Cant Lose Weight Permanently Over 40? Do You Know An Inconvenient Truth?

"My days are very hectic. I'm always on the go. There is too much to do." Is that you? And: If you'd like to lose weight permanently over 40, has this lifestyle something to do with permanent weight loss?

Stress can be a good thing. We feel energetic and powerful when stress hormones flood our bodies. Short time stress is good- but being stressed out day in and day out can make you sick: Heart attacks, diabetes, high blood pressure are related with stress.

Additionally, you can't lose weight permanently if you are stressed- stress makes you fat. Endless stress promotes fat deposits on your belly and your hips- stress fat. When your body demands energy, the stress level increases. When our ancestors had to take care of physical challenges, this energy releasing mechanism was very useful.

Today, we do not need to respond to physical threats any longer. There is no need to fight wild animals. Our problem solving mechanisms need to be mental. So the stress fat sits on our bodies and doesn't get burned. Particularly for women stress fat increases the risk for heart diseases, higher blood pressure, higher cholesterol, strokes, diabetes and cancer.

In stressful situations the adrenal gland releases adrenalin. The blood sugar rises and the metabolism slows down so there is more energy available. Under permanent stress you burn fewer calories, preventing you from losing weight permanently. The shifting blood sugar levels will result in feeling hungry- so you'll consume more while burning fewer calories.

When you are under stress, the hormone cortisol is released. It affects your muscles, bones and the immune system. Your risk to catch a contagious disease is enhanced, muscle mass reduces and bone density is getting less.

Cortisol has another serious effect threatening your ability to lose weight permanently. When your stress level reduces, the body's energy storage system wants to be filled up. In this situation, Cortisol wakes up 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. This process leads to a growing number of fat cells- not a positive outlook if you want to lose weight permanently.

Continuous stress means continuous hunger at a decreased metabolism. When we grow older we normally accumulate more responsibilities- and accordingly more stress. To lose weight permanently over 40 you'll need to bring down stress.

Especially for women over 40 it's very hard 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. This leads to fluctuating weight making it difficult to lose weight permanently for women over 40.

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