How Does Stress Affect Our Weight?

Stress either physical, mental or emotional is ubiquitous in our lives. In fact, its impossible to avoid it. Stress is the natural response of the body to extreme situations that demand some action.

Good stress can improve the immune system. However, bad stress weakens the body's immune system and can cause intestinal disorders. It can also have a huge impact on our metabolism and weight. Fear, anxiety, anger and depression are some of the stressors that can be detrimental to health.

The Effects Of Stress To Our Weight
Stress stimulates the production of adrenaline, norepinephrine and cortisol. These hormones are produced by the adrenal glands as a response to tension. Increased heart rate, blood pressure and metabolism are the effects on the body.

When the hormones are released in the bloodstream, they stimulate conversion of a stored form of energy glycogen into glucose and increase production of free fatty acids. These occur within the liver and used as a source of energy in the body. The body is designed to produce these hormones to aid in response to stress.
During emergency situations, this response known as "fight or flight" is beneficial for the body to cope with short-term situations. Conversely, chronic stress is harmful to health as the body will continue to release these hormones which stimulates more production of glucose in the body.

The demand for insulin increases in order to metabolize the glucose to energy. When the body produces more insulin it will signal your body to feel hungry and you will crave more food. It has been observed that stress increases your weight because of this involuntary response in your body when it occurs.

Managing Stress
Though it is inevitable, finding ways to alleviate the pressure in life is vital to stay fit and healthy. It is common during these situations we seek food as our outlet to relieve our tension and yet it can add to your weight issues.

Physical activity, relaxation techniques, meditation and other diversion methods are good alternatives for coping. Exercise is the best outlet to combat stress because it will improve insulin sensitivity thus, increases your metabolism.

Take a break from work and have vacation with your family. Revitalize yourself from your busy bustling environment. Go to beach and enjoy a moment in peaceful and calm surroundings free from stressors.
Undeniably, these negative pressure can positively influence your weight, emotions and total being. High blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and obesity are also results of stress. So the next time you feel you are under pressure, take a break, inhale deeply, relax and pause for a moment. Don't risk your health because of stress.

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How to Lose Weight Effectively

Being over-weight is not a disease and can be easily reduced and controlled by diet and exercise. Any shortcuts like fat loss pills or going on crash diets for weight loss only helps lose weight in the short-term with a few long-term health repercussions.

People gain weight over a period of time by eating simply more than their body requirement. Suppose a person's daily caloric requirement is 1500 and he is eating 2000-2500 calories per day, then his body will save the rest 500-1000 calories as fat which adds on by time and becomes a problem.

A good way to reduce weight is to get on a weight loss plan that has a balanced diet and an exercise routine that helps in effective weight loss. A balanced diet ensures that a human body is getting adequate nutrition and does not trigger any nutrition deficiencies in the long run. Exercise is as important as diet for long-term
 weight loss.

Here are some easy tips to how to lose weight:

Increase Metabolic Rate: Once you know your caloric requirement, start with a healthy weight loss diet to help you monitor your food intake. Improving metabolic rate helps in weight loss. Metabolic rate is the rate at which the body burns calories. Increasing your metabolic rate will help you lose the extra calories by burning more calories even while you are resting. Eating healthy food helps regulate your metabolic rate naturally.

Eat Breakfast: Eating breakfast has many advantages. Nutrition we get from breakfast is not replaceable by any other meal during the day. Imagine this, the last meal you consumed was dinner about 8-9 hours ago. By skipping breakfast the body goes into a mode of starvation and thinks that there is an emergency and starts storing fat to protect body. Breakfast in fact helps you keep fuller for a longer time making you not crave for food and save some calorie intake. Thirdly, a study suggests that people who eat breakfast consume lesser calories than those who skip it.

Drink Water: Drinking cold water increase the metabolism as it drops the body temperature and the body burns a few extra calories to regain it. Pre-loading with water 30-40 minutes before a meal helps in eating less food and thus consume lesser calories. Do not have water straightway after the meal as it washes away the digestive enzyme and hence slows down the metabolism. Drinking water will keep you hydrated and keep the body healthy.

Avoid Processed Food or Junk Food: Pizza and burgers and junk like chips, fried food, oily food and empty calories provide no nutrition to the body but just huge number of calories. Besides high caloric value they also are bad for health.

Exercises: Nothing works in melting the fat as fast as a good exercise routine. Besides the fact exercises burn the extra calories it is also a great mood booster as it helps release "happy hormone" in the body.

I am a nutrition and fitness enthusiast. I write about weight loss diet and fitness. I want people to have better and correct knowledge about efficient and effective weight loss methods.

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