4. Focus on Stress – Don’t Ignore it!
To change our stress and how we respond to it, we must
acknowledge and understand it
Take a min to consider how (or if) you manage stress now. Do
you…
Power through
Stick your head in the sand
Procrastinate (move on to something less stressful and avoid the actual current
problem?)
Overwork, smoke, OVER EAT, drink alcohol to excess, isolate yourself, or take out
frustration on others?
The above behaviors tend to make the stress worse.
Do you pause and take a few deep breaths? If not, we’ll practice
this today.
5. Explore Your Stresses
Many kinds of stresses…some stresses are universal such as the lossof a
loved one or a birth of child.
Physical Stress
Fatigue and sleep deprivation, poor nutrition, lack of physical
activity, illness, pain, and others.
Can leave you more susceptible to stress from other sources.
Emotional Stress and Depression
Boredom, loneliness, anger, frustration, happiness, depression, etc.
Emotions provide information so practice noticing what you’re
feeling without judging it.
6. Explore Your Stresses
Stressful Thinking
How you think about stress and how you react to it can actually increase the
stress.
Stress can be a result from your perception and interpretation of life’s
events.
Examples: Speaking in public - for one person, could cause a pounding
heart, dry throat, and inability to utter a word. To a different person, it is an
exciting opportunity to get one’s views across.
Thoughts that can increase stress include:
“I feel like everything is out of control!”
“I have to get this perfect.”
“I can do it all, have it all, and be it all!”
7. Accept the Stress…So you can manage it!
When you accept the stress you can’t control you can choose how you react to the stresses you
CAN control
The demands in life for our energy and time can lead to unrealistic expectations and a sense of
urgency
Leads to more stress
Setting boundaries for ourselves and with others can help and takes practice
Everyone has stresses, strengths and limitations
At times, we may need to be reminded to use self-compassion about what we do well.
A more realistic response to stress: “I’m feeling overwhelmed and tense. I can’t do
everything on my to do list; no one could, but I’m doing my best-and that will have to be
good enough for now.”
It’s like imagining yourself at the center of the tornado; you are calm and centered while
everything whirls around you.
8. What is Your Stress Response
Does Stress Causes Changes in Your Routine?
Food Choices: Eat stress foods for comfort
Schedule: Change your meal schedule (skip meals,
mindless snacking, eat on the run?)
Sleep: Have trouble sleeping
Physical Activity: Exercise less
9. Short term impact of stress:
Releases a hormone called
corticotropin-releasing hormone,
which suppresses appetite
Brain –sends messages to the
adrenal glands to pump out the
hormone epinephrine also called
“adrenaline”.
When you are in this “fight-or-
flight” stage your brain is revered
up and it temporarily puts eating
on hold.
If stress persists: adrenal gland releases a hormone called cortisone which actually increases
the appetite
Once stressful episode is over cortisol will drop unless stress persists it can leave the cortisol
levels stuck on “on” and stay elevated
10. Stress and Overeating
Stress, the hormones it unleashes, and the effects of
high-fat, sugary “comfort foods” push people toward
overeating.
Researchers have linked weight gain to stress, and
according to an American Psychological Association
survey, about one-fourth of Americans rate their stress
level as 8 or more on a 10-point scale.
11. Stress in the long term:
http://fitness.makeupandbeauty.com/stress-hormone-cortisol-and-weight-gain/
o Physical or emotional distress
increases the intake of food high
in fat, sugar, or both
o High cortisol levels, in
combination with high insulin
levels, may be responsible vs
ghrelin, a “hunger hormone,” may
have a role
o High fat and sugar-filled foods
reduce the stress affect in parts of
the brain that produce and process
stress and related emotions – you
are treating the stress and it is
working! THIS MAY INCREASE
OUR STRESS INDUCED
CRAVINGS TO FOOD!
12. Gender differences
Some research suggests a gender difference in stress-coping behavior, with
women being more likely to turn to food and men to alcohol or smoking.
Harvard researchers have found that stress is correlated with weight gain, but
only in those who were overweight at the beginning of the study period.
One theory is that overweight people have elevated insulin levels, and stress-
related weight gain is more likely to occur in the presence of high insulin.
How much cortisol people produce in response to stress may also factor into
the stress–weight gain equation.
In 2007, British researchers designed an ingenious study that showed that
people who responded to stress with high cortisol levels in an experimental
setting were more likely to snack in response to daily hassles in their regular
lives than low-cortisol responders.
13. Stress Response:
Stressed people also lose sleep, exercise less, and drink
more alcohol, all of which can contribute to excess weight.
14. Food Behaviors and Stress
Do you know which foods to tend to eat due to stress?
Do you know how much you eat? (Is it a portioned amount or until the
bag or container is empty)
Try replacing these foods with alternatives :
Nuts
small amount of fruit
Crunchy veggies and dip
Soup broth
If you crave carbs, try complex carbs like air-popped popcorn or whole grain
English muffin
Portion out the food instead of eating from containers – OR purchase
pre-portioned foods (ex. 100 calorie snack packs of nuts)
Keep tempting comfort foods out of the house
Even better, work towards finding a non-food related activity instead
15. Non-Food Ways to Manage Stress
Meditation
Studies show that meditation reduces stress
Most of the research has focused on high blood pressure and heart
disease.
Meditation may also help people become more mindful of food
choices.
There’s an app for that! Cleveland Clinic Stress Free (iPhone)
Exercise
Intense exercise increases cortisol levels temporarily, but low-
intensity exercise seems to reduce them.
Some activities, such as yoga and tai chi, have elements of both
exercise and meditation.
16. Non-Food Ways to Manage Stress
Social support.
Friends, family, and other sources of social support seem to have a
buffering effect on the stress that people experience.
For example, research suggests that people working in stressful situations, like
hospital emergency departments, have better mental health if they have adequate
social support.
Therapy or Counseling
Can be very helpful for reshaping our thoughts about daily stresses
and managing depression/emotions
17. Stress Busters
4 Ways to Manage Stress
Positive Self Talk
I will do the best I can
Emergency Stress Stopper
Take 5 Deep Breaths
Take a walk
Make Time for Something You Enjoy
Reading a book
Learn How To Relax and Practice Often
Let’s Practice Today
18. Sources
Adams CE, et al. “Lifestyle Factors and Ghrelin: Critical Review and
Implications for Weight Loss Maintenance,” Obesity Review (May
2011): Vol. 12, No. 5, electronic publication.
Manzoni GM, et al. “Can Relaxation Training Reduce Emotional Eating
in Women with Obesity?” Journal of the American Dietetic Association
(Aug. 2009): Vol. 109, No. 8, pp. 1427–32.
Mathes WF, et al. “The Biology of Binge Eating,” Appetite (June 2009):
Vol. 52, No. 3, pp. 545–53.
Spencer SJ, et al. “The Glucocorticoid Contribution to Obesity,” Stress
(Feb. 6, 2011): Vol. 14, No. 3, pp. 233–46.
Vicennati V, et al. “Stress-Related Development of Obesity and Cortisol
in Women,” Obesity (Sept. 2009): Vol. 17, No. 9, pp. 1678–83.
http://amihungry.com/stress-management-101/
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/why-stress-causes-
people-to-overeat