STRESS: WHAT IS IT, AND HOW DOES IT EFFECT ME LOSING WEIGHT?

Stress can rear its ugly head in many different forms. It can come from the strangest of places, and it can also develop into a big burden if you let it snowball and progress into something bigger than it is. 

Stress can AND will slowly but surely begin to unravel you both mentally and physically as it begins to control all areas of your life. Stress can start off as something so small like money problems, relationship problems, not knowing your worth or where you should be heading in life. Depending on the person will dictate what stresses you out more so than anything else. 

The way that stress works on people is it begins to control all of your different systems in your body.

  1. It starts by causing your heart rate to increase, leading to a heightened level of brain function and body activity.

  2. Then it will work its way into your nervous system where it will interfere with logic and decision making. This is the stage when people begin to over or under eat. 

  3. We then experience a fight or flight response inside ourselves which causes; faster heart beat, a decrease in stomach digestive enzymes, tensed muscles and potential trembling, quicker breathing, our bowel slows down the movement of food, and our blood pressure increase. These are just a few symptoms of living in fight or flight. So long term exposure in this state can be very detrimental to our health, both physical and mental. 

You can see by living in this stressed state, the impact it can have on your personal health and wellbeing. So being able to identify and address stress as you see it, or better yet, what's causing it is a very powerful tool to possess. Doing your best to eliminate these things from your life are vital to understanding how to better live and control all areas of your life. 

We can all remember those moments in life when we were quite stressed and suffered a few, or all of these side effects. You may have eaten more and put on weight, you may have eaten less and lose heaps of weight to the point people thought you were sick. Either way, we all know what it's like to live in this state. 

Removing contaminants from your life is easier said than done, but that's why I'm here to help you recognise them. First, can you think of anything right now in your life that is causing stress to you? Job? Relationship? Training? Food? Your boss? Bad sleep patterns?

So, now the easiest thing to do is to break it down so you can work out why it's causing you so much stress. Is it because you don't have much control over it? Is it because you're doing too much? Are you over training to try and achieve a specific result? To the point that you're ignoring all the markers that are telling you to stop or slow down?

With more clarity as you think about them individually, you'll gain a far better understanding about each thing causing stress and you can work out a plan to address them. 

Bad relationship? Talk to the person about it? Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself and fight for what you know you need and want. 

Bad sleep patterns? It's time to go to bed earlier. No more tech too late, phone off next to your bed, and no alcohol or sweets late at night. Make it a priority because of what it's triggering inside you. 

Once you begin to make some changes to your lifestyle, watch the progress and results come flooding in. 


HOMEWORK:

Can you see things in your life right now or in the past causing you stress? 

What were they?

Are they still present?

How did you change or get rid of them?

How will you ensure they are kept to a minimum or not at all?

Thanks for reading. Did you find this article helpful?

We'd love to hear from you so please reach out to us with any feedback or questions you may have. 

Stay healthy,

Liam