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Is Stress Making You Fat?
The Trigger That Causes the Most Trouble
Our ancestors ate to survivE.They ate because they were hungry or maybe to celebrate a victory over a warring tribE.We eat because we're hungry, too, but also when we're stressed, angry, bored, depressed, frustrated, and busy.
Stress may actually be the eating trigger that causes the most troublE.Many of us have high levels of chronic stress, whether it's from work, relationship troubles or to-do lists that are longer than Route 66. Our bodies respond to this stress the same way our ancestors' bodies did: triggering 'fight or flight' chemicals in the brain that lead to calorie accumulation and fat storagE.But the difference is that we have plenty of food at our disposal. So we end up continually upgrading the size of our storage unit.
When you have chronic stress, your body steps up its production of cortisol(皮质醇) and insulin(胰岛素). Your appetite increases, and so do the chances you'll engage in eating in the form. of high-calorie sweets and fats. That, in turn, makes you store more far, pumping even more of it into the liver. This creates a resistance to insulin, which makes you secrete(分泌) more insulin to compensatE.And that makes you hungrier than a muzzled wolF.
When you try to combat stress with food, you activate the reward center of your brain. But after that initial feel-good system wears off, you'll reach again for the same thing that made you feel good, calm and relaxed in the first place: more fooD.That's why it's a myth that overeating is triggered mainly by extreme hunger. It's a myth that cravings are dictated by our taste buds. And it's a myth that we can resist temptations if we just put our minds to it.
Your goal: to keep your feel-good hormones(荷尔蒙) level. That will provide a steady state of satisfaction so that you never experience those huge hormonal highs and lows that make you search for good-for-your-brain, bad for-your-belly foods. The following tips will help.
Make Foods Work in Your Favor
Foods have different effects on your stomach, your blood and your brain. Here are some that may help your hunger and the brain chemicals that affect it.
Fish and walnuts are rich in fatty acids, which have long been known as cholesterol clearers. But they've also been shown to help with depression in pregnant women. Depression contributes to emotional overeating. Eating foods that contain the fatty acids may help lift our spirits.
Green tea contains catechins(儿茶酚), thought to inhibit the breakdown of fats as well as the production of a substance that can trigger hunger. One study shows that drinking three glasses of green tea a day can help you re duce body weight by almost five percent in three months.
Sleep Yourself Slim
When your body doesn't get the seven to nine hours of sleep it needs every night to become refreshed, it looks for other ways to compensate for your brain not secreting the normal amounts of feel-good chemicals. How does it typically do this? By craving sugary foods that will give you an immediate release of these chemicals.
The lack of sleep throws off your entire system. It can become an even bigger factor as you agE.So make sure you get enough shut-eyE.It can help keep you thin.
Variety: The Spice of Life?
Variety may be the spice of life, but it can also lead to overeating. When you have a lot of choices for a meal, it's easier to slip out of good eating habits and into bad ones. When you sit down at a dinner and are presented with a menu that's the size of a phone book, it's easy to give in.
One way to help: Eliminate the choices for at least one meal a day. Pick the meal you rush through most. For most people, it's lunch. So find a healthy lunch you really like—salad with chicken and olive oil, or turkey on whole-grain bread—and ha
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