It’s little secret that too much stress is making us sick. And we’ve known for a while it can make us hold onto extra weight.
But as nutritional biochemist Dr Libby Weaver explores in her incredible new book, Women’s Wellness Wisdom, there are far deeper reasons as to why we should take a few more deep breaths from time to time.
We caught up with Dr Libby to get the skinny on what stress is really doing to our bodies (and what we can do to break the cycle).
Stress literally makes you fat.
What Dr Libby gets at in her book is this: stress switches off our “calming” parasympathetic nervous system and activates the sympathetic nervous system, responsible for adrenaline and the “flight or fight response”.
This used to be the system that told you to RUN AWAY FROM THAT SABRE TOOTH. Now it’s the system that turns on when we’re faced with an inbox full of emails.
“When this system is activated, your body will mobilise stored glucose so you have more fuel to get out of danger,” says Dr Libby. “So instead of burning fat, you’re basically running on sugar.”
You run on sugar instead of fat when you’re stressed.
For most of us, that system is activating a lot more often than it was originally designed to. So, what happens when you have this sugar surge?
“You’ll eventually crash. And, with that, comes a biological desire to restore glucose. That’s when you start thinking about getting something sweet. That’s when you crave sugar.”
Breathing through it.
The only way science knows how to activate the calming parasympathetic nervous system is to extend the length of our breaths. “I don’t say this lightly, it can be game-changing,” says Dr Libby.
“When you use short, sharp breaths, you are communicating to literally every cell in the body that your life is in danger. It sends a message to the body to use glucose as fuel, not fat.”
Short, sharp breaths tell your body your life is in danger.
Dr Libby believes that deep, diaphragmatic breathing can reduce stress hormones almost immediately, having a huge impact on your choices, mindset and even quality of life.
There’s just one catch: “Deep breathing is great, but you won’t get the results you want if you’re not addressing your issues with food first.”
It’s all in the head.
“Food for women means a lot more than just nourishment. It’s a reward, it’s punishment. Women use food to expand on how they feel,” says Dr Libby.
“The judgement we pass on ourselves just perpetuates this vicious cycle. Once we “ruin” our diet by eating a chocolate bar, we give ourselves “permission” to eat a whole packet.”
Food for women is a reward, it’s punishment.
To break the cycle, Dr Libby recommends mindfulness exercises. A simple example is word association with problem foods so you can acknowledge those emotional issues.
“When you work out what you’re trying to get food to make you feel, you can find other things that make you feel that way. Embrace those things, and you won’t need it anymore.”
Because at the end of the day: “A cake can’t give you a hug!”
Love Dr Libby as much as we do? Find out more about her clinic, books and events at DrLibby.com.
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