15/04/2026
Happy Wednesday!
It's 'hump' day. The middle of the week. How is the week going for you?
I hope it isn't giving you too much stress.
Sadly, evidence shows that we may be stressing ourselves to obesity? But how?
I come across a lot of people who are worried about carrying 'extra' weight.
But crucially, many of them also suffer from stress, which is compounding their situation without them realising it.
Stress often triggers our fight or flight response, which was programmed into our brains long before we even recognised ourselves as human, hundreds of thousands of years ago. A time when we might be attacked at any time by all manner threats. That response prepares our bodies to either fight off our attacker, or flee, shutting down bodily processes that are not a priority in that moment, such as our immune systems, and, you guessed it - our digestive systems.
These days we don't often get confronted by wild animals trying to eat us for lunch, but our bodies can't tell the difference between that kind of threat and the stress of missing that work deadline, or presenting at that "must win" sales meeting. The offending flow of cortisol is just the same when we're faced with any stressful situation - whether it's a terrifying tiger attack, or a nightmare customer meeting that is key to us meeting this month's sales target. Either will trigger that fight or flight response - and generate stress.
So stress can be a life saver. But, sustained cortisol in our hectic lives can lead to CHRONIC STRESS, and it's at epidemic levels. The trouble comes when we're also carrying extra weight. Our body essentially believes that it is not safe to lose weight - it believes it is fighting for our life, and shuts down the digestive system. Conversely, when your nervous system feels safe, it also believes that it is safe to lose weight. You're working WITH your body’s natural systems instead of bypassing them. For many, weight loss then becomes automatic, effortless, and even inevitable.
So how can we manage this stress when we're trying to shift unwanted pounds?
Here are three stress busters:
✅Moving your body more is a natural way to foster relaxation and calm through the generated endorphins. That's on top of burning those calories, of course. It doesn't have to mean the gym. Walking is your friend, especially after meals!
✅Adapting your food habits to avoid refined carbohydrates and ultra-processed ingredients maximises vital nutrients and balances your metabolism, which will get the body's systems running optimally - especially the digestive system! Furthermore, the resultant good gut health is much more important to our mental wellbeing and stress resilience than many people realise.
✅Simple breathing exercises, meditation, and even tapping (EFT), are all very effective at controlling chronic stress if done properly and regularly. Using them 'ad-hoc' also helps to manage our fight or flight response in the moment too.
Having a wide selection of tools in the 'stress resilience' toolbox were a life saver for me, and I would strongly recommend to anyone that they do their own research and try them out, especially if you are stressed and carrying some extra weight around, like I was for years.
[Image courtesy of craiyon.com]
