the end of the holidaysthe return to workedto college, to school or routine. break out of the bubble wellness and peace of the holidays can cause strong peaks of stress either anxiety in many people reaching repercussions in infinity of daily aspects. One such aspect may be weight. It is likely that in stressful periods you have noticed yourself swollen and you have even gained weight without really knowing why. It is likely that you have gained weight even eating less due to lack of time and ultimately that you have seen the numbers on the scale rise without being aware of the reason. Well, simplifying a lot, we could say that it is due to stress. Somehow, given the physiological and psychological reactions caused by this state, it could be said that stress “makes you fat”.
When we are overwhelmed, either due to overwork or some situation that worries us, our body reacts with a series of hormonal variations. The adrenal glands, which are located above our kidneys and belong to the hormonal and endocrine system, then secrete the cortisol, and this hormone passes into the bloodstream. So far it is considered a normal reaction of the body to intense situations. The problem comes when stress becomes chronic and the amount of cortisol in the blood gets out of control.
“This disorder occurs because our brain sends orders to make more cortisol, in order to try to keep stress under control. If this hyperfunction of the brain to manufacture more cortisol becomes chronic, a redistribution of cortisol occurs. body fat which tends to accumulate more in the upper trunk, especially in the abdomen. In addition, muscle mass is usually lost, which is known as protein catabolism”assures the nutritionist Laura Jorge in her book ‘The method eat healthy, live healthy’ (Ed. Zenith).
This accumulation of fat is due to the fact that the body begins an accumulation process as a survival technique that occurs in parallel with an increase in insulin and ghrelin the hormones of hunger and satiety, which is usually accompanied by an increase in appetite. On the other hand, rest is also a decisive factor at the time of weight loss or gain. The Lack of sleep It can be added to other physical and psychological stress factors that affect eating behavior, causing imbalances in hormones and the reactivity of our body towards food products, increasing the appetite for ultra-processed products.
Consumption of ultra-processed
Basically, and simplifying, stress and lack of sleep “make you hungry” especially from your products. low nutritional quality and fast food since, for the most part, the brain associates them with feelings of satiety and immediate well-being and they are ‘ultrapalatable‘, that is, more appetizing than a salad or a broccoli. “During the day there is a high level of stress that tends to increase in the afternoon, this produces an increase in the release of ghrelin, which is the hormone that regulates appetite, which is why you are hungrier,” he explains. Laura George.
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In addition, in the afternoon the levels of serotonin decrease, which is the hormone related to the feeling of well-being, therefore, it is easier to fall in the consumption of this type of product. And it is that, beyond the physiological, the emotions They are part of people and are inexorably related to food. This statement that seems obvious, was not so many years ago, but more and more studies confirm and study what is called emotional hunger.
This phenomenon, which does not have to be negative, can become something negative if the food becomes a resource to deal with certain situations. It is what could happen when you have a bad day at work and stuff yourself with cookies, for example. “Emotional hunger does not necessarily imply eating, but sometimes for certain people, it produces the opposite effect and they lose their appetite. More than stopping it, or punishing it, what we have to do is understand it and learn to treat its causes. We have to differentiate it from physiological hunger, which is what occurs when our body is hungry, because it really needs the nutrients to carry out vital functions”, assures Laura Jorge.