Can Stress Slow Down my Weight Loss?

Can stress slow down my weight loss? Unfortunately, the simple answer to this question is: most definitely! Scientific research has shown that stress not only slows down weight loss, but actually causes weight gain! It’s not surprising then, that so many people have come through the Covid pandemic sporting a few extra pounds around their waistline!

Is Stress Good or Bad?

People often think of stress with negative connotations, but in reality, not all stress is bad. In fact, short bursts of stress are a perfectly normal, healthy, vital part of the way we function as human beings.  Stress is our natural survival mechanism, and if it didn’t exist, we would probably have become extinct a long time ago.

When we’re stressed, the adrenal glands produce adrenaline and cortisol. Also, glucose enters into our bloodstream, to give us extra energy. This is the fight or flight response.

It’s an inbuilt, physical response that causes certain physiological changes in our body, such as speeding up our pulse rate and breathing, directing more oxygen to the brain, and tensing our muscles. This all means that we are more aware, and able to react quickly in difficult, or dangerous situations. 

Examples of Good Stress

Good stress happens when we feel excited, but there isn’t any potential threat to your life, or fear involved. It can be a very motivating force when we want to do better and achieve more. Typical examples of this healthy level of stress are when you go on a first date, or get on a roller-coaster ride. 

Or, maybe you’re preparing to sit an exam, or have an interview for a new job. This sort of stress is short-lived, and makes us feel alive and excited about life.

When is it Bad?

However, when stress is chronic and more prolonged than the inevitable short bursts, that’s when it becomes detrimental to your health. Extensive studies have concluded that prolonged stress has been shown to cause physical, behavioural and psychological harm. For example headaches, constipation, smoking, alcohol abuse, poor diet, sleep disturbances and obesity.

Also, in the 1990s, researchers from Yale University psychology department discovered that the “stress hormone” cortisol, triggers excessive abdominal fat deposits in the body.  These findings showed, for the first time, that the secretion of cortisol was associated with both chronic stress, and an increase of abdominal “belly fat.” 

This abdominal, or visceral fat, is often referred to as toxic fat. This is because it surrounds the vital organs and increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Cortisol and your Weight

Cortisol also causes you to crave highly palatable foods that have an addictive combination of sugar, fat and salt. Eating these foods stimulates the brain to release the feel-good hormone, dopamine. This temporarily reduces tension, and counteracts the negative feelings associated with stress.

So, unfortunately, excess cortisol actually has a double whammy effect on your body! Firstly, by causing you to crave highly processed junk food. And secondly, by making it easier for the body to create extra fat in the abdominal area. 

And, just to add to this vicious cycle, a recent study found that our metabolism slows down when we are stressed! Over a period of 24 hours, women participants, who were experiencing one or more stressors, burned around 100 fewer calories than those who were non-stressed.  

Stress and your Brain

Studies show that stress affects the pre-frontal cortex of the brain. This area of the brain is responsible for regulating thoughts, and goal-directed actions. It helps us to plan ahead, make good choices and exert willpower. However, the pre-frontal cortex doesn’t function properly when we are under stress!

Why is this? Well, it’s because the brain redirects all its resources away from conscious decision-making, and reverts to all of our well-established routines and habits. This is to save energy, while it’s dealing with the stressful situation.

It takes less energy for us to function on autopilot. It also means that we are more likely to behave impulsively, and make poor food choices during these times, unfortunately.

Can Stress Slow Down my Weight Loss?

A group of obese adults took part in an 8-week long study to determine whether managing stress levels helps to improve weight loss. The results showed that the participants in the intervention group, who had attended a stress management programme that included breathing techniques, progressive relaxation and guided visualization, achieved a significantly larger reduction in their BMI compared to the control group. The intervention group also had better depression and anxiety scores afterwards.

The clinical evidence is clear: chronic stress definitely leads to weight gain, and increased belly fat. It also makes it harder for overweight people to reduce their weight and fat stores. Hypnosis and meditation are widely accepted as a beneficial way to alleviate stress. 

So, if you manage your stress levels, and use techniques to reduce your stress as much as you possibly can, it will definitely help you to progress along your weight loss journey more easily.

So, how do we start to lose weight in a healthy and permanent way? 

There are so many approaches to weight loss. If you type “diet”, or “weight loss”, into Google, for example, you will have over a million references, in a heartbeat. We would be naive to say that the My Weigh Less course guarantees 100% success. We will not insult your intelligence! 

The Gold Standard in Non-Surgical Weight Loss

The My weigh Less treatment package consists of twelve one hour weight loss sessions. If you want to lose weight Permanently, and have looked into different diets, and possibly even surgery, then take a step back, before you decide which approach to adopt. You don’t need to spend any money right now. Just take ten minutes to read the pages of the My Weigh Less website.