First we have to ask the question “why people gain weight”? The answer Is simple, they eat more that their bodies need. So why does the body not get rid of the excess through faeces? Wouldn’t that be great? Imagine, eat as much as you like, use what you need for energy and the rest just goes out with poo!!! Unfortunately the body doesn’t work that way.
Through adaptation and survivor instinct the body has learned to store the excess for the future, just in case of future starvation, the problem Is in our modern society and particularly the Western world starvation is an unlikely event, but the body still work the same way as it did all those many millennials ago, use what it needs and store the rest.
By Stefano Manassero NMT-PT Nutritional coach
Other factors that influence weight gain is stress and in particular the release of Cortisol hormone in time of stress. The body “fight or flight system” still react in stressful situation as if we were chased by the beast, but the beast now is a school exam, a job interview, a first date, these are all stressful situation that prompt our defensive mechanism to react, the digestive system stop working to preserve energy (butterflies) the salivary gland stop producing saliva (dry mouth) the pupil dilate to let in more light (can’t focus on the exam paper) glucose is directed to the muscles ( for fighting or running). In stressful situation adrenaline and cortisol are released by the adrenal glands, one of the many jobs of cortisol is to stop normal bodily functions to direct energy to muscle, increase heart rate and blood pressure, but also break down muscles to get glucose for energy and amino acids and promotes storage of fat in the stomach area. Stressed people create this situation over and over again and you can see the long term consequences, obesity, diabetes type 2, high blood pressure, heart diseases ….
To prevent this to happen we need to learn to control stressful situations in the same way that a firefighter has been trained to control fear and emotion into controlled actions. Meditation, relaxation, find a time of the day to dedicate to ourselves more importantly sleep more and sleep better.
Another great way to control and lower stress level is resistance training, it stress the body but a positive stress because it teaches the body to cope with it through adaptation. Lifting weights makes the muscle stronger and more reactive, increased muscle tissue burns more calories preventing storage of fat, if we include cardio training in our daily routine it lower heart rate and improve blood pressure.