Stress is making you fat!

The important thing to realise straight off the bat is that stress is stress.  The body makes no distinction between physical, emotional or psychological stress.  So whether you're worried about work or pounding out the miles on the treadmill the result is the same.  You get fat!

Scary right!?  After a statement like that I should back it up so here we go!

The steroid hormone cortisol is released by the adrenal cortex in response to stress placed on the body.  It interacts with many of the bodies hormonal regulators but the one we are most intrested in here is it's interplay with insulin, the bodies blood sugar regulation mechanism.
Cortisol inhibits Insulin which means your blood sugar rises, you are less able to burn fat as an energy source and you get fatter.  Sounds bad doesn't it!?  Don't stress about it though, here's the plan to fix it.

First off we should all look to reduce the amount of stress we are exposed to which sounds easy but can actually be a much harder task in reality.  Learning to be honest with yourself about your own limits can save you from taking on too much and stressing about meeting your unrealistic commitments.  People can stress us out too, we all know people like this.  Limit your time with them or avoid them entirley and your waistline will thank you for it!  Most of all learn to just accept that sometimes things will just not work out as you hoped, the world won't end, you'll do just fine, let it go.  This links nicely into coping stratagies which are well worth exploring.

Learn to be grateful:  Don't get caught up in the pursuit of "perfect", be grateful for what you have and have created in your life.

Learn to accept what you cannot change:  Sometimes we really are powerless to change something.  Let it go and channel your energies into more positive pursuits.

Empathy:  Before you get angry at the person who just cut you up in trafic, consider why they are in such a rush.  Perhaps they are late collecting their child from school?  Don't rush to judgement, we all do thoughtless things sometimes.  Usually when we're stressed!

Which leads nicely to....

...Time management:  Being stretched too far, not feeling like we have enough time to meet our committments is a huge source of stress.  Learn to plan, prioritise and say no if something is beyond you.

I know what you're thinking, this is all well and good but in a society that places value on achievement above all else I can't afford to take my foot off the throttle!  My question would be.  Who are you trying to impress and is it worth your health?

Take a step back once in a while, you'll live longer and it'll be more fun!