Stress and negative attitude affecting weight loss?
 

Hi folks!

Just a thought: stress and general negative attitude can affect the most basical functions in our bodies. Just one example: a woman can't get pregnant, she is under a lot of stress, even panic. Lots of bad feelings. The couple adopts a child in the end. Stress is lifted - the woman gets pregnant. I understand this is quite common.
Now I've been reading many threads filled with stress/panic/negative attitude about this WOE. I'm not saying it's wrong, after all this is a SUPPORT forum and lots of us try to help others here.
What I mean is this: can't we just try to understand how bad this kind of stress is for us in general and for weight loss, of course.
What if stress is the major cause of "stalls"????
What if change of attitude can be the key to success for everyone?
Listen, I also panicked sometimes in the beginning of this WOE. I just tried to remember all my weight struggles from the past, starving, feeling weak and unhealthy. Do I want to go back to this? NO. So the only way is forward.

Give it a thought, please.

*I know this belongs to General lowcarb, but since 99% of "panic" threads are posted here, I post it here too*

Alina

Hi Alina,

That's an interesting observation; there well may be some truth to it. The mind-body thing is amazingly powerful. This WOE may be slow (at least for some like me) but it does work and I'm completely satisfied with the food I am able to eat. So, I figure I will get to my goal eventually; meanwhile the journey is quite an adventure. Positive thinking is as important as water :p

Jane

Alina,

I think you are absolutely correct -- many of us retain weight during periods of stress. In fact, before reading you post, I posted in my journal last night that I hadn't lost any weight in the past week and that I knew it was because I had such a stressful week.

One thing I want to add to your post -- for me, aerobic exercise is the best way to deal with and moderate stress. When I am feeling stressed out, I take a long walk. I often walk from 9 to 10 at night (with a flashlight), since on stressful days I can't usually find any time for myself until then.

I almost never stress out over the amount of weight I have lost or have left to lose -- I'm grateful for every pound that comes off and I am willing to be patient -- so I have no insights into whether or not that kind of stress can slow down weight loss. However, I am absolutely convinced that for me job- or family-related stress slows down my weight loss, even when I stay strictly on my eating and exercise program.

Thank you Alina for your post.

I think you are on to something. I have been on a stall for almost three months. The time I stalled I started a new project at work that was very stressful. I was also trying to bid on a promotion and had found out that they were downsizing my department!

Last week, I found out I still have my position, my project finished and I did not get the promotion. However, the good news is that the person who did get it has more education than me and more experience. That I can live with... they did choose the right person for the job.

So, I feel like this big weight has been lifted. Also, I have a four day weekend! Lets see if some weight loss happens. It would definately show some validity to your theory. Keep your fingers crossed for me! :)

Thanks again for your insight!

Alina, great post. Not only are you "onto something", you are 100% right and this issue needs to be a constant reminder to all of us.

Here's an interesting thread:
Is Stress a Staller?

You might also find this link interesting (I've copied and pasted the info below). It relates to diabetics, but the info is certainly relevant to everyone here: http://www.restoreunity.org/psych_s...ugar_levels.htm

Psychological Stress Can Elevate Blood Sugar Levels
Many diabetics, especially the newly diagnosed ones, ask if psychological stress can raise blood sugar. Psychological stress becomes physical stress to the body. Physical stress to the body can raise blood sugar levels.

When you have psychological stress this is another way of saying you are having some unpleasant emotions. For example, panic, worry, anxiety, anger, and others. These emotions can set off what is called the stress response. These are changes your body makes to adapt to stress conditions whether they are real or perceived. For example, the body will narrow the arterial blood flow, increase blood volume, secrete the stress hormone cortisol, release stored blood sugar into the bloodstream, and other adaptations that make the body more ready to meet threats.

If you are at your job and have deadlines to meet, and you panic about them, you may set off the stress response. You may be the boss of many people and you may get angry with some of them. This anger may set off the stress response. The point is the emotions trigger aspects of the body. The main one triggered is cortisol production. This is a catabolic hormone (breaks down the body) that is intended to work short term in the body to help you adapt to stress. Constant psychological stress can result in constant pouring out of cortisol into the bloodstream. Cortisol secretion results in blood sugar pouring out into the bloodstream to assist cortisol and the rest of the body with the threats, real or perceived.

When the blood sugar is elevated this stresses the body again. Insulin surges are needed to cope with the surges of blood sugar. This results in the pancreas going to work and producing insulin. Too many sugar surges will overwork the pancreas, creating additional stress to the body. If you are in a constant state of psychological stress, such as being in a panic all day at the workplace, your body is being subjected to many stresses, but the main ones are cortisol secretion, elevated blood sugar, and hyper insulin production. If you are subjecting yourself to this all day, then you are under a great amount of stress.

The whole point is emotional stress can be deadly to a diabetic. It can lead to hyper cortisol levels, elevated blood sugar levels, hyper insulin, and many other adaptive changes in the body. It is clear this is not healthy. Additionally, it results in elevated blood sugar and this is not what a diabetic needs.

Therefore diabetics need to make their choices carefully. To panic, get upset, to have unpleasant emotional binges, or to remain calm and meditative and avoid the dangers that unpleasant emotions can create for diabetics.

The following links give a great overview of Cortisol:
http://stress.about.com/library/weekly/aa012901a.htm
http://stress.about.com/library/weekly/aa012901b.htm

Nat also gave a fabulous summary of it in this link:
Cortisol: Understanding and Management

HTH,
Wanda

Theresa, may the "whoosh" fairy visit you this weekend, now that things have calmed down at work for you! Alina, great post!

Stress is absolutely a staller, so is lack of sleep and depression. All these factors - which came first, the stall or the stress, the stall or the lack of sleep... - produce excess cortisol. It can all become a vicious cycle in many individuals.

Lack of sleep also supresses HGH. Here's more on the function of cortisol:

What Cortisol Does

Mobilizes and increases amino acids, the building blocks of protein, in the blood and liver.

Stimulates the liver to convert amino acids to glucose, the primary fuel for energy production.

Stimulates increased glycogen in the liver. Glycogen is the stored form of glucose.

Mobilizes and increases fatty acids in the blood (from fat cells) to be used as fuel for energy production.

Counteracts inflammation and allergies.

Prevents the loss of sodium in urine and thus helps maintain blood volume and blood pressure.

Maintains resistance to stress (e.g., infections, physical trauma, temperature extremes, emotional trauma, etc.).

Maintains mood and emotional stability.


What Excess Cortisol Does

Diminishes cellular utilization of glucose.

Increases blood sugar levels.

Decreases protein synthesis.

Increases protein breakdown that can lead to muscle wasting.

Causes demineralization of bone that can lead to osteoporosis.

Interferes with skin regeneration and healing.

Causes shrinking of lymphatic tissue

Diminishes lymphocyte numbers and functions

Lessens SIgA (secretory antibody productions). This immune system suppression may lead to increased susceptibility to allergies, infections, and degenerative disease.

So, having excess cortisol is definitely something you don't want, low-carb wise or not!

Karen

Gosh.. you all are making me feel better already.

Thanks for all of these articles. And whoosh fairy... do your job now.. OK? :sunny: Things are looking brighter already. :)

THANK YOU!!!!!!

I am FIRM beleiver that it is the STRESS that so many put themselves under while *dieting* that makes the losses stop, not actually half the products people THINK are making them stall!

I will not weigh or measure myself daily, I eat more carbs than I used to, I allow myself to eat what I want when I CHOOSE to and the list goes on. I have never felt better and REFUSE to destroy that because I have different expectations than what my body can handle. I have lost almost 20 lb this month alone...I think I may have been on to something!

Great thread Alina! Thanks everyone for all your info. I learned a lot and will try to "de-stress" my life.

Hi friends,


Karen and Wanda - thank you!! Great info, which I hoped would "attach" to this thread.
I believe stress is a powerful enemy, we can't eliminate it all together but perhaps we can learn to master it in steps. For instance: no stress and panic about how fast we lose weight.
Thank you all for great feedback!
Alina

Looks like this is needed on the front page again.
BTW, I wonder how many ever turn a page on this forum?

Nice sunday everyone!

a

I'm a type 2 diabetic and this morning I saw first hand how negative emotions can affect our bodies.

Upon waking, I measured my blood sugar as usual. It was actually lower than it had been recently and I was very pleased. About 5 minutes later, something totally uncalled for happened that caused me to get very angry very fast. When I had calmed down somewhat about 15 minutes later, I decided to take my blood sugar. It was 50 points higher than it had been only 20 minutes earlier, even though I had eaten nothing as of yet for the morning. My liver seems to have done a glycogen dump in response to the stress. (I had eaten too many carbs over the holidays, so it probably had a good glycogen store.)

Atkins mentioned a relationship between stress and candida. I've been under a lot of emotional stress lately since the fall and I'm pretty sure that it has to do with gaining weight. It also explains why taking on my high pressure job over the summer caused the weight gain to start.

I agree. Stress can do really, really bad things to all of us. I get pimples, stomach issues, loss of appetite, but weight gain, or stalls. I find it also causes me to be kinda depressed too. I have learned some techniques to fight stress. When you feel really stressed, think about only the good things that you are thankful for. It can even be as small as being able to walk, or having enough to eat, things we take for granted every day. It really, really helps when you break it down to how sometimes we stress over things that are just a small part of our lives. Like work. I used to stress about work all the time, then my husband actually broke it down for me...he told me to think about all that we have..my health, great kids, a job, food, all bills paid, etc..and to remember, it is just a job, not your life. It really works!