If you haven't read my article on
"The Toxic Age And How Your Doctor Is Making You Sicker" then I stongly recommend you do so first before reading
this
Weight loss and regaining health
isn't
rocket science is it?
You just eat less, exercise more and the rest will take care of itself right?
It's frustrating when people can't seem to grasp this concept isn't it,
especially when the equation is pretty straight forward:
Get exercising and stop eating crap = better health and weight loss
Most personal trainers and boot camp coaches will usually put this lack of
results down to a "lack of will power" for the reason why their
clients aren't getting into great shape labelling them with "the wrong mind-set”,
and Id agree with this up to a point.
However there is something that's often HUGELY overlooked when it comes to
weight loss yet is vital to restoring health and wearing the body of your
dreams.
Let me put this another way,
You've started exercising and eating healthy, you've started to make better
food choices and your results have been AMAZING in the first couple of months.
You can fit back into those jeans, your energy levels have increased and you’re
the fittest that you have been since you can remember but lately the results
have started to plateau somewhat and your still struggling with some stubborn
body fat that won't seem to shift no matter what you try.
It's frustrating isn't it?
You've lost the initial weight and all you want to do is just target that
stubborn belly fat so you do more crunches but still no joy.
You just want to lose abet more around your legs and bum so you tidy up your
diet and do more butt exercises in the gym but still no results.
You also notice that you’re not losing any fat from the back of your arm so you
start doing tricep kickbacks in the gym but nothing again. Your arms still look
the same.
This is so frustrating isn't it, especially when you work hard and you eat
well, and I guess you just put this down to genetics right?. "My mum had a
fat bum so unfortunately i will get one as well," is a comment that I hear
on a regular basis.
Well, unfortunately all these stubborn body fat areas have absolutely NOTHING
to do with a lack of exercise or poor nutrition but more to do with what's
going on with your
HORMONES
Your stubborn body fat is not because you have poor will power but more because
of your hormonal imbalances in your body and will continue to be there until
you address what's going on.
So how do we do this?
The first thing you'll need to address is
how much STRESS is in your life right now.
Whether it be physical stress, emotional stress, environmental stress, mental
stress or nutritional stress, the body will deal with it in EXACTLY the same
way.
Physical stress
physical stress is the WRONG type of exercise for you.
You maybe training too much without structuring in any regeneration workouts or
rest weeks. Endurance athletes like runners or triathletes tend to suffer from
this. Gym members who do classes on a day to day basis, sometimes back to back,
will also be prime candidates for having too much physical stress in their
life.
People that think that "exercise is their stress outlet" are also
high candidates here as well.
Emotional stress.
Emotional stress could be unresolved issues in a person’s life. Maybe it's
being in the wrong relationship for whatever reason or perhaps it’s dealing
with a loved one that's passed away recently. All of this contributes to
emotional stress. Some people don't even know they are suffering from emotional
stress
Environmental stress.
Weird right? You wouldn't think that the environment around you would
contribute to your stress level but it does. If you live in a town then the air
that you breathe will be more polluted than in the countryside. Certain jobs
that require you to deal with chemicals would also fit here. Even plastics used
in furniture can give off gases that will contribute to our stress levels. Have
a look around you now. Your table, your sofa, your carpet, even your computer
are all giving off gases that you'll be inhaling on a daily basis.
Artificial light can elevate stress levels as well, so if you’re spending a lot
of time watching TV in the evening or working on the lap top late at night then
your body still thinks it’s day light and will want to keep you awake.
Mental stress.
This is probably the most common form that everyone associates stress with.
Mental stress could be relationship issues. Being in the wrong relationship,
maybe you’re sad because you don't feel like your kids are listening to you,
your friends are just energy sucking vampires that actually just piss you off
rather than understand you. Maybe people are asking too much of you and you're
spreading yourself too thin.
It could be financial worries or simply just being in a job that you hate
doing. Maybe you just feel like you’re working ALL the time and not having any
fun in your life.
All of this would contribute to mental stress.
Nutritional stress.
Consuming a diet that's highly toxic in nature and allergenic to the body will
contribute to your stress levels. Any chemicals or toxins coming into your
system along with wheat, gluten, sugar, some dairy and alcohol that will stress
the liver out will also trigger a huge stress response in your body.
Medicine from your doctor, despite good intent and temporarily getting rid of
pain and symptoms is STILL toxic to the liver and stressful to your system.
Postural
stress.
If you're in the wrong posture, have pain or injury anywhere in the body then
this will trigger a stress response.
Sitting for long periods of time during the day and not addressing a
nagging injury will also stress the system out.
The problem with our body is that it sees ALL of the above as just one thing.
Yep, you guessed it!
STRESS!
It doesn't know the difference between financial worries and a crappy diet.
It won’t see exercise and relationship problems as different.
It will see mental and physical stress as the same and will deal with it in
exactly the same way...
By releasing the stress hormone cortisol.
Every time we get stressed, the stress hormone cortisol is released because it
thinks our body is in danger.
But cortisol isn't bad though!
Cortisol is an amazing hormone that's designed to help us out when were in
trouble.
Millions of years ago when we were cave men and woman, our bodies were designed to cope with danger. If a sabre
tooth tiger was chasing us or if we were fighting with another "early man
spear thrower" then we needed to react quickly to these situations. When
the brain thinks you're under danger it triggers your adrenal glands (which sit
on top of your kidneys) to release adrenaline and cortisol.
So due to modern day stress, your body ALWAYS thinks it’s under attack so it
will ALWAYS be releasing adrenaline and cortisol to help cope with the
perceived danger.
Adrenaline helps with mental alertness and cortisol's job is to increase levels
of fat and sugar in the bloodstream to help with physical exertion. However,
unless you're doing something physical then all that extra sugar and fat that’s
been released into your blood stream has nowhere to go and has no option other
than to be stored as fat.
After a stressful event, your adrenaline will come down very quickly although
your cortisol will remain high for quite some time after the event, usually up
to 2-3 days. This is because your body thinks you should be refuelling after
your fighting or fleeing so your appetite will typically increase.
This is fine if you've been running for your life or scrapping with fellow
spear throwers, your body will clearly need to refuel after this but if you're
sat at a desk making stressful phone calls all day then continuous refuelling
is hardly appropriate or deserved is it!
So because your body "thinks" that you need to refuel after your
stressful event then you will typically crave more carbohydrates and fats which
will of course lead to increased body fat levels, particularly around the belly
ad waist.
But here's the thing though:
Here's what happens to ALL your hormones when just your cortisol goes up:
If your stress hormone cortisol goes up, then growth hormone and testosterone
goes down. If
growth hormone and
testosterone go down then estrogen goes up. If estrogen goes up then thyroid
goes down.
If you change one hormone then your ENTIRE hormonal cascade changes:
Let me put it another way for you,
If cortisol is up then you will always be holding onto fat, particularly fat
around the middle because
it’s closer to
the liver where it can quickly and more easily be converted back into energy if
needed.
If growth hormone and testosterone is low then you will find it hard to put on
lean muscle tissue. Muscle tissue is the only tissue in the body that burns fat
so you definitely need it, woman even more so!
If estrogen is high then this can cause you to store more fat in the leg, bum
and arm area.
And if thyroid levels are low then this will affect your thermogenesis (heat)
in the body which means you won't burn so many calories throughout the day.
So can you see that IF your stress hormone cortisol is constantly being driven
up then this will have a knock on affect with all the other hormones and doing
MORE exercise won't make a blind bit of difference and in most cases is the last
thing a person needs?
Warning signs of too much stress in your
life.
Getting snappy
Crap sleep
Extreme sweet cravings
Tired but wired!
Depression -
Anxious thoughts
Low immune system
Digestive problems
Heart problems
Kidney disorders
Infertility issues
Dysfunctional liver
Low blood pressure
...are just a few health disorders that will occur if you leave stress
unchecked.
Here's a better way of understanding stress a bit better:
Imagine you have a stress bucket.
In that bucket you have all your different types of stress going in there.
You may have more of one stressor over the other but it doesn't matter, it all
amalgamates as the same.
Most people's stress buckets are full up to the brim these days. The average
person is stressed out at work, has financial problems, eating a toxic diet, is
dehydrated and has really poor sleep and doing the wrong exercise. The bucket
is already full up but the tap is still left on.
The stress keeps coming in and when that bucket starts to over flow then that
first drip is what we call "breakdown" and this is when problems
start occurring.
The body starts breaking down.
How does it do this?
When I say breakdown I mean our health is compromised.
Whether it be digestive health, immune system health, liver health or
cardiovascular health, problems will start to occur.
What can we take out of the stress bucket?
Ok, now that we understand a little bit more about stress and how it can
dramatically t affect weight management and overall health let’s talk about how
we can go about emptying
that bucket:
By taking action with just one of the points below will seriously see your
stress levels drop massively but by applying all 7 points together will see
unbelievable results:
1) And........Breathe!!!
Breathing helps to oxygenise the blood which in turn will help calm cortisol
down. Practise breathing techniques. If you can get to a yoga or tai chi class
then great but if you can't then it’s still ok,
just start off with 10 deep diaphragmatic breaths twice a day and then
build up.
You'll be amazed at what affect breathing has on alleviating stress!
2) Get a better job
Most people that I talk to HATE their job and can't wait for the weekend to
start.
If you hate your job and its sucking the life force out of you then forgive me
for asking but why are you still doing it?
Remember, we need to try and empty that bucket as much as we can.
Now I'm not saying for one minute that we should all just give up our jobs for
the sake of lowering cortisol, I'm
just
merely pointing out that you need to find a job that you ENJOY doing and stop
making out that you "you have no control over your job, I HAVE to
work!"
You have COMPLETE control over this part of your life. Don't make excuses for
your stressful job and find a job that you’re passionate about.
3) Remove toxins
Toxins from our food and food that is allergenic will stress the liver out
which mean it won't work as it should. All of this will cause cortisol to
elevate which in turn will make it hard to body fat.
Remove wheat, dairy, gluten, sugar and processed food for the next week and let
your liver get back to working as it should. Focus on lean proteins like
turkey, chicken, beef and seafood and plenty of crucifers us vegetables like
broccoli, cauliflower, murky kale, watercress etc. and you will feel a thousand
times better and will look better than ever before!
If you'd like to know more about the
harmful impact that toxins have on liver health then
go here.
4) Stay hydrated
How freely your hormones move around your blood is related to the viscous of
your blood. The more dehydrated you are the thicker your blood will be which
means your hormones will find it harder to move around.
If hormones are finding it hard to move around, then it's likely that the
nutrients from your food won't be extracted properly.
Drinking plenty of water will keep things moving along nicely.
Shoot for a litre of water per pound of bodyweight and put a pinch of sea salt
in your water to help your body retain it.
5) Off the laptop by 7pm.
Remember we need to calm cortisol down in the hours before bed. When
your body sees light, it wants to keep you up
so it will
secrete some more cortisol
for you.
Avoid artificial light 3 hours before bed. Stay off the lap top, avoid watching
late night TV and dim your lights. Have an evening ritual. You do this for your
kids so why do adults have to be any different.
Read a book before bed and be in bed before 1030.
Try it for a couple of nights to start off with and I guarantee you your sleep
will be a thousand times better.
6)Stop beasting yourself in the gym
Keep your workouts really short but work hard!!! Have regular recovery weeks
where you stop exercising completely to give the body a rest. Your body does
most of its repair work when you’re at rest so aim to have a rest from training
every
4-6 weeks.
7)Apply the 12 week rule
Not having a break from the norm is a one way ticket to becoming stressed. Aim
to have a break or a holiday every 12 weeks so that you have something to look
forward to.
Ok, and that's it!
I hope you found this article helpful and has given you a bit more of an
insight into hormones.
Peace out and remember:
CHILL OUT!!! ;-)
Turn that tap off and Start emptying
that stress bucket!
Sam Winkworth
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