STRESS
STRESS & ABDOMINAL FAT.
Stress gradually builds up, often without us realising. Our lives get busier and we simply get used to having to keep all the plates spinning. But there’s a price.
Our bodies respond to stress by releasing hormones, and being constantly stressed is linked to having chronically elevated stress hormones, which is also linked to increased abdominal fat in both men and women.
But it’s not just our waistlines that are affected. Stress affects health in many ways, including increasing blood pressure, affecting digestion, causing headaches, skin problems and impacting sleep.
Stress affects eating habits too. Many people eat to cope with stress, others find that being constantly on the go means they don’t have time to eat properly, so rely on convenience food, caffeine and sugar to keep them going. The combined effect of frequent eating, high sugar and carbohydrates and low-quality nutrition can also cause weight gain.
STRESS & MENOPAUSE.
A common menopause symptom is increased stress and anxiety, so even though life is often already more stressful at this time of our lives, menopause can make it even harder to cope.
This has an additional negative effect on our hormones and fat storage.
Stress hormones are produced by the adrenal glands, which can also produce estrogen. As the ovaries produce less as menopause approaches, the body still needs this vital hormone for many other processes. There are two main ways we can produce extra estrogen, via the adrenal glands and from body fat.
However, when we are constantly stressed, the adrenal glands default to their stress hormone production role, which may cause the body to react by producing more abdominal fat to top up estrogen levels.
BALANCING STRESS.
We often resist tackling stress because we don’t feel we have a choice. Or we feel so overwhelmed we don’t know where to start.
If you feel like that, a good place to start is to find ways you can balance stress. This is simply spending time doing things that allow your brain to switch off and your body to relax.
Think about what you enjoy doing and try and find time to do it. Simple things such as reading a book, taking a relaxing bath or doing a hobby you enjoy is all it takes.
Balancing stress allows the stress hormones to switch off and puts our body into a relaxing and recovering state. Some stress is actually good for us, but being constantly stressed is definitely not.
Other things to try include mindfulness and meditation. Gentle exercise can also be effective here. Activities like walking in nature, yoga, swimming and pilates can all give your mind a rest and leave you feeling calmer and even making it easier to cope with the stress you do have in your life.
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