years old or 14 or 15, because all of these things help to release endorphins, improve your mood, and they get your body moving, they get your heart rate up, they have you burning some calories to counter the additional calories that are being taken in As a result of the stress that's in your life. So just take a moment to stop and think about what do you love to do to move your body? And it can be different from person to person, and make some time in your calendar in order to allow you to do that at the start of your day. Maybe it's in the middle of your day, maybe it's at the end of your day, not too close to bedtime, though, because you don't want to go into too much of a cardio workout at bedtime, because that can raise cortisol levels and negatively impact your sleep. However, you know right after work might be a good time to do that, to release the stresses of the workday and transition into an enjoyable evening with your family. So as I said, think about how you like to move your body. What brings you joy? Try some different things, because maybe you're not even sure it doesn't have to be the standard. I have to go to the gym and work out. It absolutely does not have to be that. Find what works for you and get some exercise in each and every day to help counter the stresses that are happening in your life and counter the weight gain that you might be experiencing as a result of those stresses in your life.