Edited by Ivan Mercolini
Goodmorning everyone.
It is now common opinion that stress is the cause of weight gain. In this regard, there are various scientific publications.
I myself have embraced the subject several times in my publications.
However, clarifications must be made in order to avoid the incorrect equation + STRESS = + GREASE, present in any scientific publication.
The fault of the misunderstanding is not in the scientific abstracts, which are complete in themselves, but in the synthesis of the operators and even more in the means of diffusion (newspapers, books, magazines), which as usual have tried to make a simple and monochrome one issue that has more elements, to the classic purpose of arousing sensationalism and giving alibi to overweight subjects.
Oh yes, in fact the alibi was immediately ridden: if before the overweight subject justified his status with an unspecified malfunctioning gland, he now justifies it by saying that it is the stress produced by work, by the family, by the vicissitudes of life.
BUT THIS IS NOT TRUE. Or, at least, it is a half-truth, a throw of smoke in the eyes for interest and for lack of information capacity.
I come to the point ...
Stress stimulates the adrenal endocrine glands to the release of corticosteroids (cortisol, aldosterone, etc.) and to the emission of catecholamines (adrenaline, noradrenaline ...). These biochemical messengers have a CATABOLIC effect, that is they split the polymers of the deposit increasing the glycaemia. In other words: they lead to the breakdown of lean mass and fat mass, as well as the reserve glycogen in the muscles and liver. Therefore, stress by itself DISASSEMBLE the mass, makes the process opposite to what you think: it makes you lose weight.
Otherwise all sporting activities, from jogging, to cross-fit, to cardio-fitness, swimming, etc., being a STRESSOR, should make you fat and you should be thinner while sitting in an armchair and watching Marzullo on TV.
And then?
So in itself stress, and even chronic stress, make you lose weight, and if the latter is harmful in itself, it is because it leads to the deterioration and exhaustion of the person.
Therefore, in order for the opposite condition to be valid, so much publicized, that it wants + stress = + fat, another term must come into play: the glycemic load of meals, therefore the dear INSULIN which is the true greasy hormone of the human body.
In fact, if the stress itself makes you lose weight, so it does not make you get fat, even in the chronic form, it becomes a source of weight gain by satisfying the above equation when you associate an incorrect diet, with EXCESSIVE meals and HIGH GLYCEMIC LOAD, often made just for the purpose of increasing the uptake of tryptophan and with it the increase of serotonin, which translates into the feeling of a little relaxation and therefore again - in other words - satisfaction, consolation.
Yeah, the human body responds to atavistic laws, built over millennia of evolution in a wild environment. Complex laws, very different from those of modern man, and very different from the commercial and political needs that they want to pass as simple, by slogan, what is not simple, or at least what has much more terms than what we are wants to pass.
SUMMING UP:
- Even chronic stress, in itself or associated with a medium / low calorie diet with low glycemic load, does not make you fat; far from it, IT SENSES.
This condition of CHRONIC STRESS is however to be avoided, since in the long run it leads to deterioration, withering, physical and mental exhaustion, abatement of the immune defenses, etc. etc.
- In order for chronic stress to become an aid to weight gain, it is ESSENTIAL to associate it with the typical average modern diet, with the typical modern lifestyle. Without this condition, I repeat, it does NOT increase in weight, but rather one loses mass or the opposite situation.
Ivan Mercolini
- author of the article -
Now ... what I mean by a typical modern diet, with a bad food habit, with meals with a high glycemic load ... I mean a diet rich in PASTA, BREAD, RICE, SUGAR, POTATOES and baked goods in general. This diet is even more widespread in the poorest families, as the foods listed above are very cheap.
From which, the paradox is created that very poor subjects are often fat and obese.
These high glycemic loads make the blood sugar rise. The same is stress.
Therefore: glucose produced by adrenal hormones causes stress + that taken from meals = hyperstimulation of insulin and therefore weight gain, etc. etc.
Furthermore, stress leads psychologically to search for starchy and sugary foods to appease the anxious state.
In summary, chronic stress is a condition to be avoided, as it considerably reduces the quality of life and leads to gradual exhaustion of the organism, withering.
It also exacerbates the weight gain in fat mass IF AND ONLY IF it is associated with a diet rich in starchy foods with a high glycemic load and a sedentary lifestyle. Since this condition is widespread in modern Italian society, simplistic and erroneous information has been reached that STRESS = GREASE. The correct equation is:
STRESS + INCORRECT FEEDING = GREASE.
This short paragraph will be useful for you to learn to move in the world of natural phenomena and laws with the humility of the little creature in front of the immensity and complexity of God. With the axiomatic certainty that every Law has behind an INTELLIGENT and PERFECT why often escapes us or that we want to make simplistic and / or utilitarian. Always deepen. Estote ergo prudentes sicut serpentes et simplices sicut columbae .
This communication will be published on 08 March: I take this opportunity to wish all women a happy holiday. Naturally a special wish to my beloved wife Viola, whose smile, whose joy and support are wheat, fruit and almonds for my everyday life.
With regard,
IVAN MERCOLINI
BodyBuilding and Fitness Instructor
Personal Trainer Body For Life System
Model Trainer
