It’s hard to think of a less emotionally charged topic than weight loss.
As fitness and health professionals, it’s the #1 reason people seek our assistance - often in desperation, wishing their unwanted kilos would just go away already!
Generally, our combo of personalised training and wholefood nutrition does the trick, promoting a lean, strong and agile body… without compromising health, like fad diets and bootcamps.
But sometimes, it doesn’t seem to work that way. Sometimes, members hit a wall with weight loss, feeling epic amounts of frustration that their hard work, training and dietary vigilance isn’t paying off.
Enter: invisible stressors.
In the modern world, there are many things that can stress your body out - even if you don’t consciously perceive them as being stressful.
These invisible stressors are a big problem for weight loss, because they create chronic, low-grade inflammation that messes with your metabolism, hormones, and cellular processes in such a way that the body gains or retains fat.
The reason these stressors go unnoticed is because they’re part of ‘normal life’.
But ‘normal’ doesn’t always equal ‘healthy’.
Think about it: it’s ‘normal’ to sit on a screen all day long, it’s ‘normal’ to use your phone or iPad in bed at night, it’s applauded to sleep late and wake early, it’s admirable to be a high achiever who puts their needs last, it’s ‘good’ to skip meals or starve yourself, it’s ‘badass’ to attend back-to-back gym classes, it’s ‘just the way it is’ to scarcely see the sun because you’re in the office 10 hours per day… the list goes on.
All these normal, everyday habits signal STRESS to the body.
Here's how.
Blue light from screens interrupts circadian rhythms and causes sleep dysfunction.
Lack of quality sleep promotes inflammation, blood sugar imbalance and sweet cravings, halts tissue repair, dampens good decision-making and elevates cortisol.
Skipping meals or not getting enough nourishment fires off signals of famine, scarcity and - you guessed it - stress… triggering overeating, blood sugar swings, and systemic inflammation.
Sitting in traffic, attending a high-stakes meeting and experiencing sensory overload from our urban environment can activate the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight response), prepare your body to flee by dumping stored glycogen (sugars) from the liver into the bloodstream for energy, shut down digestion and circulate blood to the extremities, change your breathing and alter your posture, and cut your perception of pain - making tuning into your body’s needs harder than before - all while you go about your day.
Stress, stress, stress, stress!
Stress is a simple response to a complex and challenging world, and can impair your ability to lose weight without you even realising.
Here are yet more invisible stressors we regularly unearth with our clients.
Going too low on calories
Drinking coffee on an empty stomach (esp. first thing in the morning)
Not enough, or too much exercise
The wrong type of exercise for your body - high-intensity, cardio, etc
Too many carbs or sugars for your activity levels
Not enough fats or protein
Lack of sleep (or poor quality sleep)
Getting to bed after 10pm
Waking before 5am
Too much technology - esp. before bed
Excess alcohol or caffeine
Financial or relationship worries
Anxiety about the future, your life, your purpose… the existential stuff!
Past trauma or PTSD
Poor posture or biomechanics
In short, modern lifestyles are challenging to human health, riddled with invisible stressors that can cause despair and frustration when it comes to shedding kilos.
So, if that’s you, if you’ve experienced the frustration of not seeing results (despite your hard work), it’s time to become a stress detective, getting real about your lifestyle and addressing those invisible stressors that are keeping your body on a plateau.
If you need help, we’re only a phone call away. Better yet, you can book a complimentary health and fitness strategy session with Michael with one click. Head here to check his availability and do something great for your health, today.
To your health,
Michael Wilson
Director
Senior Exercise Practitioner
Holistic Health & Nutritional Coach
Manual Therapist
Functional Movement Specialist
Rehab Trainer
Posture Trainer
Personal Trainer
