This is Fattening More Than Anything Else

We think carbs, sugar, and fatty food make us fat. Well, yes but not entirely. It often depends on this one seemingly innocent, unnoticeable factor that happens to us everyday. Some people are less affected than others, and those seriously affected find it really hard to lose weight and rid belly, flabby fat in spite of diets and workouts.

It goes like this. This fattening culprit raises up cortisol levels in the body which increases insulin levels, among other things, which unfortunately lowers our blood sugar levels. This means our food craving goes up (lower blood sugar makes us crave for food) and the real bad news is, our appetite looks for carbs and sweets.

But this is just the tip of the ice berg.

What we should worry about (oops, worrying is bad) is the way this culprit also slows down our metabolism. When metabolism is slow our bodies find it hard to burn fats and calories. Especially fats. This is why regardless of what kind of diet and workouts we have, we remain fat--or even grow fatter. Sometimes, even if we eat so little.

You know the culprit? You guessed right. It's prolonged overstress.

Listen:

A 2017 study showed a connection between the stress hormone cortisol and having overweight. It also found that higher cortisol levels are associated with carrying that extra poundage in the waist — what we sometimes refer to as visceral fat.

That study adds to an already strong association between long-term stress and unhealthy weight gain. A 2015 study found that our metabolism is slower when we’re stressed out, while a 2007 study found that high cortisol levels may actually enhance the feeling of satisfaction we experience when eating fatty, sugary foods. [Source]

Not all stresses are bad. We need healthy stress to do urgent tasks or surmount difficulties, like learn how to drive, beat deadlines, accomplish new things, do better at things, beat a former athletic feat, speak to an audience or give reports for the first time, things like that. These are healthy stresses because they're short term and give you euphoria after, which relaxes and not food based.

Distress is different, more so if prolonged. It's there everyday for long periods, like a distressful job you do each day for a year or so. Or distressful business. Even church ministry (no wonder why some pastors are overweight or have protruding tummies). Prolonged distress leads to depression and anxiety, which make matters worse, especially for your metabolism and ravenous appetite. 

Not to mention deadly diseases like heart failure and high blood pressure. It's extended distress or too much prolonged bad stress. Remember that.

I've come across real fitness and health experts say all kinds of food (I mean real food, not artificial or processed) are okay and won't give you any weight problems. It's not the food we eat but the unnecessary stressful lifestyle we choose to live, thinking overstress means productivity in career and life. 

But I see it differently today. Because resting and relaxing has become a lost art and capability to many, we don't see anymore how being really productive means being able to really rest and relax again after hard works. Often, even taking vacations--which is supposed to be relaxing--makes us overstressed due to the vacation "schedules" we make that we believe will make our vacations meaningful and (again) productive. 

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