If you’ve struggled to lose weight, you’re not alone.
Especially now, weight gain is one of the most common concerns my patients come in with.
Let’s talk about metabolism.
Before we dive into the adrenals, we need to address the metabolism elephant in the room.
This is because your body has become “used to” the new caloric intake level and adjusted accordingly.
(But more about the ideal diet later!)
Adrenal fatigue and your weight.
It focused on extreme calorie restriction and exercise.
And after four months, she had lost a whopping half a pound.
Needless to say, she wasn’t happy.
Five years ago, her husband was in a terrible accident and had a traumatic brain injury.
He could no longer work.
Overnight, she became the sole breadwinner and her husband’s primary caregiver, dealing with crushing medical bills.
They had two young children, and Emily’s commute was well over 90 minutes every dayeach way.
Oh, and did I mention that she was sleeping in the living room on a cot?
Her kids, not surprisingly, had issues in school and were particularly needy.
Weekends were spent getting her life together so she could start this cycle over again every Monday.
The science behind chronic stress and weight gain.
Emily had been in a state of fight/flight/freeze for five years.
During the short term, your digestion and absorption stop when you are exposed to a stressor.
Your senses and reflexes get sharper, your pupils widen, and your reaction times get better.
The problem is that these stress responses were designed for short-term stressors, like running from a lion.
This is called “angry fat” because it’smore inflammatoryand irritates the rest of your system.
It’s also harder to lose than other weight.
It’s critical to turn off this fight/flight/freeze response and direct the body into more natural processes.
How do you do this?
First, see a good functional medicine provider.
it’s possible for you to get tests and have a professional evaluate your stress levels and adrenal function.
In the meantime, eliminate processed carbs (I know you’re craving them!)
Another great thing to do is to start meditating.
Don’t worry about being an expert; just sit still and breathe.
And finally, slowly and methodically work on resolving the underlying causes of your stress one at a time.
