Stress and Its Effects on Body Composition
The majority of my clients are highly successful corporate women who come to me looking for not only body comp goals but also some form of stress relief. What is often overlooked is that these two go hand in hand.
Does this sound like you... you wind the day up with a coffee (or three), get caught up in the daily stress of replying to emails, attending meetings, seeing friends for lunch or dinner, making time for your partner, going to the gym etc…then at the end of the day desperately need to unwind with a glass of wine. All of these actions send your body into a constant state of stress.
The impact stress has on the body is underrated. Let me explain….
We have two systems in our body the Sympathetic Nervous System (known as our fight or flight response) and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (the calming rest and repair system). In a state where we are constantly trying to be all things to all people it means we are permanently living in our sympathetic nervous system which can play havoc with weight management, food cravings, sleep quality, moods…the list goes on.
So what drives us into this state? Adrenalin.
Adrenalin is the hormone that tells every cell in our body we are in danger (going back to our cavewomen days). And unfortunately, as clever as your body is, it hasn’t figured out that the adrenalin is not gearing you up to sprint from a tiger, but instead for every day pressures at work or from that third cup of coffee that you just drank.
So how does this affect our body comp? It really is quite simple:
When we live on adrenalin our bodies use the simplest fuel possible (glucose) for energy instead of body fat, as it is the quickest to burn (so will give us fast energy to save us from that tiger!)
As our bodies don’t want our glucose stores to run low we start desiring sweet foods to fill the deficit. Ever wondered why you always get those sugar cravings when you are stressed? Its not just ‘emotional eating’!
Adrenalin goes hand in hand with cortisol (another stress hormone) which makes the body believe we are in starvation mode – another reason to hold onto body fat for reserves.
Think about it, have you ever gone on holiday and actually come back leaner despite not being as strict with your food or exercising quite as much? It’s because when our bodies are in a good place they are more likely to use fat for fuel.
But you can’t all just quit your job and live on a desert island (we wish!), but you can make small steps to improving your stress levels throughout the day to take the body out of the Sympathetic and back into the Parasympathetic nervous system.
The first step is becoming aware (well done, by reading this now you are!). The next step is making small changes such as:
Ensure you have a quality 8 hours unbroken sleep (this should be falling asleep easily and waking up without an alarm with high energy)
Focus on diaphragmatic breathing
Write a gratitude journal
Go for walks
Decrease training volume (especially HIIT) when you are in a highly stressful period (like when you have a deadline at work for example)
Cut back on coffee (one a day or none at all)
So go treat yourself to a herbal tea and a good book over the next week and realise even the most successful person needs some me time now and again.