Say hello to a calmer, slimmer you with a revolutionary
new lifestyle plan
It’s no secret
that stress isn’t healthy. From breakouts to high blood pressure, insomnia, low
energy and weight gain, chronic stress has serious consequences for your
wellbeing. The day-to-day strains you encounter in your personal and
professional lives are often unavoidable, but you don’t have to let them hamper
your health, says Charlotte Watts, co-author of The De-Stress Diet.
‘It’s when we don’t allow ourselves to rest, or hold onto stress in our heads,
that we can see the ill effects,’ explains Charlotte.
Alarm bells
When your body is
suffering from long-term stress, its fight-or-flight reaction, (our natural
alarm system) is constantly on red alert. This ‘state of emergency’ prompts
your adrenals – the tiny glands situated on top of your kidneys – to release a
huge surge of hormones including adrenaline and cortisol.
The adrenaline
boosts your heart rate, elevates your blood pressure and increases your energy
supplies to prepare for either ‘fight’ or ‘flight’. Cortisol, the primary
stress hormone, increases sugars (glucose) in the bloodstream and enhances your
brain’s use of this glucose. It also alters your immune system responses and
shuts down your digestive system, your reproductive system and growth
processes, as your brain instinctively knows that these aren’t a priority when
you’re in a stressful situation.
On a day-today
basis a well-functioning body naturally produces just the right amount of
adrenaline and cortisol it needs. But if you’re living in a constant state of
high stress, due to strains in your personal life or at work, this can actually
alter your levels of these hormones, which can lead to a whole host of
unwelcome side effects.
Spot the signs
If you’re
constantly worn out, the chances are that you’ve gained weight, too. Countless
studies have proven the link between stress and excess weight gain,
specifically around the stomach area. However Charlotte believes that making
the right dietary and lifestyle choices could help you to lower your stress
levels, leave you feeling much healthier and in turn change your body shape for
the better.
‘During periods of
prolonged stress, an over-production of cortisol turns calories into fat. As
abdominal cells have more cortisol receptors than any other part of the body,
most of that fat gets stored around the tummy. By working with our bodies we
can break these patterns,’ she explains.
When the tension
rises, you probably reach for chocolate or a caffeine hit, but this makes your
body more stressed by messing with your blood sugar and cortisol levels, and,
in the long run, piling on the pounds.
