We often hear all sorts of reasons in the world of health and fitness as to why we are fat. Among them there are the obvious ones, we eat too much, we eat the wrong types of food, we don't exercise, etc. While all of these reasons are certainly legitimate, what people may not realize is that there is a far more common, far less known culprit behind why we are fat...Stress.
Our bodies are designed biologically to be extremely efficient at handling short-term stress. This is not the case with chronic stress however, which is exactly the type of stress the majority of us encounter on a daily basis. Whether its fighting our way through rush hour traffic, dealing with difficult bosses or co-workers, meeting deadlines, working through emotional challenges in our various relationships or whatever, these low-grade chronic forms of stress are literally toxic to our bodies.
There are a number of different ways in which stress can impact our weight but I will just address one. When we are under stress our body produces a stress hormone known as cortisol. Cortisol is a glucocorticosteroid, which means it is largely responsible for blood sugar control and metabolism. When we have disruptions in our normal daily cortisol rhythm either too high or too low, our blood sugar regulation can become disrupted. This can lead to a number of problems including weight gain. Blood sugar problems alone aren't the only way that stress can impact our weight. Long term, chronic stress can cause imbalances in cortisol which will in turn signal our body to store fat rather than burn it.
One of the other more commonly known reasons behind weight gain is thyroid problems, but it may surprise you to learn that it might not really be your thyroid after all. This isn't to say that thyroid problems don't exist or don't cause weight gain. What can happen in many instances is a secondary thyroid problem, due to an underlying stress-related problem.
What most people don't know is that cortisol (the stress hormone I mentioned above) can interfere with thyroid hormone production. Cortisol can affect Thyroid hormone production on a few levels. First, cortisol can interfere with TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone, produced in the anterior pituitary gland that signals the thyroid to produce thyroid hormones) and prevent it from signaling the thyroid. Another way is that cortisol can actually interfere with T4 (the inactive form of thyroid hormone) being converted into T3 (the active form of thyroid hormone). Among the results of these deceptive secondary thyroid problems is again, weight gain.
If any of this sounds like it might be what you are experiencing never fear! There is a simple way that you can find out if stress is the culprit behind your weight gain. A simple and easy lab test can determine if your cortisol levels are out of balance. Once we have determined the exact nature of your particular imbalance there are some easy, natural ways in which we can correct these imbalances. Once cortisol levels are restored and properly balanced your body will then begin to release stored fat. If you are interested in learning more about this test, simply call our office today to schedule an appointment and we can help you get started.
