Having Trouble Losing Weight Permanently Over 40?

"There is too much to do. My days are very hectic- I'm always on the go." Could that be you? And what has it to do with losing weight permanently over 40? Could it help you if you knew how successful weight loss is related to stress?

Stress can be good. We feel energetic and powerful when stress hormones overflow our bodies. However, long time stress is a dangerous health risk: Diabetes, hard attacks, high blood pressure etc. are correlated with stress.

Additionally, you can't lose weight permanently if you are stressed- stress makes you fat. Continuous stress encourages fat storage on your stomach and your hips- stress fat. Stress fat is the body's energy pool to react physically in stressful situations. This was very useful for our ancestors, facing natural challenges.

Unfortunately, nowadays our reactions to stressful situations do not need to be physical any more- we do not have to run away from or fight wild animals. Today, our responses need to be mental. So the stress fat sits on our bodies and doesn't get burned. Especially for women stress fat increases the danger for heart diseases, higher blood pressure, higher cholesterol, strokes, diabetes and cancer.

The adrenal glands release adrenalin in stressful situations. Your metabolism slows down to make more energy available and the blood sugar level rises. You can't lose weight permanently when you are under extended stress, because you burn less calories. In addition, unsteady blood sugar levels will cause hunger- drawing you to eat more although you burn less.

Still worse: stress releases cortisol, a hormone affecting your immune system, muscles and bones. It's much riskier to get an contagious disease. The bone density is getting less, making osteoporisis more probable. And the muscle mass is down, so you'll burn less fat.

Cortisol affects your ability to lose weight permanently in another, dangerous way. The body's energy storage is filled up when your stress level is reduced. In this situation, Cortisol awakens your appetite and gives you a voracious appetite. That's why you like high-calorie food in stress-reduced, relaxing phases- sweets, chocolate, cookies, ice-cream etc.

Fat cells become more sensitive to high cortisol levels when they are longer exposed to cortisol. The amount of fat cells increases because of this process, making it harder for you to lose weight permanently.

The equation is: continuous stress = never-ending hunger + decreased metabolism. As we become older typically our obligations step-up, and with the responsibilities comes stress. To lose weight permanently over 40 you'll need to bring down stress.

Especially for women over 40 it's very challenging to lose weight permanently when the stress level is high. Stressed out women over 40 tend to have periods when they are eating too little, and periods of time when they are eating too much. The perpetually varying weight makes it difficult to lose weight permanently for women over 40.

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