stress

Johnny Good Times

I hate stress, I don't handle it well. I usually just bash my head against the wall--the concussion gives me a break from whatever is bothering me!

Stress has a nasty little side-effect too. For some people, stress leads to belly fat, which experts believe greatly increases the risk of heart disease.

I had the opportunity to attend a talk by author and researcher Dr. John Berardi. As always, JB had a very powerful message. Here are some highlights from his lecture:

The Stress Eater Diet written by Robert Posner, M.D. and Linda Hlivka targets women who tend to eat a lot and unhealthily when stressed.

They believe that 78% of overeating is caused by an emotional response to some type of stressor such as relationship problems or financial difficulties. Along with the help of stress hormones being produced these added calories cause women to gain weight fast.

Have you ever abandoned a diet in despair, claiming that you "have no willpower"? Don't blame yourself. Sometimes, we need to avoid or confront external factors that sap our willpower, leading inexorably past "just one won't hurt" to "I might as well give up." There's three big ones...

Chronic stress isn't just an unpleasant feeling--it's a health hazard. Not only can it lead to a variety of medical complaints (from heart disease to autoimmune disorders) but it can contribute to obesity.

Don't have the time or the money to take yourself to a spa for a week to mellow out properly? Here are some cheaper, quicker alternatives.

Stress in the workplace significantly increases the risk of obesity.

Could it be time to find another job?

Recent research has shown that a high stress lifestyle, combined with a junk food diet results in weight gain (particularly abdominal fat). We can avoid junk food, but avoiding stress can be a lot more challenging.

Here are some strategies for dealing with stress.

When I first saw this research - it seemed almost farcical: stressed out mice, eating junk food got fat.

Did the mice work 60 hour weeks - stopping by the McDonald's drive-thru on the way back to the lab? Did they manage to force two cohabiting mice to get a divorce? Or maybe moving from one mouse house to another was enough stress?

Not so farcical - almost all major media outlets around the world heralded this as "landmark" research" heralding a new way to lose fat without surgery.