We are all guilty to some extent of eating for reasons other than because we are hungry. We eat because we are stressed, angry, annoyed, stressed again, partying, and just to fit in. Probably the worst culprit is stress. Most of us suffer from relatively high levels of chronic stress from work, kids, partner, or the universe in general. Through evolution our bodies have been conditioned to respond to stress: they trigger the familiar fight or flight response. This response releases chemicals which lead to fat storage. With stress, the body produces more cortisol. Your appetite increases, and most likely your craving for high calorie sweets and fats. More calorie intake leads to more fat storage, which in turn could lead to insulin resistance. The body can in the short term relieve stress from high fat/sugary foods. Unfortunately, for chronic stress, these high fat/sugary foods will lead to weight gain. Obesity leads to higher insulin resistance, and Type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance increases the likelihood of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.Keeping your stress levels down should help to keep your weight down as well. Here are a few tips to reduce your stress levels:
Adequate sleep
During sleep your body produces the feel good hormones - serotonin and dopamine. These feel good factors help to reduce your stress. See what happens when a baby is stressed - it cries itself to sleep. Another thing is if your body is not getting enough serotonin, it craves for sugary foods which also provide a quick, but short lived burst of serotonin.
Exercise
High activity aerobic exercise which leaves you breathless also produces levels of serotonin. This is not to say that active people have no stress - just that its normally kept at more manageable levels. Remember that all exercise is good in that you increase your calorie usage. So if you can't do aerobic exercise just walk around - even just standing is better than sitting. Recently, I watched a programme on the TV channel Five which suggested that you could even lose weight chewing gum.
Outdoors
Daylight causes the body to produce some feel good factors as well. Ever noticed that if you spend days scooped up in rooms with artificial light you begin to feel the blues? As much as you can enjoy the outdoor scenery, while passively reducing your stress levels. Stay out of too much sun though - cancer is definitely something to avoid. Incidentally, there are artificial lights which are said to provide the full spectrum (or nearly) of the natural daylight. If so, they should be able to boost your feel good hormones as well. If you are always scooped up inside, you might to find out more about them. Personally, I have yet to try them.
Touch and be touched
We all know that babies love being touched and cuddled. Seek out positive interactions with other people. Evidence suggests that this produces the social bonding hormone oxytocin, decreases blood pressure and lowers the effects of stress. This leads you being able to control your appetite better.Research also suggests that women benefit from a simple hug (they produce more oxytocin) - it helps to lower their stress levels. So if you are a woman, get loads of hugs from people you care about. If you are a man, don't begrudge the lady a hug.
Sex
Sex has a number of benefits, one of which is you get a physical workout. Research has also shown that sex, more so with a long term-partner, produces endorphins, oxytocin, and other feel-good hormones.
Music Music does wonders at relieving stress. There is no music type that equally effective for everyone. Just sit down and listen to the music of your choice, the music you are comfortable with.
The author is the webmaster of katsande.com. You can find more tips and interesting stuff in the blogs section.
