Adrenal Fatigue And Weight Loss Resistance
08/25/2012
This is a segment of a larger guide to weight loss resistance.
Stress makes you weight loss resistant on several fronts, and numerous studies confirm its affect on fat gain.
For instance, one study in the American Journal of Epidemiology looked at 1,355 men and women over nine years.
Researchers found that both genders had higher body mass index (BMI)
levels if they worked super-stressful jobs as well as had other demands
that increased stress. (BMI scores can determine whether you are
overweight or obese.) "Interventions to address psychosocial stress may
limit weight gain among overweight and obese men and women," they
concluded.
On a more practical level, stress makes you head straight for the Krispy
Kremes or whatever your favorite comfort food might be. After all,
you're not exactly gravitating to quinoa and Brussels sprouts after your
boss lets you have it for not meeting third-quarter quota.
Your adrenals respond to stress by secreting cortisol. This hormone gets
a bad rap, but cortisol can actually be beneficial in certain
situations. For instance, if you're working out, cortisol helps
redistribute fat from your fat cells to your muscle cells, which need
that energy to work (that's one reason cortisol increases during
exercise).
But responding to chronic stress by continually secreting cortisol
eventually wears your adrenals out. Adrenal burnout manifests as
sleeping poorly, insulin resistance, decreased thyroid function, and
lowered nutrient status. All of these symptoms contribute to weight loss
resistance.
Strategies to address adrenal fatigue: Learn to manage stress
levels through yoga, deep breathing, or simply staying in the present.
Your adrenals store more vitamin C than any other organ, and stress
depletes this crucial vitamin. Eat vitamin C-rich foods and take a
supplement.
Adrenal Fatigue is one of 7 key contributors to weight loss resistance
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