Stress & Weight Gain

By Gwenn Henkel

The typical person gains 8-10 pounds over the holidays, then of course plans on going on a diet January 1st. Although much of this may be due to delicious holiday food and indulgences, stress can be a contributing factor.

Most of my clients have a PhD in dieting. But it still surprises me how many do not know about cortisol, the hormone that when raised above normal levels, makes it very difficult to lose weight. Merely having a brief argument with someone can raise your cortisol to an abnormally high level for as long as two hours. If you are upset much of your day due to a stressful job or challenges with co-workers or family members, your cortisol level may be stuck at high!

Here is what happens: Humans have a complex system for responding to danger. While these fight-or-flight responses served our ancestors well, (like running away fast from a saber-tooth tiger) they can lead to long-term health problems in modern-day environments.

While we are well adapted to passing threats that require immediate action, our stress responses are less effective against constant, low-level annoyances, such as a not very agreeable boss or a hectic daily commute, bad relationships, etc. After years of chronic activation, stress responses can wear the body down. Some of the common symptoms include:

• Impaired memory
• Weakened immune system
• High blood pressure
• Stomach ulcers
• Skin problems
• Digestive difficulties
• Weight gain (especially in the midsection of the body due to cortisol increases from stress)

A couple of years ago, I had a client referred to me by a doctor down in Arroyo Grande, California. This woman had been seeing a renowned endocrinologist in Santa Barbara. This doctor had been working with this woman for a long time to lose weight on a very restricted diet, but she just wasn't losing a pound. This doctor told the woman that she needed to "de-stress" so the weight could come off. Her Internist then sent her to me to help her to learn how to de-stress.

I told the woman about my program; about how using hypnosis we can go to the subconscious to change the behaviors that are stored there. We can learn to eat only when the body is truly hungry and stop eating automatically once the body is satisfied. We can learn portion control. We can control emotional eating and we can activate the hypothalamus part of the brain to help us release the inert fat stores in the body and even stop cravings and addictive behaviors around food. But she really wasn't too sure about how she felt about hypnosis even though all of those ideas sounded great. But since her doctor referred her to me, she was willing to try the hypnosis for stress reduction. We had our session by phone.

After making her just one personalized relaxation tape to listen to, she released four pounds in two weeks, after being on a strict diet for such a long time and not losing a pound! With this newly learned technique, she decided that she wanted to do my weight control program. She released 25 pounds in just a few short months.

What can you do for yourself to de-stress? There are many things. Over the past three decades, so many studies have confirmed the benefits of what we call "the relaxation response," a state of mental calm during which your blood pressure drops, your heart and breathing rate slow, and your muscles become less tense. Practicing the relaxation response on your own is simple once you have practiced it and you are comfortable with it. Hypnosis gives you tools to accomplish instant calm.

If you are standing in a very long line waiting to return your holiday presents or in the grocery store in extra long lines, take at least three deep breaths and exhale slowly. Now focus your thoughts on something that is very pleasing to you. Something that is calming to you, like the beach on a perfect day. Or you might think about someone you love. Just something that is the complete opposite of where you are and what is going on around you. Have this thought ready to use whenever you need it. It will be an "anchor" for you. It takes only a second to change the chemicals in your mind/body connection, to take you from stressed, to pleasantly calm. Thoughts plus emotions create behaviors. We are the creators of our behavior and we feel the way that we think.

So by checking in occasionally as to what our bodies are telling us, we can learn to identify that anxious feeling and stop it instantly by something as simple as taking some breaths and changing our minds to our preestablished calm place. You will lower your heart rate, blood pressure, and feel so much better so quickly on your own command.